Kitsap County fire marshal arrested for domestic violence

The Kitsap County Fire Marshal was arrested last week on a domestic violence charge and subsequently relieved of his duties until further notice.

But that doesn’t mean he will lose his job.

Even if Derrick Crawley, 48, is exonerated, his employers will decide whether the commission of the crime has anything to do with his ability to do his job.

“We will develop a nexus between the incident and his job and decide whether or not there is a connection,” Assistant Department of Community Development Jim Bolger said. “It’s not so much whether the allegations are true but whether they affect his ability to do his job.”

DCD will conduct the investigation in conjunction with the Department of Human Resources.

Bolger said that permitting supervisor Randy Law will take over fire permitting duties during Crawley’s absence.

“Those two jobs are comparable,” Bolger said.

Crawley was arrested and then released on $10,000 bail. Senior Deputy Tim Drury of the Kitsap County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said there were no plans to transfer the case to an independent prosecutor at this time.

According to a Kitsap County Sheriff’s report, officers were dispatched at 1 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 31 to a Pineridge Drive N.E. home in Bremerton, where they discovered complainant Natasha Frey, 33, standing outside the house.

Frey stated that Crawley, her boyfriend of 17 months, had kicked in the door to the downstairs portion of the residence.

Frey, who stated that Crawley had abused her for six months, obtained a protection order.

Crawley is accused of violating that order.

According to the report, Frey said that Crawley told her that he would never be arrested because of his position and that he “knows people.”

Crawley said he did not believe he had violated the protection order and said that Frey was actually the initiator of the relationship’s physical abuse. Drury said the charge was a misdemeanor, so Crawley would serve no jail time for this offense if convicted.

During Crawley’s tenure, local fire departments have increased several new safety measures. He has also advocated regulating fireworks use during dry conditions.

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