Officer threatens to make up evidence after arrest of innocent men
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SEATTLE -- A Seattle police officer has been caught on tape talking about "making up" evidence while two wrongly arrested men sit in jail. It's the latest shocker uncovered by a KOMO 4 Problem Solver investigation into the Seattle Police Department's vanishing dashcam videos.
Josh Lawson and Christopher Franklin filed a claim against the city Monday for excessive force and wrongful arrest.
The two were arrested at gunpoint on November 16, 2010 and said the incident changed their lives forever.
"I thought I was gonna die," Lawson said about that night.
Franklin said it was "the most terrifying thing I've ever experienced."
Both men said they suffered facial bruises and swelling after one was kicked and the other man-handled into the pavement while being arrested. But then listen to what an officer says on an audio recording after he takes the two to holding cells: "Well, you're going to jail for robbery that's all."
You then hear Franklin ask, "for robbery?" And the officer responds, "Yeah, I'm gonna make stuff up."
Franklin believed him.
"He showed me that he has the power to do whatever he wanted that night," he said. "He has a badge, and all we can do is nothing."
We watched the partial video of their arrest together with Lawson and Franklin. Neither man has a criminal record and they were not charged with anything after the arrest. They both work full-time and go to school. But the night of their arrest they were in the neighborhood near Seattle Center, several blocks away from where an assault was reported.
In a 911 call, a witness described those assailants: "It was two tall, skinny African Americans."
Lawson is six feet tall, and Franklin is just five feet nine inches tall.
The person who called 911 to report the attack told a dispatcher the assailants "were both wearing jeans."
But in police booking photos Lawson is wearing white sweat pants.
A booking photo shows that Franklin's jeans are allowed to fall to his knees after his shoes are taken away, and at the scene an officer pulls Franklin's hood up over his head.
"I felt like he was making me look like the part," Franklin said.
"These guys are guilty of being black in Seattle," said attorney Lizanne Padula, who represents Lawson and Franklin. She believes if they'd been white "I think the most that would have happened with those kids police officer would have rolled down his window and said, 'hey, were you guys over in this area?'"
But Officer Brad Richardson, the arresting officer, never questions the two about an assault. Instead, Richardson makes what's called a felony stop, taking cover behind his car door with his gun drawn.
In a "Use of Force" report filled out after the arrest, Richardson wrote, "both males ignored his commands to stop and continued walking right toward him."
Franklin and Lawson say that's crazy -- that there's no way they'd keep walking toward a cop who had a drawn gun.
"We got on the ground and we froze," Franklin said.
Lawson said he was terrified. "I thought I was gonna be murdered in cold blood."
We showed Seattle Police Sergeant Sean Whitcomb the arrest video, and he admits the 'make stuff up' comment was inappropriate. But he says the department's Office of Professional Accountability investigated the complaint and exonerated the officer.
"I can tell you we take (complaints) seriously but people have to believe that and they have to trust the system they have to trust the process," Whitcomb said.
Another problem: none of the arrest is caught on tape -- only the aftermath, once the two are on the ground in handcuffs, with Lawson's angry questions of why Officer Richardson kicked him in the face, which Richardson disputes saying he only "kicked him in the chest."
For more than a year the KOMO 4 Problem Solvers fought to get access to the Seattle Police Department's video database, knowing that dash cam videos could play a critical role in citizen oversight of the troubled department. We are now suing SPD for what we believe is a violation of the Public Records Act. Our investigation uncovered, among other things, that the department had lost tens of thousands of dash cam videos.
Attorney Padula contacted us, wondering if her clients were among that group.
"It wasn't really until I was able to communicate with you and your knowledge of what's out there and what the videos mean and your investigation that it was like 'oh, wait, there's not just one video that we don't get - there's more.'"
We discovered at least three other dash cam videos exist of the Lawson/Franklin arrest. But none show Officer Richardson during the critical time period, when he had Lawson and Franklin at gunpoint and later kicked Lawson.
We asked Whitcomb if the department was going to hold officers accountable when dashboard cameras aren't turned on.
