So much for Protect and serve!
Trooper accused of sexually assaulting women during traffic stops
By Sara Jean Green
Seattle Times Eastside bureau
A Washington State Patrol trooper was arrested and charged today, accused of sexually assaulting seven women during traffic stops on the Eastside between December 2002 and January 2004.
Michael Jay Idland, 40, was arrested at the Patrol's human resources office in Lacey around 10 a.m., a Patrol spokesman said. He was booked into the King County Jail, where he is being held on $2 million bail, said Dan Donohoe, a spokesman for the King County Prosecuting Attorney.
Idland, who became a commissioned trooper in June 2001 and was assigned to the Patrol's Bellevue office in March 2002, has been on administrative leave since one victim contacted the FBI in January. The FBI's Public Integrity Task Force later identified six other women who accused Idland of fondling and sexually assaulting them during body searches. Most of the assaults allegedly occurred after Idland stopped female drivers at the east end of the Highway 520 bridge, charging papers say.
He was charged with three felonies — two counts of first-degree custodial sexual misconduct and one count of extortion for allegedly soliciting sex in exchange for quashing a driving-under-the-influence charge against one woman; Idland was also charged with five counts of second-degree custodial sexual misconduct, which are gross misdemeanors, court documents say.
