YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) - Officials say no action will be taken against the former Yakima Police Department spokesman who was the subject of an internal investigation.
The Yakima Herald-Republic reports Mike Bastinelli resigned last month after he was placed on administrative leave in October while investigators examined allegations that he used his status as a police employee to assert authority.
Bastinelli was accused of following and confronting a woman in a road-rage incident in July.
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Bastinelli says the encounter was “totally blown out of proportion,” noting it should not have prompted an internal investigation.
Investigators say he also identified himself as a police employee and refused to leave a restaurant following a verbal confrontation with the owner.
Bastinelli, who is not a police officer, says he only resigned because his position was being eliminated.
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Information from: Yakima Herald-Republic, http://www.yakimaherald.com
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