Fire marshal relieved of duties

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,” said Department of Community Development Assistant Director Jim Bolger. “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 county’s Department of Human Resources.

Bolger said that permitting supervisor Randy Law will assume 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 are currently no plans to transfer the case to an independent prosecutor.

According to a Kitsap County Sheriff’s report, officers were dispatched at 1 a.m. on Jan. 31 to a Pineridge Drive Northeast 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 alleged that Crawley had abused her for six months, obtained a

Comment on this story.

COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in our online community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. In a nutshell, don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.