A woman is seeking a civil protection order against Pullman’s Police Chief who is on leave pending an investigation from the Washington State Patrol.
Stephanie Rink is seeking the protection order against Jake Opgenorth in Whitman County Superior Court. The petition was filed with the court in Colfax shortly Opgenorth was placed on leave.
The City of Pullman through Mayor Francis Benjamin has refused to acknowledge that Chief Opgenorth is on leave. The Washington State Patrol confirms that they are investigating Opgenorth. Mayor Benjamin has only stated that “a city staffer” was placed on leave on December 17th after receiving a report from the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office. The “city staffer” was placed on leave the same day due to a “personal matter” according to Mayor Benjamin. No other details about Opgenorth’s leave have been made public.
Rink filed the protection order petition against Opgenorth on December 20th. There was a hearing on the matter in court Monday afternoon. Another hearing is scheduled for January 8th. Court docket records show that Opgenorth has been ordered to surrender his firearms and that a temporary protection order has been issued. The court documents in this case are not publicly available.
Opgenorth was promoted from Pullman Police Commander to Police Chief in 2022.
