Kirkland police: Woman upset over election makes false rape claim
KIRKLAND, Wash. -- A woman who said she had been sexually assault told police that she made up the claim because she was upset over the election.
Police heard about the claim on Nov. 11. The department got an email from someone who had seen a Facebook post in which a woman said she had been assaulted in Kirkland. The post also said Kirkland police responded, but didn't investigate or file a report.
Police began investigating but couldn't find any sort of call matching the woman's claim in the dispatch center.
The identifying information on the Facebook post had been marked out on the email, so investigators couldn't identify the woman.
Investigators found the woman on Thursday and talked to her at her job. She admitted that she made the claim up. There was no assault. Police were not called.
She told police that her reason for making up the story was "being distraught over the recent election."
She will not be charged with a crime because she never filed a police report, police said.
Then police added this statement:
"The Kirkland Police Department takes all calls for service seriously and are handled in a thorough and professional manner. Allegations of a sexual assault are always investigated and prosecuted to the full extent possible. The Kirkland Police Department has worked very hard to gain the trust and cooperation of the citizens of Kirkland and continues every day to build on this trust through transparency and accountability. False reports such as this can cast doubt on an agencies reputation. We would like to thank the citizens of Kirkland for their ongoing support and trust which they have placed on the members of the Kirkland Police Department."
