SEATTLE (KCPQ/CNN) - A motorcyclist said he'll sue after a detective caught on camera pulling a gun on him during a traffic stop last year got only a five-day suspension.
"Why do you have a gun on me? I'm unarmed," says Alex Randall in the video.
"I'll knock you off this bike," says Detective Rich Rowe, with the King County Sheriff's Office.
The video of Rowe - in plain clothes, drawing a gun on the motorcyclist - got him in trouble and launched an internal investigation.
"I acknowledge that the behavior, the swearing, and yelling was excessive and inappropriate, and that won't happen in the future," said Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht.
Investigators recommended a 10-day suspension without pay for Rowe. But Tuesday, the sheriff instead imposed a five-day suspension without pay.
Johanknecht said Rowe believed Randall was armed. The detective had "significant recognition" of his actions and time to reflect on them, she said.
"Five days for lying in an internal investigation? That doesn't line up with their own policies as written," Randall said.
The sheriff said Rowe did not use excessive force, and his statements had been consistent the entire time. She said Randall's story has changed.
The motorcyclist admitted he was speeding but felt nothing excused Rowe's behavior.
"If I made some sudden movements and then he draws a gun on me, that's one thing. But if he literally got out of his car, which is what he did, and he got out of his car and drew a gun because he knew he was going to do that the entire time," Randall said.
Rowe did not identify himself as deputy until more than 30 seconds after the stop. The sheriff said Rowe was wearing a badge and that siren lights were used before the stop, although his badge cannot be seen in the video.
As for the plain clothes, Johanknecht said Rowe, a 16-year deputy, was just in the process of starting as a detective.
"What we've learned from this is that there are steps we need to take as an organization to make sure that when we have people going from all-uniform assignments to plain-clothes assignments, that they are prepared and trained," Johanknecht said.
Randall showed up to the sheriff's news conference and met with her after the announcement.
He said he went in hoping for policy changes, but he came out of the meeting angrier.
"It doesn't really seem like they actually care," Randall said. "It doesn't really seem like they actually learned anything, and they don't want to consider any type of change."
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