City asks judge to dismiss 'Mexican piss' police lawsuit
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SEATTLE -- The city is asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit against Seattle Police officer Shandy Cobane, who infamously threatened to beat the "Mexican piss" out of a detained Latino man.
The April, 2010 incident touched off an intense racial controversy. It also has the city facing a lawsuit, but city attorneys are pushing back to make sure the suit never makes it to trial.
In a motion filed Wednesday, the city asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that Cobane's comment was meant to control a suspect, not to offend anyone.
It was the Cobane incident, which was caught on tape, that helped push forward a US Department of Justice investigation into the police department.
The man on the other end of the controversy, Martin Monetti, claims Cobane hurled racial slurs at him and kicked him in the head. But in new court documents asking a judge to dismiss the case, police insist Monetti was a robbery suspect and the language, though unprofessional, was used only to control him.
Representatives from the NAACP say racial slurs, for any reason, are unacceptable.
"I think the language that was used in this case was on many levels indefensible," said James Bible of the NAACP.
The city contends Monetti was never kicked, and they hired an expert to do a frame-by-frame analysis of the video. That expert says it was a "swipe move," which is a common police tactic.
In an email, Monetti's attorney says the case should be decided by a jury, not a video expert.
"I'm confident that the city's request to dismiss our case will be denied. As for the 'expert's' opinion about the video, it will be the decision of the jury, not the unreliable opinion of a hired expert from LAPD, whether Mr. Monetti was kicked in the head," Lorena Gonzales wrote in the email.
Some community members are appalled by the city's argument.
"What we saw was a police officer using a term a race term in such a way that he was really seeking to dominate and control," Bible said.
Bible said he is hopeful the city's motion will be denied and the case will go to trial.
"It's deeply disappointing that the city would suggest that on any level a statement based on race used to to control a person would be acceptable," he said.
Following the incident, Cobane was suspended for 30 days, which is the department's most severe penalty short of firing.
Monetti was never charged with a crime.
The April, 2010 incident touched off an intense racial controversy. It also has the city facing a lawsuit, but city attorneys are pushing back to make sure the suit never makes it to trial.
In a motion filed Wednesday, the city asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that Cobane's comment was meant to control a suspect, not to offend anyone.
It was the Cobane incident, which was caught on tape, that helped push forward a US Department of Justice investigation into the police department.
The man on the other end of the controversy, Martin Monetti, claims Cobane hurled racial slurs at him and kicked him in the head. But in new court documents asking a judge to dismiss the case, police insist Monetti was a robbery suspect and the language, though unprofessional, was used only to control him.
Representatives from the NAACP say racial slurs, for any reason, are unacceptable.
"I think the language that was used in this case was on many levels indefensible," said James Bible of the NAACP.
The city contends Monetti was never kicked, and they hired an expert to do a frame-by-frame analysis of the video. That expert says it was a "swipe move," which is a common police tactic.
In an email, Monetti's attorney says the case should be decided by a jury, not a video expert.
"I'm confident that the city's request to dismiss our case will be denied. As for the 'expert's' opinion about the video, it will be the decision of the jury, not the unreliable opinion of a hired expert from LAPD, whether Mr. Monetti was kicked in the head," Lorena Gonzales wrote in the email.
Some community members are appalled by the city's argument.
"What we saw was a police officer using a term a race term in such a way that he was really seeking to dominate and control," Bible said.
Bible said he is hopeful the city's motion will be denied and the case will go to trial.
"It's deeply disappointing that the city would suggest that on any level a statement based on race used to to control a person would be acceptable," he said.
Following the incident, Cobane was suspended for 30 days, which is the department's most severe penalty short of firing.
Monetti was never charged with a crime.
