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Fed's to look into Seattle Police Dept's use of Force

amlevin

amlevin

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http://heraldnet.com/article/20101121/NEWS03/711219842

Seems like the Federal Prosecutor for Western Washington is finally noticing a "pattern" in Seattle PD's use of force. With the recent kicking incident, as well as the shooting of John Williams, there apparently a pattern emerging.

Perhaps she will have her people look into the overall tendency in the "Puget Sound" area to apply both physical as well as deadly force in what appears to be increasing frequency and sometimes in questionable circumstances.
 
O

oneeyeross

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amlevin said:
http://heraldnet.com/article/20101121/NEWS03/711219842

Seems like the Federal Prosecutor for Western Washington is finally noticing a "pattern" in Seattle PD's use of force. With the recent kicking incident, as well as the shooting of John Williams, there apparently a pattern emerging.

Perhaps she will have her people look into the overall tendency in the "Puget Sound" area to apply both physical as well as deadly force in what appears to be increasing frequency and sometimes in questionable circumstances.
Click to expand...

This isn't a bad thing, even if they find nothing wrong. It is never bad to shine a light on the actions of the police. If they haven't done anything wrong, great. That is how things should be. If they have, it is good to have it out in the open, punish those that need punishing and train those who need trained.

Sometimes good things happen for no apparent reason - and sometimes it takes a while for a pattern to emerge.
 
Beretta92FSLady

Beretta92FSLady

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Can anyone say: Fox guarding the hen house!

The FED's or the government in general wants to do something about this, ZERO tolerance policy, you commit an assault against a citizen, your fired. I think all LEO's should be reminded, they are there to serve the community, not make moral judgments about the scummbags they arrest or the suspects they track down...who have been known to turn out innocent.
 
sudden valley gunner

sudden valley gunner

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Beretta92FSLady said:
Can anyone say: Fox guarding the hen house!

The FED's or the government in general wants to do something about this, ZERO tolerance policy, you commit an assault against a citizen, your fired. I think all LEO's should be reminded, they are there to serve the community, not make moral judgments about the scummbags they arrest or the suspects they track down...who have been known to turn out innocent.
Click to expand...

+1 but use what ever agency we can to our advantage when we are able to.
 
Beretta92FSLady

Beretta92FSLady

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Don't get me wrong, I realize that their job is stressful and they deal with bastages every day. But they should treat people with dignity and respect. When they don't, it creates a rift between them and the community. If they want to be effective at their job, they need to connect with the community again...it's all up to them.
 
Leatherneck

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oneeyeross said:
This isn't a bad thing, even if they find nothing wrong. It is never bad to shine a light on the actions of the police. If they haven't done anything wrong, great. That is how things should be. If they have, it is good to have it out in the open, punish those that need punishing and train those who need trained.
Click to expand...

1++
 
amzbrady

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The feds should be inspecting EVERY force in America for any injustice. I tend to wonder sometimes as I watch the show COPS, how many others are cringing at the illegal search and siezures, and tresspassing as a cop opens the door and walks in someones home. I think its a pandemic of over empowerment.
 
Beretta92FSLady

Beretta92FSLady

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amzbrady said:
The feds should be inspecting EVERY force in America for any injustice. I tend to wonder sometimes as I watch the show COPS, how many others are cringing at the illegal search and siezures, and tresspassing as a cop opens the door and walks in someones home. I think its a pandemic of over empowerment.
Click to expand...


One of many bad things about COPS is that it gives the impression that what the officers are doing on television is legal. I have seen many COPS episodes where the officers just pull a car full of people over for no reason, take them out of their car, search all of them, search the car, then let them go, telling them to have a good night.

The average idiot American sits down for thirty minutes, watches these episodes and thinks that nobody is having their rights infringed on.
 
xxx.jakk.xxx

xxx.jakk.xxx

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amzbrady said:
The feds should be inspecting EVERY force in America for any injustice. I tend to wonder sometimes as I watch the show COPS, how many others are cringing at the illegal search and siezures, and tresspassing as a cop opens the door and walks in someones home. I think its a pandemic of over empowerment.
Click to expand...


They do A LOT that shouldn't be OK on COPS. It baffles me that attorneys don't just sit there, waiting for the new episode of cops so that they can get new clients. It seems they would win a lot of cases and have a lot of money.
 
amzbrady

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Beretta92FSLady said:
One of many bad things about COPS is that it gives the impression that what the officers are doing on television is legal. I have seen many COPS episodes where the officers just pull a car full of people over for no reason, take them out of their car, search all of them, search the car, then let them go, telling them to have a good night.

The average idiot American sits down for thirty minutes, watches these episodes and thinks that nobody is having their rights infringed on.
Click to expand...

