Ready, Fire, Aim! This has to stop. The destruction of someone in the court of opinion with no facts. The drive-by media and the disasters they leave in their wake have to end. Due diligence did not happen.
For Immediate Release April 11, 2018
Contact: Attorney Sheri Pewitt, Pewitt Law PLLC. Phone: 206.941.0009
Email:
[email protected]
Contact: Attorney Francisco Duarte, Fury Duarte PS. Phone: 425.643.1606
Email:
[email protected]
Alaska Airlines Captain Passes Lie Detector (Polygraph) Test Refuting Wrongful Accusation of Drugging and Raping a First Officer Colleague.
Seattle, WA - Captain Paul Engelien, the Alaska Airlines Captain accused of sexual assault on a layover trip, has taken a polygraph test and passed. The results refute First Officer Betty Pina’s claims—made in a lawsuit she filed against Alaska Airlines in Seattle, Washington—that the airline allowed the captain to drug and rape her and failed to hold the captain accountable after she reported the incident to airline officials.
Pina’s Alaska Airlines lawsuit and its unsubstantiated allegations are fueling social media’s ire against Captain Engelien, ruining his personal life and long aviator career.
For women who have suffered unconscionable acts of sexual abuse and harassment, the #MeToo movement is vitally important. For men who have conducted unforgiveable acts of sexual abuse, the #MeToo movement has helped bring their actions to light.
Unfortunately, it has also made it too easy to accuse any individual publicly, on social media, regardless of whether the information is true. In a time where social media is ever present, wrongfully accused individuals can sustain a damaged reputation in an instant, even when proven innocent. Careers are destroyed, families are torn apart, children become targets of bullying, and reputations are permanently ruined.
Probationary pilots, like First Officer Pina, who was on the job only 8 months, are subject to termination for violating company policies, including Alaska Airlines’ alcohol-consumption prohibition within ten hours of reporting for duty.
Captain Engelien, a 24-year Air Force veteran and a 22-year pilot for Alaska Airlines, has unequivocally denied that he drugged or raped Pina. The nationally certified polygraph examiner asked Captain Engelien the following questions pertaining to Pina’s allegations.
1. Besides alcohol, did you, yourself, give or administer any drug to Betty without her knowledge? No
2. Do you have memories of sexual contact with Betty, without her participation and consent? No
3. Did you physically force or coerce Betty to engage in sexual contact with you? No
A Lafayette LX-4000 computerized polygraph was used for this examination using a Zone format. The physiological responses were evaluated using standardized and accepted scoring techniques. Conclusions reached from this examination are a result of standard numerical scoring. Captain Engelien’s polygraph testing protocol followed the same standards used in law enforcement, including the FBI.
A sanitized blind scoring was conducted by another certified polygraph examiner, who is a member in good standing with the American Polygraph Association and Northwest Polygraph Association. That examiner’s results verified Captain Engelien’s test results.
Captain Engelien did not exhibit physiological reactions that would suggest deception or untruthfulness to any of the questions listed above. “Based upon a numerical evaluation of the polygrams produced, it is the professional opinion of this examiner that he was not attempting deception to these questions.”
“Examination Results: No Deception Indicated”
The examiner, a retired law enforcement officer, is Reid trained in interview and interrogation techniques. For the past fifteen years, he has administered polygraph examinations on a regular basis for police departments, treatment providers, private attorneys, public defenders, the Washington State Department of Corrections, and private citizens. He is trained and certified in both basic and advanced post-conviction sexual offender testing. He is a member of the American Polygraph Association, American Association of Police Polygraphists, and the Northwest Polygraph Examiners Association.
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