Officer fakes handshake to arrest robbery suspect
SEATTLE -- You've heard the phrase "don't talk to cops." But, it might be time to expand that to include "don't shake with cops" after a Seattle Police Department officer faked a handshake in order to arrest a suspect.
The officer was called to a home in the 1400 block of 26th Avenue shortly before 1 a.m. March 1 by a cab driver who claimed a man had refused to pay his $14 fare and then put him in a choke hold when he threatened to call police.
According to the driver, the man had run into a nearby house after releasing him when he started screaming.
When the officer knocked on the door, a woman answered and said the suspect was upstairs getting ready for bed, according to the police report for the incident.
The officer told the woman he would be out of her hair shortly if she grabbed the suspect for him, and she brought him to the door moments later.
According to the report, the suspect smiled at the officer and admitted to having just taken a cab home. When the officer informed the suspect he owed the driver $14, the woman standing next to him looked surprised and handed the officer a $20 to give to the driver.
When asked if he attacked the driver, the suspect simply smirked and said nothing, according to the report.
According to the report, the officer asked the suspect to step outside, but he refused. So, the officer said, "OK then; I guess we will see you later," and stuck his hand out for a handshake.
When the suspect reached outside the door and grabbed the officer's hand to shake it, the officer yanked the man out of the house and arrested him, according to the report.
The officer gave the woman her change from the cab driver, and the man was booked into King County Jail for investigation of robbery.
taken to his home... really... how stupid is that guy!! Â Â
Tricky...
Strong arm of the law!!
I used to drive a cab a long time ago. Many cab drivers carried a lead pipe, little knife or something similar. Â
Never steal from a cabdriver. It will only end in tears.
Officer gets 11 points:Â a perfect 10, plus a point for STYLE!!!
Love it! So dude, was it worth it, for 14$?
Trying to rip off a cab driver is ridiculously stupid. Especially when you have them drive you home!Â
Police shakedown?
@sdeneen2001Â Really?
Get a grip...
:)
way to go officer!! :D
I can't believe that anyone has a problem with this! Good for SPD! The guy just committed assault and robbery, both felonies. A slap on the wrist, really? No rights were violated. And yes, the police can lie to you. Of course they can! They can tell you they have evidence that they don't really have in order to elicit a confession. Good! If you're telling the truth, you shouldn't have a problem.
Excellent ... SPD 1 dumb arse criminal 0! ... now make sure the POS gets lost in the system so we don't have his smirking face out with the rest of us!
This is the original Harlem Shake.
@Space 454 Boo!! Lol
Yes sadly it has come down to this: The current best advice for one is to communicate with your lawyer not the police. Â Nada.Â
That's pretty messed up that the officer used a tactic like that. Did you know they can lie to you?- it's a law the Federal Government passed a few years ago. That's why you always get an attorney and never talk to the police, invite them in, NOTHING. They are not your friends.
I definitely don't condone this guy's mistake and it's not right that he didn't pay the cab. It is stealing. But, just be aware that you can be arrested as easy an officer coming to your house and shaking your hand.Â
@keepthepeace28 You wouldn't happen to be one of the hug-a-thug supporters would you? The CRIMINAL admitted to the police officer he didn't pay the cab, and he seemed amused when asked if he physically attacked him.Â
By the way, it was not the guys "mistake" to not pay and attack the cab driver, it was an intentional choice. Mistakes are accidents, this was not an accident.
@keepthepeace28   Be real will ya. This guy just committed two crimes. (Theft of services and ASSAULT) which I guess is OK in your book. The police just didn't randomly walk to some guys house to shake hands with someone so they could arrest them.............. they were dispatched to this call. "you don't condone this guys mistake?'  Choking someone and not paying them is not a "mistake" it's a violent act.
Bahahahaha, wonder if hes smirking now, epic!!!
lets give the officer a "hand" of applause !!
Now we'll have citizens screaming that "hand shakes" are police brutality???
@TruthinAdverts Well it is Seattle. They're always screaming or whining about something.
