Seattle Police Chief John Diaz answered questions on KUOW radio this morning in the wake of an incident outside BalMar involving an off-duty police officer who appeared to stomp on the head of a handcuffed suspect — which was caught on video from the responding officer’s patrol car (58 seconds in):
Diaz said it all began when the off-duty officer was assaulted while investigating the apparent theft of his coat. “Officers arrived on the scene. They separated everyone. They saw something that did not look right to them,” he said. “They immediately contacted their supervisor the very next morning. That went to the Office of Police Accountability — the way the system is supposed to work.”
The chief said he saw the video, but didn’t describe his impressions. A statement released a few days ago by Seattle Police said the off-duty officer “made physical contact with one of the three handcuffed subjects.” The investigating officers then separated the off-duty officer from the suspects laying on the ground.
When asked about the rash of recent incidents involving allegations of police overstepping their bounds, Diaz said officers make 500,000 to 600,000 stops a year in Seattle. “I’m putting officers in harms way every day, and I’m telling them we have to get it right 100 percent of the time. That’s what we’re all demanding. That’s what I’m demanding.”
In the Ballard incident, which happened in December but just came to light last week, the off-duty office is identified in court papers (.pdf) as Garth Haynes. He’s been reassigned while a criminal investigation is underway.
See also: Seattle Police statement (.pdf) | Mayor McGinn statement (.pdf)
Question: if Haynes was not a cop, and the police responded to a bar brawl, would he not have been cuffed and arrested immediately after stomping the head of someone? I’m asking seriously. Would the responding officers extend the same treatment to me if I had been beat up, then took a shot once my attackers were in cuffs?
No, you would not have been allowed the same.
It is the most glaring example of a lack of accountability here.
I applaud the officers that reported this incident, but they should have put bracelets on the drunk that assaulted a suspect at that time.
It does smack of favoritism, and right now, the department can’t tolerate that appearance. Period.
-sigh-
Seattle police are so inept they do not comprehend that their own car video cameras can be used against them. In addition, they don’t realize that someone can whip out a cellular phone and videotape them with the clip up on youtube within the hour. They really are oblivious of technology.
Time for SPD to do something drastic to reclaim the public confidence. Hooligans.
I posted this on the other thread, but I think it’s worth repeating here as well. KOMO interviewed the people involved and they paint a very different picture of what happened leading up to the handcuffing. I don’t doubt that somebody picked up this cops jacket and took it outside, but I doubt that it was anything more than an honest mistake that was escalated due to alcohol.
From KOMO (sorry no link as the comment then gets sent off to “awaiting moderation” purgatory forever.)
But according to a witness, the situation began inside the nightclub where Haynes and his friend tried to chat up the group of women she was with.
“They were a little too tipsy. They both had a little too much to drink, because they’re being a little too touchy-feely with some of the girls,” she said.
The women decided to leave when the bar became too crowded, the witness said, and gathered their jackets.
“I asked my sister (to) grab my jacket, reach across the table and grab all the coats off our table. Because it was our table – it was reserved – and all the stuff is ours, you know,” she said.
While the women were smoking outside, Haynes came charging at one of them, the witness said.
“My sister was approached by this gentleman, and he said, ‘You have my jacket,'” the woman said. “My sister was like, ‘Oh, sorry … Some of my friends were still in the bathroom … I thought it was their (my friends’) jacket, I apologize. Here’s your jacket.”
But that wasn’t the end of the situation, said the witness, as the man came back and accused her sister of stealing his jacket. He wouldn’t let up even when she explained she’d made an honest mistake, she said.
“He was like, ‘Nope, you stole my jacket. You stole my jacket. I’m a police officer. I’m arresting you,”‘ the witness said. “And we all look at him – including his buddy, the guy that was with him – and we’re all like, ‘Dude, just let it go. It’s not a big deal.’
“You can tell at that point that he’s belligerently drunk because he reeked of alcohol, and he was talking like he was belligerent drunk.”
The situation intensified when the man grabbed her sister’s arm and began pulling her, the witness said. When several of their male friends interfered, the witness said the man pulled out a police badge and a gun.
“And then the guy grabs his badge, opens his shirt, shows his badge and unbuckles the thing for his gun. Then (he) puts his hand on his gun and pulls it out, and puts it back in,” she said. “And this guy’s grabbing onto my sister. My sister had a bruise on her arm the next day. This guy was holding onto her for his dear life.”
