A KIRO Team 7 Investigation helped put a police chief on the other side of the law Thursday.

Fred Walser was Sultan's Police Chief until he retired a year ago.

He got a suspended jail sentence and community service at his sentencing Thursday. He'll also have to pay $20,000 to the city of Sultan.

Walser lied to State Patrol officers about an investigation into the Sultan Police department.

The criminal investigation into Walser started a year ago following an exclusive KIRO Team 7 Investigation into Walser's civilian office manager, Caroline Pepperell.

Pepperell's neighbors told Team 7 Investigators they believed she had used "police-only" databases to run criminal background checks on them for personal reasons. After the Team 7 Investigation investigation aired, the Washington State Patrol found that to be true, and Pepperell was fired for misconduct, dereliction of duty, improper use of police databases and the 911 call center, and willful failure to properly conduct herself.

Walser's attorney said the former police chief plans to run for State Senate.

Last year's Team 7 investigation led the state to take a close look at the Sultan Police Department.