“momusradar
eattle police guild defends officer’s punchFrom the AP report posted at the Seattle Times on a police officer who punched a 17-year-old woman in the face after she became confrontational about receiving a ticket for jaywalking:
Seattle Police Officers Guild President Rich O’Neil says an officer was justified in punching a young woman who shoved him in a dispute over jaywalking.
O’Neil told KCPQ-TV that punching the woman in the face was an appropriate use of force as the officer struggled with two women and a crowd formed. O’Neil says it’s wrong to call the punch police brutality or racist.
First off, a judge will make a ruling on the officer’s actions.
Secondly, while the judge may rule in favor of the officer, it would be rather shocking if said judge does not find the officer’s actions excessive. The COPS Office, in the U.S. Department of Justice, has a page dedicated to the Use of Force. It notes:
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) in Data Collection on Police Use of Force, states that “…the legal test of excessive force…is whether the police officer reasonably believed that such force was necessary to accomplish a legitimate police purpose…” However, there are no universally accepted definitions of “reasonable” and “necessary” because the terms are subjective. A court in one jurisdiction may define “reasonable” or “necessary” differently than a court in a second jurisdiction. More to the point is an understanding of the “improper” use of force, which can be divided into two categories: “unnecessary” and “excessive.” The unnecessary use of force would be the application of force where there is no justification for its use, while an excessive use of force would be the application of more force than required where use of force is necessary.”
Seattle officer punches girl in face during jaywalking stop
KOMO-TV STAFF
Seattle police are investigating what they call an assault of an officer in South Seattle. However, a police officer is seen punching a 17-year-old girl in the face during the incident captured by a video camera on Monday.
According to Seattle police, the incident began when an officer spotted a man jaywalking in the 3100 block of Martin Luther King, Jr. Way S. at approximately 3:10 p.m. The man was some 15 feet away from a pedestrian overpass, police said.
The officer was talking to the man when he saw four young women jaywalk across the same street at the same spot. The officer asked the women to step over to his patrol car, but the women were being “verbally antagonistic toward the officer,” according to officials.
One of the women, later identified as a 19 year old, began to walk away from the scene despite the officer’s instructions, prompting the officer to walk over to her and escort her back to his patrol car.
The girl then “began to tense up her arm, and pull away from the officer while yelling at him,” investigators said. The officer told the girl to place her hands on his patrol car, but she refused. When the officer tried to grab hold of her, “she pulled away and twisted, breaking free of the officer’s grip several times,” the blotter report said.
When the officer tried to handcuff the girl, another girl, this one 17 years old, intervened and placed her hands on the officer’s arm, “causing the officer to believe she was attempting to physically affect the first subject’s escape,” police said.
The officer pushed back the second girl, but the girl came back at him. The officer then punched her, police said.
The officer then handcuffed the 19-year-old woman. Other officers arrived and helped handcuff the second girl.
Both teens were cited for jaywalking. The older suspect was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of obstructing an officer. The 17-year-old girl was booked into the Youth Service Center for investigation of assault of an officer.
Nobody was injured during the incident, police said.
Seattle police have not reviewed the video of the incident. Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said investigators may review the video on Tuesday.
Whitcomb said the officer involved in the incident sent out a call for help, prompting other officers to rush to his aid.
All use of force on the job is reviewed, Whitcomb said, as use of force is under the officer’s discretion. He added that punching is a trained tactic.
“There will be a thorough investigation into this incident,” he said.
A Seattle Police officer punched a teenage girl in the face after she shoved him during a confrontation Monday afternoon that was captured by a witness on video.
The video shows an unnamed officer trying to control the hands of a 19-year-old woman. A 17-year-old girl appears to try and break his grip. The 17-year-old then pushes the officer away. The officer responds by punching her in the face.
Seattle Police spokesman Sean Whitcomb said he had not seen the video late Monday but the officer’s report made clear he was trying to gain control of a potentially explosive situation. It developed after the officer saw the two teenagers jaywalking, police said.
