Seattle Police, I Think We Have a Problem
16 Jun 2010Trigger warning: the video below contains violence against an unarmed civilian teenager of color. There is also nsfw language.
It was only a month ago that video emerged showing a Seattle police officer brutally beating a Latino and using anti-Mexican slurs.
Now another video showing a Seattle Police Officer punching an unarmed teenager in the face during an attempt to restrain a group of young women for jaywalking. You know that horribly violent crime of jaywalking that ruins lives?
Take a look at the video:
Before all the pro-police haters come and say that the young unarmed woman had it coming to her, that she deserved to get punched in the face because she was resisting and “mouthing” off, and that she should consider herself lucky because she wasn’t shot, let’s remember that what started all of this was jaywalking. Not a threat to other members of the community.
According to Seattle officials:
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.
Let me guess, the girls probably said something along the lines of “why the fuck do we have to stop if we didn’t do anything wrong”.
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.
Now the 17 year old is in juvenile detention facing charges for assaulting an officer.
The officer? Not facing any charges.
P.S. I’m going to be very strict about comments on this so please watch your tone and language.
Hola!
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16 Responses to Seattle Police, I Think We Have a Problem
John
June 16th, 2010 at 5:58 pm
She’s resisting arrest. Big deal.
Police Guild Officer Did Nothing Wrong In Videotaped Punch » The News Tracker
June 16th, 2010 at 8:10 pm
[...] Seattle Police I Think We Have a Problem — VivirLatino [...]
Bryan J.
June 17th, 2010 at 7:06 am
She was resisting arrest, yet the situation should not have escalated. Jay walking shouldn’t be more than a citation; I’,m wondering if that punch resulted from the cop being embarrassed that he couldn’t get the cuffs on her.
The girl that got punched in the face. I dunno, you cannot put your hands on an officer.
Bryan J.
June 17th, 2010 at 7:08 am
Note that the guy in the background knew better; he tried to hold her back.
Maegan La Mala
June 17th, 2010 at 7:23 am
I really hesitate to use judgement words against a minor vs against a trained law enforcement professional. There had to have been a better option than a man punching an unarmed woman in the face.
Bryan J.
June 17th, 2010 at 7:33 am
Yeah, by not putting himself in a stupid situation in the first place. From my general understanding of the po-po,if a “mere” citizen is rude to them, they will give that person hell, even if it is the most minor offense possible.
It’s not worth arresting kids because they injured your pride. Kids are exactly what they are; they will mouth off to cops, or whatever authority figure, depending on the kid’s personality.
As to the disproportionate force, there is always the possibility that a person can grab the officer’s gun. And seattle is right nearby where just last year four cops were gunned down in a coffee shop. Probably not relevant, but maybe that has something to do with the jumpiness?
Sabina
June 17th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
this is disgusting. I think youre right Bryan, his male pride was clearly the issue here. If this had been a different minor in a different place, would he have felt so threatened?
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June 17th, 2010 at 6:47 pm
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Seattle Police Beating Up People of Color « The Czech
June 17th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
[...] June 17, 2010 in Human Rights, Race | Tags: assault, blacks, Latin@s, latinos, mexicans, POC, police, racial slur, seattle, Shandy Cobane, white police officers From VivirLatino: [...]
Bryan J.
June 20th, 2010 at 7:16 am
I read that the 17-year old that was punched had been arrested in the past for kicking an officer in the stomach. So, I think she knew what she was doing was going to get her arrested, if not punched in the face.
Diallo
June 21st, 2010 at 11:18 am
@Bryan J whether or not she had been arrested in the past has no bearing on the video in question. And your internet based forensic psychoanalysis is about as valid as me stating ‘I think the officer woke up that morning with the intent to brutalize unarmed blacks and browns’…
In terms of responsibility for appropriate conduct who should we hold more accountable, a minor not in possession of the full rights and privileges of someone the age of majority or an officer of the law whom we grant rights and privileges above and above the norm along with (theoretically) greater responsibility.
Maegan La Mala
June 21st, 2010 at 11:59 am
Bryan I hope that the subtext isn’t that she deserved what she got because her background, especially considering the way young women of color are criminalized.
Noemi
June 21st, 2010 at 3:46 pm
how does one know what they are doing will result in them getting punched in the face?
Bryan J.
June 21st, 2010 at 4:50 pm
Not by any means, la mala. The punch was disproportionate, no doubt.
Disregarding the dubious reasons for the stop in the first place(which is probably the central problem) it still remains that you can’t a. resist arrest or b. put hands on an officer.(well you can, but the odds are stacked against you).
@Diallo I’d never dare consider myself to partake in “internet-based forensic psychoanalysis”. Note that I said “she knew what she was going to do was going to get her arrested, if not punched in the face”.
I think it’s a fair conclusion(but could be wrong) that if an individual gets arrested for an act in the past, that individual will know in the future that a similar act will again get them arrested.(Not Punched) Now, I don’t know anything about her background, so it’d be presumptuous of me to further speculate. It could be wrong.
Maegan La Mala
June 22nd, 2010 at 8:07 am
So I guess my question would be, why can’t arrest be resisted? I mean I know that in trainings on dealing with the police peeps have been trained to not resist, to follow orders but if an arrest is unlawful to begin with why should there be an instant expectation of submission especially by people of color
Bryan J.
June 22nd, 2010 at 3:32 pm
This is purely from a practical perspective: if anyone who believes an arrest to be unlawful resists arrest, there is too much potential for the situation to escalate and lead to violence, by either the officer or resister.
Other than the practical reasons, if a cop is arbitrarily arresting someone, nothing wrong with resisting.