Pullman police sergeant resigns over alleged sexual misconduct with WSU student

Pullman police Sgt. Dan Hargraves submitted his resignation on Monday, a month after he was criminally charged with sexual misconduct and a day before he was scheduled to be interviewed as part of an internal department investigation.

Hargraves, a 19-year veteran of the police department, was arrested Oct. 30 following a monthslong investigation by the Washington State Patrol. He is accused of receiving oral sex from an 18-year-old Washington State University student near a public park in late March in exchange for letting her off the hook for underage drinking. Court records say the victim was intoxicated at the time and his semen was found on her sleeve.

On Nov. 9, Hargraves pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of first-degree custodial sexual misconduct in Whitman County Superior Court.

The police department’s internal investigation, which began after Hargraves was arrested, found that he had violated several department policies, including “involvement in criminal conduct, failure to activate his body-worn camera as required, failure to make proper notifications when transporting a female, and improper treatment of persons in custody,” the department said in a news release Thursday.

A previous internal investigation found that Hargraves had propositioned a female coworker for sex in 2016.

Pullman police Chief Gary Jenkins planned to notify the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission that Hargraves had left the department because of “disqualifying conduct,” the news release said.

That notice will initiate a process to decertify Hargraves as a law enforcement officer in the state. His name could end up in the National Decertification Index, which is accessible to law enforcement agencies across the country.