Civil suit dismissed against Bellevue Police Department

A federal judge has dismissed a civil case levied against the Bellevue Police Department in the wake of a local woman’s death. 54-year-old Angela Prichard of Bellevue, was shot and killed on Oct. 8, 2022, by her estranged husband, Christopher Prichard, who later was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Her sons, Joshua Close and Colton Hancock, filed a civil lawsuit in April alleging their mother’s death was the result of a “state-created danger” caused by the “malfeasance, reckless or intentional behavior” of the Bellevue Police Department. U.S. District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams this week dismissed the case on a motion by the defendants, which included the city of Bellevue, the Police Department, Chief Dennis Schroeder and officers Ryan Kloft and Shelby Mutzl. Citing prior case law, Williams wrote that inaction on the part of a department is not enough to amount to the creation of a state-created danger. Rather, he wrote, the department would have had to actively enhance the danger in some way. He also wrote that the civil complaint failed to show Christopher Prichard was aware that purported violations of the no-contact order had been reported, meaning he could not be emboldened by a perceived or legitimate lack of police response.