A large crowd had gathered on Martin Luther King Jr. Way South and “I do know we had verbally hostile people at the scene, and at least two people who were being physical,” Whitcomb said. “Every officer will handle a situation differently depending on what they see and what they perceive.”
Full Video/Audio:Slow Motion Video:
Whitcomb said punching is part of the repertoire of techniques officers are taught to use when a situation gets unruly. Police said the officer in this case believed one teenager was “attempting to physically effect the first subject’s escape.”
The two young women were both arrested - one on charges of obstructing an officer, the other on investigation of assault on an officer, according to police.
The arrests come seven weeks after a high-profile incident in which two officers were caught on video kicking and stomping a prone robbery suspect. One officer kicked the man while he was lying on the sidewalk and shouted, “I’m going to beat the [expletive] Mexican piss out of you, homey. You feel me?” Officers later let the man go after they realized he was the wrong person.
Police said Monday’s incident began about 3:10 p.m. when the officer was driving north along Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The officer saw an 18-year-old man jaywalk across the busy street about 15 feet from a pedestrian overpass. After the officer stopped the man, he saw four women jaywalk at the same location and ordered them to come over to his patrol car, police reports say. At that point, the women became verbally antagonistic, and one turned and began walking away, police said.
When the officer approached her and began escorting her back to his car, the report says, she tensed and pulled away, ignoring his order to put her hands on the patrol car. By then, a crowd had gathered. Police said the officer then began trying to handcuff her.
After the officer punches her, a witness in the crowd can be heard exclaiming “Are you serious? Are you serious?” Another man in the crowd finally pulls the 17-year-old away from the officer. The officer continues to wrestle with the 19-year-old for a few minutes before finally handcuffing her and placing her in his car. He also later arrested the woman he had punched. Whitcomb said no one was seriously hurt, and he didn’t see anything in the officer’s report that would suggest he handled the situation inappropriately.
“Officers are confronted with different situations all the time,” Whitcomb said.
Community Outraged Over Incident Where Police Officer Punches Black Teen In The Face by Chris B. Bennett The Seattle Medium
Originally posted 6/16/2010
Members of the African American community woke up appalled and angered by the images of a young Black female being punched in the face by a Seattle Police officer.
The video, aired on KOMO 4 TV, shows Seattle Police Officer Ian Walsh punching the Black teen in her face while struggling to handcuff another Black female.
The incident began, according to police reports, as the officer had stopped a young Black male for jaywalking across Martin Luther King, Jr. Way just south of the intersection of Rainier Avenue and MLK. The officer was explaining to the young man the need to use the pedestrian overpass that runs over the busy intersection instead of jaywalking. Then four young women jaywalked across the street � admittedly to find out why their friend (the Black male) had been stopped by the officer. The officer then attempted to stop the four females for jaywalking and gather their information in order to issue a verbal warning or a citation, when one of the females, age 19, began walking away. The officer told her that she was required to identify herself so he could issue her a citation, and if she refused to do so she would be arrested for obstruction. At this point, Walsh indicates that the young woman continued to walk away. Walsh then walked up to the young lady and �took hold of her upper left arm with his right hand,� and according to Walsh�s report she tensed up and began to resist.
The video shows the officer struggling with the young lady for some time, and then her friend steps in and attempts to help separate the other young lady from the officer. After she steps in and pushes the officer, the officer steps back, looks at the young lady, strides towards her and punches her in the face.
�It�s appalling to me to see this,� said Rev. Robert Jeffrey, Sr. pastor of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church of the video. �If a man had done this in their home we would have put him under the jail.�
�The police walk around like they are exempt from the basic rules of decency and honor, if this is honor then we have sunk to the lowest level in this city,� added Jeffrey.
Nicole Gaines, president of the Loren Miller Bar Association was equally disturbed by the video and the actions of the officer.
