Search Results for: node/SSCC Seattle

SSCC #234–Seattle PD

But criminal defense attorney James Egan never expected the city would preemptively sue him just for asking for police dash cam video.

Wait, the city is suing him for requesting public records.  Well maybe he was just pestering them with BS requests.

The situation involves two cases Egan handled pro bono. He believed the videos in each case show officer misconduct. Egan wanted to know if those officers had other questionable arrests, so he asked for 36 additional dash-cam videos.

Seattle PD is arguing that they are caught in the privacy law, what fails me though is these videos are a matter of public record.  There are admissible in court as evidence.  The only reason I know of privacy laws being involved is if the victim has been sexually assaulted.  But then we see the real motivation behind these efforts.  It has nothing to do with protecting the privacy of the public and everything to do with protecting their corrupt police officers.

The city argues it doesn’t have to release any videos for three years. That also happens to be when the statute of limitations runs out for suing the city and, as a KOMO News investigation discovered, it is also when dash-cam videos are routinely erased from the system.

Wonder why they don’t have to release videos until after the statute of limitations?  Could it be a game of cover your ass kids?  Remember this is the same department who shot someone in the back.  This also isn’t their first rodeo in the count either.  Three or more times is enemy action. 

State Sponsored Criminal Count 234: Pete Holmes

Because when an officer beats someone, hold on to the video and delay it until it no longer matters.

SSCC #282–Seattle

They just can’t stop, and this time they’re using your tax money to help shield them.

The department believes a public records fight over thousands of dash cam videos could carry a heavy price tag this year, according to the city’s own internal documents.

Well how bad could it be?

The department has already paid out more than $100,000, and this year it expects the amount to nearly triple with a projected loss of at least $300,000.

They’ve already been slapped before regarding this but they keep coming back because suppressing video is the cornerstone which protects their hired goons officers.  When video gets out, that’s when officers get caught.  Maybe they think they actually have a chance though and are justified.

Egan also discovered an email from the city attorney’s office about a lawsuit filed by KOMO News. We sued last fall after SPD refused a request for police videos. The email indicates the city believes its chances of winning the case after court appeals are less than 50 percent.

So in other words they’re spending money that isn’t theirs on a frivolous lawsuit to protect criminals hired by the state.

State Sponsored Criminal Count 282: Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes

Because the job of the City Attorney is to waste taxpayer dollars protecting the state’s hired goons who terrorize those same taxpayers.

SSCC #286 – Seattle

This is unsurprising given the how the City and PD have been attempting to prevent the release of these dash cams.  What is doubly entertaining though is this:

So what did the officers claim they were doing? De-escalating the situation. That’s right. During an investigation by SPD’s Office of Professional Accountability, according to documents obtained by SW, the officers claimed that that Oregon and Perez were “obvious gang-bangers.” (See pdf of OPA’s summary findings.) Officer Corey Williams explained further:

Yeah, de-escalate doesn’t mean what they think it means.  Where I’m from they were escalating the situation to provide a better reason for the use of force.

I could tick it more than one but right now I feel like crap and this is my second time writing this pile of garbage.*

State Sponsored Criminal Count 286: Officer Brett Schoenberg

Because when you’re telling someone you’ll beat the crap out of them and skull fuck them, you’re really saying just calm down!

via Uncle

*WinXP auto rebooted after an update and Windows Live Writer didn’t keep my previous post.  While sick that means this post becomes double abbreviated.

Yesterday’s Missing Post for Seattle

So yesterday Ry emailed me another incident from Seattle PD.  I didn’t get around to blogging it and forgot about it until today.

There was at least a reprimand from this incident, though there are some serious questions this brings up.

Now we’ve found a chilling case that started as a simple traffic stop that could happen to any one of us. Only this time the dash cam video of the incident was shown to a man’s boss, jeopardizing his very livelihood.

Now why is that so significant, they showed the video to his boss and then did the following.

KOMO 4 News is suing the Seattle Police Department after the department denied our requests for other videos similar to Miller’s stop. Citing privacy laws, the department has denied us copies of any videos less than three years old. Yet the officer who stopped Miller didn’t hesitate to show damaging video to Miller’s boss at school, jeopardizing his job.

Think about that for a second, they’re more than willing to attempt to use that evidence in their favor to ruin your life, but the second they might be held accountable they will refuse citing privacy.

Go read the story, my only real comment is this:

Never, get you of your car during a traffic stop unless you are instructed to do so.  That said, the reaction by the officers was a bit over the top, especially given the number of them on scene.  Overall this was just a bad incident, though this statement right here is telling about the attitude from Seattle PD.

Seattle Police Department Spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said officers respond to over 1,000 calls a day and get 99.99 percent of them right.

And the law exists Mr. Whitcomb to protect the innocent and when you screw up it’s a big freaking deal because you have violated the rights of someone.  As such you should have a boot put up your ass.  If you can’t take the time or be bothered to strive for 100% accuracy you’re in the wrong damn line of work.

SSCC #330 – BATFEieio

This one came across the wire this weekend.

