BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A former Ferndale Police officer is suing the City of Bellingham and two of their police officers for unlawful retaliation.

The lawsuit says that Bellingham Police Lt. Chad Cristelli and Officer Donald Almer ordered a SWAT team to serve a warrant against Michael Langton for a misdemeanor charge.

The suit claims the arresting BPD officers rushed an investigation outside of their jurisdiction in order to retaliate against Langton, who was employed as a Ferndale Police officer.

Langton was one of the Ferndale officers involved in arresting Lt. Cristelli’s son for child sex crimes. The son was found guilty and sentenced a month before Langton was arrested for a similar charge.

According to the suit, Almer in his report stated that he ordered the SWAT team because Langton was a police officer, had firearms and had been drinking at the time.

Charges against Langton were not pursued by the Whatcom County Prosecutor based on a lack of evidence. My Bellingham Now previously reported that Langton had been fired following the arrest in July of 2022.

The suit was filed in July 2024 in the U.S. District Court, with the timeline set for a jury trial in early 2026.