�It troubles me that an officer, who is trained, could allow a jaywalking incident to escalate into an incident where force and violence were used,� said Gaines. �He is the adult in this situation. He is trained to make sure that incidents like a jaywalking incident doesn�t escalate into violence.�
According to SPD, the incident will be reviewed by both internal affairs and a civilian review. However, they did indicate that the girls were being �verbally antagonistic� towards the officer, and that the 17-year-old girl intervened while Walsh was attempting to place the other teen in handcuffs and placed her hands on him causing the officer to believe that she was attempting to physically help the other teen to escape. SPD alleges that Walsh pushed back the second girl, but the girl came back at him, and Walsh then punched her.
�The provocation by this 17-year-old kid may have presented a confrontation situation, but the use of violence in the form of a full punch in the face was just plain wrong,� said James Kelly, President and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle. �We thought the Police would have learned lessons about overreacting to non-violent situations based on the recent incident involving a Hispanic youth a month ago.�
�Our police should be thinking that overreaction to a non-violent situation is a last resort � not the standard practice,� continued Kelly. �One can only wonder what would have happened if the video had not been made.�
However, SPD was not convinced that the officer handled the situation incorrectly.
�The issue we have to investigate is whether the force he used is reasonable given the combative resistance he was facing,� said Assistant Seattle Police Chief Nick Metz. �We�re not going to pass judgment on that until the matter has been thoroughly investigated.�
According to Metz, Walsh will be transferred to SPD�s training section.
�The officer is going to be transferred to the training section for a few days to review the tactics that he�s been taught,� Metz said.
While the police indicate that they�ve been proactive in reaching out to the African American Community, African American leaders want action and accountability.
�At this time our community seems to be in an abusive relationship with law enforcement,� says Seattle/King County NAACP president James Bible. �We�re living in a hostile environment for people of color, and a hostile environment for people in poverty.�
�We know that jaywalking is not an arrestable offense,� said Harriett Walden with Mothers for Police Accountability. �They [the police] are our employees, they are not volunteers. And I didn�t like how they used my money yesterday. I want to see him fired.�
�This was an appalling act of injustice,� said pastor Reggie Witherspoon of Mt. Cavalry Christian Center. �There is no way it can be looked at as proper behavior and we are demanding that something be done about it.�
Both teens were cited for jaywalking. The 19-year-old was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of obstructing an officer. The 17-year-old girl was booked into the Youth Service Center for investigation of assault of an officer.
//
Do you think the Seattle Police Officer was justified to throw a punch?
A police agency earns respect by being transparent, answerable and accountable to the people. The Department is held accountable by a variety of measures, including the Office of Professional Accountability, the Firearms Review Board, CALEA Accreditation Standards and the Department’s mission, training practices and policies.
OFFICE OF PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY (OPA)
One of the key methods of ensuring accountability is through the Office of Professional Accountability (OPA). OPA provides civilian oversight to the Department’s internal investigation process. Every complaint, concern or question brought to the OPA is documented within the investigation section.
For a large department dealing on an annual basis with thousands of individuals, reports of crime, accidents and response calls to 9-1-1, there are only a small number of complaints received every year.
kingmix
June 17, 2010 at 10:11 am
http://www.seattle.gov/police/accountability/
SETTING HIGH STANDARDS
A police agency earns respect by being transparent, answerable and accountable to the people. The Department is held accountable by a variety of measures, including the Office of Professional Accountability, the Firearms Review Board, CALEA Accreditation Standards and the Department’s mission, training practices and policies.
OFFICE OF PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY (OPA)
One of the key methods of ensuring accountability is through the Office of Professional Accountability (OPA). OPA provides civilian oversight to the Department’s internal investigation process. Every complaint, concern or question brought to the OPA is documented within the investigation section.
The OPA releases numerous public reports on a variety of subjects. These reports are available at: http://www.seattle.gov/police/OPA/Publications.htm
For a large department dealing on an annual basis with thousands of individuals, reports of crime, accidents and response calls to 9-1-1, there are only a small number of complaints received every year.