"We do, we actually do, look at our OPA reports," Whitcomb said. But when we reminded him it didn't happen in this case, he said, "well maybe not in that case, but there's other cases."
Attorney Padula's take on the lack of dash cam video? "I think it's reprehensible, to me there's no excuse for that."
We've learned that the arrest video could have been salvaged from the hard drive in Officer Richardson's dash cam system, but wasn't.
---
Tuesday afternoon, the Seattle Police Department released a statement in response to our story.
Meanwhile, we continue our investigation into SPD's "Vanishing Videos" Tuesday with another distressing case where police had a potentially dangerous suspect holed up, but decided to walk away.
Josh Lawson and Christopher Franklin filed a claim against the city Monday for excessive force and wrongful arrest.
The two were arrested at gunpoint on November 16, 2010 and said the incident changed their lives forever.
"I thought I was gonna die," Lawson said about that night.
Franklin said it was "the most terrifying thing I've ever experienced."
Both men said they suffered facial bruises and swelling after one was kicked and the other man-handled into the pavement while being arrested. But then listen to what an officer says on an audio recording after he takes the two to holding cells: "Well, you're going to jail for robbery that's all."
You then hear Franklin ask, "for robbery?" And the officer responds, "Yeah, I'm gonna make stuff up."
Franklin believed him.
"He showed me that he has the power to do whatever he wanted that night," he said. "He has a badge, and all we can do is nothing."
We watched the partial video of their arrest together with Lawson and Franklin. Neither man has a criminal record and they were not charged with anything after the arrest. They both work full-time and go to school. But the night of their arrest they were in the neighborhood near Seattle Center, several blocks away from where an assault was reported.
In a 911 call, a witness described those assailants: "It was two tall, skinny African Americans."
Lawson is six feet tall, and Franklin is just five feet nine inches tall.
The person who called 911 to report the attack told a dispatcher the assailants "were both wearing jeans."
But in police booking photos Lawson is wearing white sweat pants.
A booking photo shows that Franklin's jeans are allowed to fall to his knees after his shoes are taken away, and at the scene an officer pulls Franklin's hood up over his head.
"I felt like he was making me look like the part," Franklin said.
"These guys are guilty of being black in Seattle," said attorney Lizanne Padula, who represents Lawson and Franklin. She believes if they'd been white "I think the most that would have happened with those kids police officer would have rolled down his window and said, 'hey, were you guys over in this area?'"
But Officer Brad Richardson, the arresting officer, never questions the two about an assault. Instead, Richardson makes what's called a felony stop, taking cover behind his car door with his gun drawn.
In a "Use of Force" report filled out after the arrest, Richardson wrote, "both males ignored his commands to stop and continued walking right toward him."
Franklin and Lawson say that's crazy -- that there's no way they'd keep walking toward a cop who had a drawn gun.
"We got on the ground and we froze," Franklin said.
Lawson said he was terrified. "I thought I was gonna be murdered in cold blood."
We showed Seattle Police Sergeant Sean Whitcomb the arrest video, and he admits the 'make stuff up' comment was inappropriate. But he says the department's Office of Professional Accountability investigated the complaint and exonerated the officer.
"I can tell you we take (complaints) seriously but people have to believe that and they have to trust the system they have to trust the process," Whitcomb said.
Another problem: none of the arrest is caught on tape -- only the aftermath, once the two are on the ground in handcuffs, with Lawson's angry questions of why Officer Richardson kicked him in the face, which Richardson disputes saying he only "kicked him in the chest."
For more than a year the KOMO 4 Problem Solvers fought to get access to the Seattle Police Department's video database, knowing that dash cam videos could play a critical role in citizen oversight of the troubled department. We are now suing SPD for what we believe is a violation of the Public Records Act. Our investigation uncovered, among other things, that the department had lost tens of thousands of dash cam videos.
Attorney Padula contacted us, wondering if her clients were among that group.
"It wasn't really until I was able to communicate with you and your knowledge of what's out there and what the videos mean and your investigation that it was like 'oh, wait, there's not just one video that we don't get - there's more.'"
