Police Officer Fired On Charge Of Striking Pregnant Fiancee

A police officer awaiting trial on charges that he struck his pregnant fiancee has been fired for that and other incidents.

Tom Loos, 32, at one time a motorcycle officer, was dismissed Tuesday evening after an internal investigation, Police Chief Doug Maas said.

Loos is scheduled to go on trial Dec. 11 on a fourth-degree assault charge involving his fiancee at the time, Heather Craven, 32, who gave birth to a boy Oct. 16.

He was taken off the street and assigned to other police work after she filed a complaint about the fight they had April 6.

She also said he committed other misconduct, resulting in an investigation by Sgt. Mike Haw of the Washington State Patrol, Maas said.

The probe showed Loos took a city street sweeper for a joy ride in January, eluded police in a high-speed chase in December 1994, was stopped by Portland, Ore., police after another high-speed chase that began in Vancouver in February 1996, threatened the prosecutor and an investigator in the assault case and violated a no-contact order with Craven twice, the chief said.

Loos has 10 days to appeal the dismissal.