A Bremerton police officer is on administrative leave pending an internal investigation by the department. The Bremerton Patriot has learned that the officer in question is Lawrence Green.

Bremerton Police Chief Steve Strachan confirmed Nov. 4 that an internal affairs investigation is underway, but would not name the officer.

“An officer is on administrative leave and we’re conducting an IA as we speak,” Strachan said. “I think that’s about all I can tell you.”

Strachan said he was hesitant to go any further because the investigation is not complete.

“I’m hesitant to get into that,” Strachan said. “The only reason I’m hesitant to do that is I don’t want to characterize anything one way or the other because the investigation is to determine what happened and we don’t know either way.”

Kitsap County Prosecutor Russ Hauge said he was informed about the investigation, but has very little information about it at this point.

“We do have notice of an internal investigation by the Bremerton Police Department of an officer for things that go to his truthfulness,” Hauge said.

Hauge added that despite a lack of specifics, his office is required to inform defense attorneys in pending criminal cases about the investigation.

“Procedurally, we are obligated to inform the defense of what we know about it in a situation like this, even if that is very little,” he said. “I don’t know how this is going to turn out for the officer. But, even if it’s very sketchy, if the person is potentially going to be a witness in a case, we have to notify the defense.”

Efforts by the Patriot to reach Green for comment were unsuccessful. Green has been an officer with the Bremerton Police Department since July 2007, according to Bremerton Human Resources Manager Charlotte Belmore.