We discovered at least three other dash cam videos exist of the Lawson/Franklin arrest. But none show Officer Richardson during the critical time period, when he had Lawson and Franklin at gunpoint and later kicked Lawson.
We asked Whitcomb if the department was going to hold officers accountable when dashboard cameras aren't turned on.
"We do, we actually do, look at our OPA reports," Whitcomb said. But when we reminded him it didn't happen in this case, he said, "well maybe not in that case, but there's other cases."
Attorney Padula's take on the lack of dash cam video? "I think it's reprehensible, to me there's no excuse for that."
We've learned that the arrest video could have been salvaged from the hard drive in Officer Richardson's dash cam system, but wasn't.
---
Tuesday afternoon, the Seattle Police Department released a statement in response to our story.
Meanwhile, we continue our investigation into SPD's "Vanishing Videos" Tuesday with another distressing case where police had a potentially dangerous suspect holed up, but decided to walk away.
The Portland police are poisoners and framers Eric Carlson the cop was having an affair with my wife Joan Wagar and he and his partners gave my wife permission to poison me to death and I was a regular plasma donor at the time! In 2007 Eric Carlson and his partner John Ray tried to frame me for a murder they committed, they committed a early morning break in on March 26th 2007 and they raped, photographed, and killed a female child named Jesica! and they broke into my home to plant evidence in my apartment and my wife Joan Wagar helped them by opening her bedroom window for them to let them into our home while I was sleeping on the couch! Eric Carlson was acting as a body double to frame me and his partners John Ray and Erica were photographing Eric Carlson having sex with a child! Their break in woke me up and I at first thought I was catching my wife in her affair with an armed police officer so I put a audio recorder in my wife's purse and then laid back down on my couch knowing my wife will be leaving for work soon! I not only caught them in their affair I caught them in a murder and I caught them planting evidence in my home to frame me for it! Eric Carlson and John Ray and Joan Wagar bragged about their crimes to Joan Wagar's sister Vickie Rosales at Clackamas Walmart and my audio recorder caught that as well! My 911 calls are covered up by Portland police and I have been denied emergency services ever since my wife started an affair with a Portland police officer! My complaints are covered up and ignored by police and hospitals and I am severely disabled from being poisoned! Eric Carlson and his partners in law enforcement have been stalking me and renting apartments around mine on and off for years now and all complaints I make are covered up and ignored! I caught Joan Wagar and Eric Carlson waiting in ambush just outside my doorway at 5:45 am on July 2009 and they were armed with guns and they were recording with a camcorder and a cellphone! they were going to shoot me when I take my dog for a walk and they were going to record me being shot! Eric Carlson's partner Shannon was wearing a baseball hat hiding behind a van and trailer when I opened my door and I saw him dive behind the trailer so I grabbed my camcorder and aimed it at the trailer trying to see who it was! To my shock and horror my wife Joan Wagar and her lover the cop Eric Carlson were waiting in ambush just outside my door! http://prntscr.com/m3bi4 http://prntscr.com/m3bpv http://prntscr.com/m3bun http://s1324.photobucket.com/albums/u604/WifePoisonedMe/?action=view¤t=Neighborsthatframedme_zps0659e809.mp4 The body double and the poisoner caught on video outside my doorway waiting in ambush for me to step outside and their caught fleeing the scene! Eric Carlson had his gun in his right hand alongside his camcorder which is why he is holding his camcorder in a odd way and Joan Wagar was recording with her cellphone in her right hand and she had her gun hidden in her shirt in her left hand! Terry Wagar
Go figure that the OPA exonerated him of all misconduct. He even admitted to saying he was going to make stuff up against the innocent? How could he have not been found guilty of any wrong-doing? What bs.
Portland police and Multnomah county sheriffs illegally record people in their own homes using video and audio equipment and they gain cooperation of apartment managers and landlords into accessing peoples apartments to bug them.
Apartment managers and landlords will pretend to tenants that law officers are maintenance men in order for cops to gain entry into peoples homes.
Authority's do this to people all the time under the pretense of an "Investigation" and apartment managers and landlords cooperate with them by giving authority's apartments near their targets and they will lie to tenants saying those cops are maintenance men doing inspections.
