Systemic Misconduct and Constitutional Deprivation
The litigation filed in the Western District of Washington presents an exhaustive account of how municipal law enforcement allegedly failed to uphold fundamental constitutional guardrails for Bloom, an immigrant victim of gender-based violence. According to the complaint, the Lake Stevens Police Department engaged in a pattern of misconduct where the state not only failed to investigate credible reports of domestic and sexual violence but actively worked to discredit and silence Bloom and her children. Bloom asserts that this conduct constitutes a violation of her First, Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights, as well as a breach of mandatory reporting and investigative duties under Washington law.
Per the filed complaint, the department’s misconduct was punctuated by egregious failures to respond to emergency calls involving minor children. Specifically, the lawsuit references a March 2025 incident in which officers allegedly refused to interview a minor child who reported threats from his father, failing to fulfill the mandatory duty to report such allegations to Child Protective Services. This followed a broader history of investigative negligence, including the alleged mishandling of a 2020 rape report where officers reportedly delayed witness interviews and failed to investigate critical evidence. The complaint characterizes these actions as a "deliberate indifference" to the safety of victims and a reflection of a discriminatory culture that shielded white male abusers while treating immigrant survivors as suspects.
Demonstrating significant legal acumen regarding municipal liability, the lawsuit further alleges a series of Brady violations and the selective withholding of public records to obstruct the Bloom’s access to justice. The litigation asserts that law enforcement officers engaged in inappropriate legal coaching of the abuser and collaborated with court actors to undermine the Bloom’s custodial rights. By challenging both individual officer misconduct and the institutional policies that permitted it, this case seeks to hold the City of Lake Stevens accountable for fostering a dangerous environment for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
This case remains active and is currently pending in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.