The police officer was in effect "invited" inside by the act of the person extending their hand in response to the police officer's handshake.  They're kinda like vampires - they can only enter your home if invited.Â
It'll take a very crafty, anal-retentive lawyer to plead this one for dismissal on a technicalty.Â
@Michael Merry Yea, cops are snakes in the grass like that. You just have to know your rights... he could have protected himself on this one, although definitely not right to not pay the cabby. I always pay my fare, but won't tip if they're stingy with the fare and jerks about it.Â
@keepthepeace28 @Michael Merry Do you also choke them? The cop was doing his job, not being a snake in the grass. You sound like you are looking at this from the criminal perspective.Â
@Michael Merry It doesn't say the officer entered the house though, so if we're really going to split hairs it doesn't matter if the officer was invited inside or not as long as the suspect reached through the doorway and then got pulled out.  I'm sure some crafty defense attorney will still have some fun with it, but doesn't sound like the officer violated the Fourth to me.
@Michael Merry the long arm of the law?
@Michael Merry  They can't go inside unless invited, huh?  That's pretty funny.  Generally, you're right, they cannot enter to search without a warrant... BUT, if they are in immediate pursuit of a felon, or if exigent circumstances exist, they can enter immediately.  Of course, the exigent circumstances cited by an officer will be aggressively attacked by a defense attorney.Â
Don't hug criminals or defend them in internet comments.
@Citizen#3457899654Â While I agree on not supporting comments for the person who committed this crime, your statement is way too general to support. There are many cases where things aren't as they seem and they require more information with a critical eye.
Your generalized comment comes across as self-righteous, to me at least.
@Citizen#3457899654Â Oh shut up Citizen! This is another mistake that an average person can make. Morally- definitely not right, and I've always paid my fare... but everyone does stupid things and I think this might be one of those for this guy. Hopefully it's a slap on the wrist on a good lesson for him to learn.
@keepthepeace28 @Citizen#3457899654 Mistake? I added salt not sugar to a recipie, that is a mistake. Intentionally not paying for services, then assaulting someone is not an accident, it is not a mistake, it is a decision the person made to commit those acts.
Opps, I stole from then attacked a person.. my bad.
Hilarious! And nice to hear about GOOD work from these guys :)
Is that legal?
@Larry Bernandez Who cares if its legal, its hillarious
@Nothingbutnet @Larry Bernandez Not cool by SPD man... but they can do stuff like that. Get this, It's not illegal for them to lie to you either. The Federal Govt passed a law allowing them to do that to you- lie to you, at any point in the process even interrogation. So, just something for everyone to keep in mind.Â
@keepthepeace28 @Nothingbutnet @Larry Bernandez Your point?... honestly if you don't get smart with police or break the law you likely will never have to talk to an officer... sheesh... you sound like a apologist for a criminal!... suggest you get your head examined
@Larry Bernandez ...if his hand crossed into "public domain", which it sounds like it did, it is perfectly legal. I would also assume that by extending his hand it would be considered consent for the officer to make contact. Pretty old school, yet still effective on the criminal masterminds of the world!!
While this sounds cool, he actually violated the Constitution unless he had permission to enter the house. Even reaching in the house violated the imaginary plane of the door. Sounds lame, but it is true.
@K00lGuy Read the story again  you missed the part where the suspect reached out past the threshold.
"When the suspect reached outside the door and grabbed the officer's hand to shake it, the officer yanked the man out of the house and arrested him, according to the report."
The officer did not violate the constitutional rights of the guy in any way.
@K00lGuy Is the same true for any type of crime? It seems odd that a felon could simply stay inside his house to avoid arrest.
@1opine @K00lGuy In immediate pursuit of a felon, officers can enter without a warrant. (Imagine the officers running after a bank robber, that sort of thing). They can also enter if exigent circumstances exist.  Of course, those exigent circumstances will be aggressively challenged in court by the defense.Â
@1opine @K00lGuy Eventually they will obtain a warrant to enter the premises, so it only buys a few hours or a day or two.
@K00lGuy Good point. I've updated the story to make it clear the suspect stuck his arm outside the doorway to shake the officer's hand, at least according to the report.
@MichaelHarthorne @K00lGuy We appreciate getting a response and corrections to the articles. It is one of the reasons I read/watch Komo News!
@MichaelHarthorne @K00lGuy That's good enough for me. The guy was being a punk and deserves to sit in jail a while. Good job officer.
@K00lGuy I don't doubt that you're correct but it sounds like the suspect is too dumb to know that for himself.
Mike