A felon with a lengthy history of violence against women, Jackson was
sentenced to 10 years in prison April 13 for sexually abusing an
18-year-old woman and holding her against her will for days inside a
cheap South Seattle motel last year. The woman told investigators
Jackson forced her to audition for a porn film and at one point choked
her so hard she almost lost consciousness.

What does this have to do with the ATF I hear you ask?  Quite simple really.

For all of this, the 34-year-old Jackson would be just another
habitual criminal except for one startling fact: He was working the
entire time as a paid informant for the Seattle office of the federal
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The agency made Jackson an informant even though he had come out of
prison early last year with a documented reputation as a violent,
mentally unstable inmate who had been arrested in nearly every state and
posed a serious threat to law-enforcement officers.

It’s so good we have geniuses like the ATF around to protect the innocent and law abiding.  Oh wait, they criminalize ownership of inanimate objects.  Their sole purpose is to make criminals out of as many people as possible.  The upshot of hiring thugs like Jackson is it helps intimidate people into compliance.

Besides, as Ry, this was the result of the geniuses behind Gunwalker recognizing their own talent.  Normally one needs to be an officer to make the count, but I’m making an exception due to the egregious nature of the crimes committed and the sponsorship by the ATF.

State Sponsored Criminal Count 330: Joshua Allan Jackson (Sponsored by the Seattle ATF Office)

Because sometimes it’s better to just hire your thugs from prison and put them on the payroll as an informant.  That way when they’re caught abusing an 18 year old girl, plausible deniability is that much easier.

SSCC Honorable Mention–Houston

A Houston police officer shot and killed a one-armed, one-legged man in a wheelchair Saturday inside a group home after police say the double amputee threatened the officer and aggressively waved a metal object that turned out to be a pen.

Like Tam said, I prefer to avoid Monday morning quarter backing, which actually is kind of hard at times with this series because one side tells a story and the other side usually refuses to say anything.  This case though has some serious red flags.  Flags that wave as prominently as this incident with the Seattle PD.

"It was close quarters in the area of the house," Silva said. "The officer was forced into an area where he had no way to get out."

In other words the officer was incompetent, placed himself in a position where he either closed the distance to an aggressor, or he let the aggressor place him in a position with no ability to withdraw.  Both of which are failures on the officers part.

This is merely an honorable mention because there is no indication that the officer was intending this outcome, then again there wasn’t with the Seattle PD incident.  This however was in a building instead of outside where the interaction was much more open and the Seattle officer had many more options at his disposal.

State Sponsored Criminal Honorable Mention: Officer Matthew Jacob Marin

Because when you’re responding to the scene of someone who has been known to get a little off kilter, by all means close distance with him and let him back you in a corner.  Sure it will be self-defense, but no one will second guess your negligence and how it contributed to the death of another.*

h/t Tam 

*There are times where the SHTF and it just goes south.  It is extremely difficult for me to believe that negligence wasn’t a factor in this case.  My suspicion is Officer Barney Fife here was complacent because “it’s a dude in a wheel chair” and just ditched the initiative.  His OODA loop response time was lacking because of it.

Accountabilibuddyable: Seattle Honorable Mention (2/28/2012)

This isn’t a true accountabilibuddy but it deserves serious recognition. 

A King County judge has ruled that the names of Seattle police officers
who are disciplined for misconduct may be released under
public-disclosure requests.

….

Superior Court Judge Dean Lum, citing the public’s right to know the
names, handed down his ruling after listening to arguments from the city
and the guild. His decision comes at time when the Police Department is
under intense scrutiny, particularly after the U.S. Justice Department
found late last year that officers had routinely used excessive force on
citizens.

I run the State Sponsored Criminal Count specifically to help shed light on bad behavior.  Why?  Because light is a natural disinfecting which helps curtail bad behavior.  Currently the police are protected in so many ways that they are immune from any consequences.  If you are proud of your job and what you do you stand up and receive praise right.  Just the same if you screw up you serve as an example for others.  Besides, the fact that it’s publicly available will make that officer think twice in the future less his fun be exposed as a ongoing problem with a history.

So, with that, Superior Court Judge Dean Lum, Thank you.  Thank you for not caving to police pressure and reinforcing the law as written.  Thank you for making sure light can find those who need disinfectant the most.

Because not everyone thinks that you need so many protections to do your job effectively.

It Can’t Happen Here–Seattle, WA

It may be the 21st century, but hate crime still exists.  Whether it is by
color of one’s skin or one’s gender orientation, there are still people out
there that have a problem with it and will act out.  No matter where you live it
can happen.  Be it college
campuses
or large,
seemingly progressive cities
, no place is immune.

“It
feels like a violation,” said Evans, “feels really shocking because you don’t
think things like this happen anymore, especially in Seattle,
Washington.”

It really sucks that this happened and I hope the party responsible gets
caught, but you are living in a dream world if you think it can’t or won’t
happen here.

Just because you think something has been relegated to the dustbin of history, you can still have some asshat trying to revive it.