Biggest problem I have with the show COPS is the ones on camera, become the accuser, judge and jury, then go on to commit a bigger crime than the crime that their prisoner has commited. All to be viewed by all. What is very disturbing to me, is how few notice this, and cheer the cops on while they commit offense after offense with extreme force.
 
amlevin

amlevin

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Beretta92FSLady said:
One of many bad things about COPS is that it gives the impression that what the officers are doing on television is legal. I have seen many COPS episodes where the officers just pull a car full of people over for no reason, take them out of their car, search all of them, search the car, then let them go, telling them to have a good night.

The average idiot American sits down for thirty minutes, watches these episodes and thinks that nobody is having their rights infringed on.
Click to expand...

xxx.jakk.xxx said:
They do A LOT that shouldn't be OK on COPS. It baffles me that attorneys don't just sit there, waiting for the new episode of cops so that they can get new clients. It seems they would win a lot of cases and have a lot of money.
Click to expand...

amzbrady said:
Biggest problem I have with the show COPS is the ones on camera, become the accuser, judge and jury, then go on to commit a bigger crime than the crime that their prisoner has commited. All to be viewed by all. What is very disturbing to me, is how few notice this, and cheer the cops on while they commit offense after offense with extreme force.
Click to expand...

Morris said:
And yet, so few here are willing to invest a few hours to ride along with their local agency to see how things really happen on a shift . . . or about how things really happen.
Click to expand...

Not to mention that "COPS" is taped in many different States and Jurisdictions. Laws are different in areas outside Washington. We don't have a "stop and identify" statute but many States do, therefore what WE think is illegal HERE is perfectly legal THERE.
 
V

Vandal

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Morris said:
And yet, so few here are willing to invest a few hours to ride along with their local agency to see how things really happen on a shift . . . or about how things really happen.
Click to expand...

There is also a TON of editing done on COPS. Traffic stops with a search don't take the 5-7 minutes we see on TV. The show edits the boring stuff and shows the viewers only the action and interesting parts.

I highly recommend that everyone on here sign up and go for a ride along with their local PD, watch and ask questions, but not be confrontational or a civil rights attorney during the ride. You will learn a lot about what happens on the other side of the badge.

With regards to the issues of Seattle PD and others in the area, to include Spocompton, it is about time that someone looks into what is happening. WA cops seem to have some use of force and power trip problems and I suspect that those issues begin in initial training. The Feds should start looking at what takes place in the Academy then move out from there.
 
amlevin

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Vandal said:
With regards to the issues of Seattle PD and others in the area, to include Spocompton, it is about time that someone looks into what is happening. WA cops seem to have some use of force and power trip problems and I suspect that those issues begin in initial training. The Feds should start looking at what takes place in the Academy then move out from there.
Click to expand...


Funny, but I was sharing that same thought with my wife the other day. Most PD's in Washington, to my knowledge, use the "Academy" for training their new officers. On the other hand, the State Patrol uses their own academy. I don't see the same type of complaints reported against State Troopers. Yes, they have different missions but traffic stops and subsequent arrests definitely do offer opportunities for abuse, just like the rest of law enforcement activities. Look at OC incidents. Troopers are good with it and it appears that it's the "Academy Graduates" that have the most issues re: Open Carry.
 
V

Vandal

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They all use the Burien or when the budget allows the Spokane Academies. WSP is the only WA LEA to use their own. The federal cops go to FLETC.

I believe that it truly is a training issue at the most basic level and in Field Training. That is when prejudices are ingrained into the cops and that is exactly where the investigators need to be looking. It needs to be matched with follow on training through out their careers with a heavy focus on the same Constitutionally based rights that the men and women behind the badge are sworn to uphold and protect. Too bad it won't happen that way.

I also believe that the individual state culture has a large part to play in how cops are trained. Using gun rights and OC as an example, just look at how dead the Idaho board is compared to ours. Idaho has a much stronger and more visible gun culture than Washington and the people are mostly used to it. WA cops seem to be trained that guns are bad, whereas in ID they are just part of life.
 
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protias

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SE, WI
amlevin said:
Funny, but I was sharing that same thought with my wife the other day. Most PD's in Washington, to my knowledge, use the "Academy" for training their new officers. On the other hand, the State Patrol uses their own academy. I don't see the same type of complaints reported against State Troopers. Yes, they have different missions but traffic stops and subsequent arrests definitely do offer opportunities for abuse, just like the rest of law enforcement activities. Look at OC incidents. Troopers are good with it and it appears that it's the "Academy Graduates" that have the most issues re: Open Carry.
Click to expand...
Well, depending on your state, you may have a complaint against state patrol. I've complained against 3 officers for WI, and soon to file complaints against 3 IL state patrol officers.
 
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