Records: Officer wasn't fired for going to Mukilteo shooting

EVERETT, Wash. -- Newly disclosed records suggest an officer with a tiny suburban police department was not, in fact, fired for responding to a mass shooting at a house party in nearby Mukilteo.

The Daily Herald newspaper reports that it obtained the personnel file of Brier police officer Dan Anderson under a public records request. It shows that the department had concerns about his performance, driving ability and legal knowledge — and that it decided to fire him two weeks before the July 30 shooting, which left three teens dead.

After Anderson was fired Aug. 15, he told reporters it was because he left his post to respond to the shooting.

His personnel file says officials decided to fire him July 18, but didn't tell him right away because they wanted to hire a replacement first.