Mercer Island cop caught on bodycam, under investigation

Name: Mercer Island cop caught on bodycam, under investigation
Uploaded: 2025-04-14T04:00:17-07:00
Description: Newly uncovered body camera footage exposes an alcohol-fueled night that could cost a Mercer Island police officer his badge — and a community questioning those sworn to protect them.

Mercer Island cop caught on bodycam, under investigation

Newly uncovered body camera footage exposes an alcohol-fueled night that could cost a Mercer Island police officer his badge — and a community questioning those sworn to protect them.

MERCER ISLAND, Wash. - Newly uncovered body camera footage exposes an alcohol-fueled night that could cost a Mercer Island police officer his badge — and a community questioning those sworn to protect them.

Todd Roggenkamp, a police officer for the Mercer Island Police Department, was quietly demoted from sergeant to officer in early 2024 after a night of concerning behavior several months prior.

In a memo obtained by FOX 13 Seattle, an internal investigation uncovered a series of issues stemming from Oct. 18, 2023, including Roggenkamp flashing his badge at a bar to gain special favor, trying to fight a bar patron in front of a subordinate officer, lying to deputies during a traffic stop and driving within an hour of being described as "very intoxicated" by deputies.

Bodycam video of Mercer Island cop's drunken night

Body camera footage shows Mercer Island police officer Todd Roggenkamp lying to deputies and admitting to being drunk during a traffic stop on October 18, 2023.

The backstory:

It all began at a Fall City hole-in-the-wall bar, The Last Frontier Saloon, when Roggenkamp’s wife forgot her cell phone inside. The bartender couldn’t reopen the establishment because she didn’t have the code, a response that didn’t work well with the Roggenkamps.

"It went zero to 60 in, like, five seconds," said Andrew Goodman, a friend of the bartender that was present that night.

According to Goodman, Todd flashed his badge and told everyone they were not legally closed because it wasn’t 2 a.m. yet.

"’This badge says I can get in the building’ … is verbatim what he says," explained Goodman.

Things only deteriorated from there.

Roggenkamp allegedly threatened to fight the men that were present, boasting that he knew the "lethal combat laws" in Washington. Eventually, Goodman was kicked in the groin by Jennifer Roggenkamp and swatted in the face.

On body camera footage obtained by FOX 13 Seattle, Roggenkamp denied anything took place stating, "You know there aren’t cameras there," insisting no assault took place. However, there were cameras outside the bar and they captured the entire scene.

A body cam hangs from the protective vest of a female police officer. (Jens Büttner/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Captured on camera

What we know:

Throughout his encounter with King County deputies, Roggenkamp took an aggressive stance, claiming he was a Bothell firefighter rather than a police officer, and debating the deputies repeatedly.

He questioned the deputies' probable cause for pulling them over in the first place, and appeared to urge the driver to leave the traffic stop, debating whether they’d be capable of chasing after them.

Deputies were captured on camera questioning why he was arguing the legality of the stop, commenting on the strong odor of alcohol and warning one another to keep an eye on him as he appeared to be escalating.

At one point, Roggenkamp urged the deputy to handcuff his wife. When the deputy explained they were trying to get to the bottom of whether his wife had assaulted someone, Roggenkamp interrupted and yelled: "Okay, let’s f—ing go. Now!"

What we don't know:

It’s unclear whether he was urging the man behind the wheel to take off, or if he was simply trying to get the deputies to walk away.

He would later call one deputy fat, and another an f—ing amateur, while name-dropping a King County deputy.

An internal memo, obtained by FOX 13 Seattle's investigative team, highlighted 11 specific areas of concern between Roggenkamp’s behavior at the bar and during the traffic stop. However, it didn’t stop there.

Roggenkamp would drive to the King County jail and identify himself as a sergeant in an effort to get his wife released from custody. When that didn’t work, an employee indicated that he threatened to block off the access point of the facility.

As the memo explains, Roggenkamp would drive a vehicle "within approximately one hour of being observed by King County Deputies as being very intoxicated." Body camera footage shows Roggenkamp mixing up his words, before admitting: "I am drunk."

A sex toy prank

Dig deeper:

After an internal investigation looking into Roggenkamp’s actions on that night, a second issue was brought up: Roggenkamp was accused of attaching a dildo to a marked patrol car.

Investigative documents described that Roggenkamp was serving as the Mercer Island Police Department’s on-duty watch commander in late 2023 when he found a dildo in a Park-and-Ride lot.

Roggenkamp allegedly placed the toy on another officer’s car without their knowledge, resulting in the officer driving around the community for several hours with the dildo attached to the patrol car.

Text messages with pictures of the sex toy attached to the car were sent by Todd, with the message: "What’s up with the weird tactical antenna that [name redacted] was driving around with last night?"

Todd would later tell investigators that he thought it was funny, while admitting it was a bad idea. He claimed to have followed the officer during his stops to make sure he didn’t respond to a service call with the dildo attached.

Discipline for Roggenkamp

In lieu of termination, a last chance agreement was entered between the Mercer Island Police Department and Roggenkamp in January 2024.

Chief Ed Holmes, who has since left the department, wrote that the findings of an internal investigation were "extremely serious."

"I will give you one more chance to show that you are able to continue serving as a police officer," Holmes wrote. He outlined his expectations, and the 18 years of service Roggenkamp had at the time of the signing.

An email, phone calls and text messages were sent to Roggenkamp in an attempt to obtain a reaction to this story. Those messages, however, went unanswered.

The department told FOX 13 Seattle that it "investigates all reports of alleged officer misconduct thoroughly and swiftly."

Below is the full statement from Mercer Island Police:

"The Mercer Island Police Department investigates all reports of alleged officer misconduct thoroughly and swiftly. MIPD took immediate action related to this incident, and while we aren't able to publicly discuss the details of personnel processes, corrective action was taken. The Police Chief submitted the case to the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission for their certification review process.

"The trust placed in our department by our community is our greatest asset. The investigation process and independent review by the Criminal Justice Training Commission ensure any actions not meeting our highest standards for officer misconduct are addressed."

They also noted that the chief submitted the case to the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission for their certification review process; a process that has not yet wrapped up.

What's next:

Investigators at CJTC were given two separate instances of misconduct to review: the sex toy prank and the incident involving Roggenkamp’s behavior on the night of his arrest.

A spokesperson with CJTC told FOX 13 Seattle they closed the sex toy incident case over a lack of jurisdiction, noting: "While his conduct was a violation of agency policies, there was not enough evidence to sustain further action against his certification."

The other case, involving Roggenkamp lying to deputies, flashing his badge and various other instances derived from a night of drinking, remains under review by CJTC.

CJTC has a number of options on how they can respond, including revoking Roggenkamp’s certification, which would effectively end his employment with the Mercer Island Police Department. Police officers in Washington state require a certification through CJTC in order to be employed by law enforcement agencies within the state.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.