The Ferndale police officer who investigated complaints against Blaine city officials has issued a clarifying statement regarding one individual named in his October report.
Officer Richard Hart, in a December 1 follow-up to case 25F09556, stated that Geoffrey Baker “has no affiliation with Save Blaine and only limited, documented collaboration with Donna McGaffic in civic matters.” Baker also goes by the psydenoum Otto Pointer.
Hart’s original October 22 report concluded that complaints filed by McGaffic against Blaine Mayor Mary Lou Steward and police chief Rodger Funk were unfounded. The report also found that McGaffic and “associates” affiliated with Save Blaine had been “deliberately disruptive to the effective governance of the city of Blaine.”
In his December clarification, Hart acknowledged that “portions of the report’s closing language (specifically references to RCWs and the description of ‘associates’) may have unintentionally created the impression that Geoffrey Baker was suspected of criminal activity.”
Hart stated that Baker’s activities “have consisted exclusively of public records requests, complaints, appeals, and public comment concerning water resource protection, shoreline management, and ethics compliance.”
“No threats, unlawful communications, or criminal conduct by Geoffrey Baker were identified in the investigation,” Hart wrote.
Hart also emphasized that his assignment “was limited in scope” to reviewing allegations concerning Funk and Steward, and that other allegations referenced in his report “were outside the scope of my investigation and were not the subject of my findings.”
Baker filed a public records lawsuit against the city of Blaine last August. The two parties agreed a month later to dismiss the suit without prejudice, meaning the case could be reopened in the future.
