3 off-duty SPD officers involved in fight at Capitol Hill club
SEATTLE -- Police are investigating a disturbance involving three off-duty police officers that allegedly began with a racially-charged statement at a Capitol Hill night club.
The incident unfolded at the Neighbours Nightclub, in the 1500 block of Broadway Ave., at approximately 1 a.m. Monday.
According to the police report, three men got into a scuffle with two of the club's security guards after exchanging words in an alley outside the club.
Footage captured by surveillance cameras showed the men shoving each other. One of the guards then walked over to one of the men who appeared to have his hands in his pockets, police said. The guard tackled the man to the ground, according to the report, then pulled his head back by placing a hand around his throat. The guard then dragged the man out of the video frame.
When police arrived, the three men involved in the fight identified themselves as off-duty Seattle police officers, and added they had informed the security guards of their profession.
The guard who was captured on camera tackling a man told police he had charged at the man even though he knew he was a police officer because the men "shouldn't have acted like that if they were police officers," he told investigators. He added one of the men had told him, "You don't know anything about the law, Mexican," the report said.
The guard pointed out the man who had allegedly made this remark, but later said it was another man who had made the statement. Pressed by detectives, he later said he had charged at the man because he had grabbed the guard's collapsible baton out of his pocket. Investigators found the baton on the ground at the scene.
The involved officers said no racial slurs were uttered during the exchange. The assaulted officer said he would never make such a statement. He said he had kept his hands in his pocket in an attempt to avoid confrontation as he knew there were surveillance cameras in the alley.
Another security guard who was on the scene said he had told the assaulted officer, who appeared to be intoxicated, to leave the alley. All three officers had been drinking, investigators said, and two of them - including the assaulted officer - was "visibly intoxicated."
No one was seriously injured in the incident.
The Seattle Police Department has referred the case to the Office of Professional Accountability. Anyone with information on the case is urged to contact OPA by calling 206-684-8797 or by emailing opa@seattle.gov.
The officers remain on duty pending the outcome of the investigation.
The incident unfolded at the Neighbours Nightclub, in the 1500 block of Broadway Ave., at approximately 1 a.m. Monday.
According to the police report, three men got into a scuffle with two of the club's security guards after exchanging words in an alley outside the club.
Footage captured by surveillance cameras showed the men shoving each other. One of the guards then walked over to one of the men who appeared to have his hands in his pockets, police said. The guard tackled the man to the ground, according to the report, then pulled his head back by placing a hand around his throat. The guard then dragged the man out of the video frame.
When police arrived, the three men involved in the fight identified themselves as off-duty Seattle police officers, and added they had informed the security guards of their profession.
The guard who was captured on camera tackling a man told police he had charged at the man even though he knew he was a police officer because the men "shouldn't have acted like that if they were police officers," he told investigators. He added one of the men had told him, "You don't know anything about the law, Mexican," the report said.
The guard pointed out the man who had allegedly made this remark, but later said it was another man who had made the statement. Pressed by detectives, he later said he had charged at the man because he had grabbed the guard's collapsible baton out of his pocket. Investigators found the baton on the ground at the scene.
The involved officers said no racial slurs were uttered during the exchange. The assaulted officer said he would never make such a statement. He said he had kept his hands in his pocket in an attempt to avoid confrontation as he knew there were surveillance cameras in the alley.
Another security guard who was on the scene said he had told the assaulted officer, who appeared to be intoxicated, to leave the alley. All three officers had been drinking, investigators said, and two of them - including the assaulted officer - was "visibly intoxicated."
No one was seriously injured in the incident.
The Seattle Police Department has referred the case to the Office of Professional Accountability. Anyone with information on the case is urged to contact OPA by calling 206-684-8797 or by emailing opa@seattle.gov.
The officers remain on duty pending the outcome of the investigation.
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