WSP examines allegation against deputy
Washington State Patrol investigators are examining allegations of insurance fraud involving a Spokane County sheriff’s deputy after his now ex-wife said he falsely reported one of his vehicles as stolen.
Investigators have applied for a search warrant for Deputy Timothy Greenfield’s cellphone records.
Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich confirmed that he received the complaint about Greenfield in early December. Greenfield remains on patrol while the claim is investigated, Knezovich said.
“Right now, there’s nothing to show that he’s done anything wrong,” he said. “We don’t usually put anyone on administrative leave unless we have good cause to believe something happened. Right now, it’s still an allegation.”
It’s standard practice to have such allegations investigated by another agency, in this case the state patrol, Knezovich said.
Wally Loucks, president of the Spokane County Deputy Sheriffs Association, said he had not been informed about the investigation.
Attempts to reach Greenfield were unsuccessful.
Court documents detail changes in statements made by both Greenfield and a family friend. When Greenfield reported the vehicle stolen to a Stevens County deputy on Nov. 4, 2013, he told the deputy he had parked his 1997 Jeep along the highway in Suncrest on Nov. 2 in hopes of selling it and discovered it missing the next day.
However, Greenfield told his insurance company one of his sons discovered the Jeep missing on Nov. 2.
The family friend, meanwhile, told investigators the Jeep was parked behind his house for several months beginning in October 2013. Two days later, he called back and told investigators he may have gotten that timeline wrong.
The Jeep was recovered in a known dumping ground for stolen vehicles near State Route 21 and Swenson Road on Feb. 15, 2014, with the license plates removed.
Greenfield’s ex-wife filed the complaint with the Sheriff’s Office, saying she did not find out until after the fact that her former husband had reported the Jeep stolen or that he had received a check for more than $8,000 from the insurance company.
Greenfield denied the insurance fraud allegations in his interview with investigators, reiterating he discovered the Jeep missing the day after he parked it next to the highway.
This is the second recent case of alleged insurance fraud involving Spokane County deputies. In October, Deputy Jeremy Jeske was acquitted by a jury after he was charged with insurance fraud. Investigators believed Jeske had submitted a claim for damage to a travel trailer that had occurred before he bought insurance on the trailer.