The struggle had migrated to the middle of an intersection when three men appeared out of nowhere, the witness said.
“(They) start telling the cop to let her go, let her go,” she said. “He wasn’t having it. All of a sudden all hell breaks loose. It’s pouring rain out. Before I know it, I look behind me and these guys and the officer are fighting. And it was a full-on brawl.”
According to the statement, two of the men attacked Haynes, punching and kicking him, while the third attacked the officer’s friend. The three men claim they only attacked because they thought the woman needed help.
“They saw somebody they thought was in trouble. They attempted to help or intervene,” said Clary’s attorney, Tim Leary.
But it’s what happened after on-duty officers arrived and subdued the situation that landed Haynes at the center of a criminal investigation.
“Jake was doing what he was supposed to be doing, which was complying once uniformed officers arrived following their commands,” said Leary. “(The) officer came up, and the video speaks for itself.”
In a written statement, Seattle police said, “As the investigation commenced, the off-duty officer made physical contact with one of the three handcuffed subjects. The investigating officers prevented any further contact between the off-duty officer and his assailants.”
what kind of regulations exist for police officers, their firearms and consuming alcohol.
Seems like a bad case of an overly aggressive bully cop, drinking booze and pulling his gun.
Jesus.
I would expect ANY Seattle cop to put that individual in cuffs.
They pulled him away, at 1:01, knowing that they had witnessed an assault.
I’m no expert, but that individual was at minimum deserving of a drunk and disorderly citation, which is apparently now considered a ‘meathead’ ticket according to our Mayor.
They need to fire that officer, and Mr. Haynes, donate the ‘meathead’ ticket that you should have recieved to the Ballard Foodbank.
Double it if you have any shame, punk.
yep, seems pretty obvious here that the cop was out of control. to do that in a crowded nightlife atmosphere with witnesses all over is a really stupid act…
spd has some big problems, but kudos to the officers who amazingly reported the idiot drunk-guy cop.
I was under the impression that firearms were not allowed in places that serve alcohol. It would seem silly to assume that police are immune to the effects of alcohol and allowed to carry firearms into bars off-duty.
So, there are 500K to 600K “stops” per year. That means on any given day, there are approximately 1500 “stops”. Is this correct? If not, then I think chief Diaz has some splainin’ to do.
Perps give a different story then the cops. Boy, that is never happened before.
Four citizens tell one consistent version. A drunk cop tells another, then kicks a handcuffed person lying on the sidewalk. Video confirms the cops action.
I’m leaning more toward the story of the citizens, though I think the full truth will fall somewhere slightly in between.
One motorcycle cop will stop about a dozen cars in that one hour that they speedtrap Aurora.
There’s easily 1500 vagrants, a third of which get “interacted” daily.
There’s plenty of things to do in the south end, Capitol Hill, and up and down Aurora, so yeah, 1500 citywide sounds about right. Most of those are nothing more than a cop talking to someone and telling them to knock it off. I don’t think they’re arresting 1500 people or even writing 1500 tickets a day.
I wonder when they’re going to start pointing their cars in such a way as to NOT record what they’re doing.
While some street criminals deserve to get their asses kicked, but good, we are supposed to live by rule of law. The police are not supposed to act like judge, jury, and prosecutor, and then punish malefactors. Video cameras have changed the game. I got caught by a red light camera and got a ticket in the mail. The cops who get caught should have to pay for their mistakes, and then, maybe there wouldn’t be so many mistakes.
abc
While some street criminals deserve to get their asses kicked, but good, we are supposed to live by rule of law. The police are not supposed to act like judge, jury, and prosecutor, and then punish malefactors. Video cameras have changed the game. I got caught by a red light camera and got a ticket in the mail. The cops who get caught should have to pay for their mistakes, and then, maybe there wouldn’t be so many mistakes.
That wasn’t a stomp! It was a mild push. Just kind of a shove. A stomp involves actual force that would have bounced his head off the pavement.
Can you come over and lie on the sidewalk handcuffed in the rain for a while so we can run our own tests on the forces and impacts of a shove vs stomp? Great. Thanks.
Sure, next time I’m in a bar late at night, stealing jackets, I’ll be sure to contact you in order to experience your version of a stomp. Until then, I’ll just be at home minding my own business.
Great. See you Saturday night! I’ll bring my good stomping boots.