Assistant Chief Derek Kammerzell of the Kent, WA, police has agreed to resign for $1.5 million. Kammerzell was disciplined for displaying a Nazi rank symbol on his office door. (Photo: Court Documents)
The city of Kent, WA, will pay more than $1.5 million to purchase the resignation of a former assistant police chief who was disciplined for posting a Nazi rank insignia on his office door and reportedly joking about the Holocaust.
Former Assistant Chief Derek Kammerzell had initially been given two weeks off without pay for his actions, but an outraged response by Kent citizens and members of the Jewish community resulted in Mayor Dana Ralph demanding Kammerzell’s resignation.
The city’s attempt to discipline Kammerzell a second time led to a bitter dispute that appeared to be heading to court. However, interim city Chief Administrative Officer Arthur “Pat” Fiztpatrick, who is also the city attorney, said Friday the city has resolved the matter through negotiation, the Seattle Times reports.
Had the city simply fired Kammerzell, officials said, he likely would have won his job back — with back pay — through arbitration under federal and state labor laws.
Kammerzell, a 27-year department veteran, first was disciplined in July 2021 after a detective complained that an insignia used by high-ranking SS generals in Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich appeared on Kammerzell’s office door above his nameplate in September 2020.
An internal investigation concluded that Kammerzell knew full well the meaning of the insignia, which belonged to an “Obergruppenfuhrer.”