Sergeant Sean Whitcomb's cavalier, flippant response to seeing this video is abhorrent and very telling about the SPD's rampant systemic corruption. Â Before seeing this story I had not been completely convinced of the SPD's abuses of power, but this is obviously the tip of the iceberg. Â The respect I have for them is hanging by a thread.
July 2009 I caught several people in law enforcement and my ex wife outside my apartment early in the morning waiting to ambush me when I potty my dog, my ex wife Joan Wagar and her lover the cop Eric Carlson were waiting along side my apartment door on a stairway next to my door and another officer named Shannon was hiding behind the van and trailer across the street and another female officer was on the other end of the building out of my line of site until she walked up to Shannon. They were waiting in ambush for me to potty my dog peppy and they were trying to hide what they were doing, as I opened my door to potty the dog I noticed a man with a cap dived behind the trailer across the street, so I turned out my lights in my apartment and grabbed my camcorder and aimed it at the van and trailer trying to catch the person on video. To my surprise and horror Eric Carlson stepped into view in front of my doorway, he was laying in wait on the stairs next to my door, and Eric Carlson just walks away towards the street, I noticed he was carrying something but did not know what it was until I looked at my video, on my video you can see a camcorder lens cap swinging back and forth under Eric Carlson's camcorder, so Eric Carlson the cop, my wife's lover, was laying wait in ambush by my front door at 5:45 am and he is holding a camcorder. As Eric Carlson gets to the road he looks left and uses a hand signal to his partner Shannon to stay put, and then Eric Carlson grabs what appears to be a gun that he was holding along with his camcorder, and then Eric Carlson walks down the middle of the street. After a minute or so a woman that was also laying in wait on the same stairs steps into view, it is my ex wife Joan Wagar, but I did not realize that at the moment it happened, and she walked into the parking lot calmly and then started running as though she is a victim, flailing her shirt around, as she got to the street she glanced left where Shannon was before she turned right and headed in the direction of Eric Carlson down the middle of the street. I did not realize at the moment that they were trying to lure me outside by revealing Eric Carlson and Joan Wagar were Gang-Stalking me by my front door and then running off down the street, but my instincts told me they wanted me outside so they could shoot me. After a minute of waiting nothing happened so I turned off my camcorder and continued to wait on my couch in the living room, after a minute or two I noticed someone from the front of the van from across the street was crossing the street heading in my direction, I could not see who it was but I could see the persons shadow from the street lights revealing his approach, I grabbed my camcorder and turned it on and as my camcorder started recording the man stopped in front of apartment 102. I aimed my camcorder down at the sidewalk because at the moment his shadow was all I could see and I tried to get it on my camcorder, the man lit a cigarette and I could see the flash of his lighter, and then the man stepped into the parking lot and into my camcorders line of sight, it was the man my ex wife refered to as Shannon, Eric Carlson's buddy and partner in law enforcement, this is the man I saw dive behind the trailer, this is the man Eric Carlson and Joan Wagar glanced over at when they got to the street. As he stepped into the parking lot a forth person that was Gang-Stalking me walked up to him and they spoke to each other, the entire time she kept her back to my direction, and then she went into apartment 102 and Shannon walked up to his black car with the license plate SAYLVU and looked over in my direction and at that moment made it known to me he wants me dead. This video is proof of a murder conspiracy these law officer's and my ex wife were Gang-Stalking me waiting in ambush and since Eric Carlson himself had a camcorder he wanted to film me being killed. Shannon seems very upset I did not step into their ambush and was not hiding that from me, I realized after watching the video that Joan Wagar wanted me to notice it was her hoping I would chase after her. They were going to kill me when I potty the dog and since I changed my mind about that they tried to lure me outside by revealing my ex wife was hiding by my front door hoping I would chase after her, either way they would have shot me, they were in position to ambush and shoot me. http://s1324.photobucket.com/albums/u604/WifePoisonedMe/?action=view¤t=Neighborsthatframedme_zps0659e809.mp4 Terry Wagar