SPD officer in 'stomping' case faces suspension
SEATTLE -- A Seattle police officer caught on video kicking a handcuffed suspect in the head has been suspended for 10-days, but he won't have to serve the suspension as long as he stays out of trouble.
Officer Garth Haynes was charged with assault after police dash-cam video showed him putting his foot on the head of a handcuffed man he had just been in a fight with outside of a Ballard bar in December 2010.
The man who was stomped on told police he saw Haynes, who was off duty and out of uniform, restraining a woman outside of the bar. He said he and his friends stepped in and a fight broke out.
During his assault trial, Haynes told a different version of the story, telling jurors he was jumped when he tried to stop a woman he thought had stolen his coat.
"Because my back was turned, I kept feeling punches from all over, like I was getting punches from the left and the right," he said.
Haynes was acquitted in March, but was handed a 10-day suspension after an internal investigation determined he used excessive force.
However, Seattle police chief John Diaz ruled that Haynes will not be required to serve the unpaid suspension as long as he stays out of trouble for two years.
Officer Garth Haynes was charged with assault after police dash-cam video showed him putting his foot on the head of a handcuffed man he had just been in a fight with outside of a Ballard bar in December 2010.
The man who was stomped on told police he saw Haynes, who was off duty and out of uniform, restraining a woman outside of the bar. He said he and his friends stepped in and a fight broke out.
During his assault trial, Haynes told a different version of the story, telling jurors he was jumped when he tried to stop a woman he thought had stolen his coat.
"Because my back was turned, I kept feeling punches from all over, like I was getting punches from the left and the right," he said.
Haynes was acquitted in March, but was handed a 10-day suspension after an internal investigation determined he used excessive force.
However, Seattle police chief John Diaz ruled that Haynes will not be required to serve the unpaid suspension as long as he stays out of trouble for two years.
Once again, law enforcement enjoys benefits we would be jailed for.
This shows that the SPD does not to have to follow the laws that a common citizen has to follow. The SPD is above the law.
Of course he won't serve the suspension! It infuriates me when people aren't held responsible for their actions, whether your a criminal or a COP!
And the SPD circling of the wagons continues.Â
I wish police officers were allowed to beat the crap out of (or shot to kill) all the stupid thugs out there. I know for a fact that I could never use the restraint that they do. Power to the police and God Bless them all.
 @Gigi yes! and maybe one day they will kill your loved ones and kick them like trash ahahahaha! because human life means nothing! ahahahaha! and then they will be in jail because they can't afford a $10K lawyer, yeah! so much fun! so much freeDOOM!
Very true realdeal. We are all assumed to be criminals until a cop decides otherwise. Don't believe me? Try using your 5th Amendment when a cop is confronting you. Ain't just the SPD, its everywhere. Just the nature of what happens when you allow the government to use our constitution and bill of rights for toilet paper. You are never under any legal obligation to say a word to an officer, and don't.
@Blindman And who do you call when you are in danger & need help? What do you want them to do for you if you had just got shot or beat up? Huh? I'd like to see you in thier shoes for just one day and then hear you talk all about the 5th Amendment.
 @Gigi Who do I call when I am in danger and need help? A friend! You may be foolish enough to delude yourself into believing police are there to protect you, but the truth of the matter is that police have no duty to protect you whatsoever. Yes, you read that right - the police do not exist to protect you! They PRETEND their job is to protect and serve, but their real job is to take reports and conduct investigations after a crime has occurred, then make an arrest if they have the evidence.Don't believe me? You can continue living in a fantasy world or look at what courts have ruled - Castle Rock v. Gonzales, Warren v. District of Columbia, and Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Department are three cases in which courts, including the US Supreme Court, have ruled that YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN.
 @Gigi  @Blindman in America?! where cops have more legal rights than the president and more weapons than a soldier? Unless you are a blue eyed little blond girl, you'd be a fool to call a cop for anything in America.  They are as dangerous as criminals if not worse with all the extra legal protections that they enjoy. The taxpayers have to watch out for both criminals and the cops now... Welcome to America!
He was off duty and still involved in the arrest..coming from a bar I'll assume some liquid courage was involved. There's always a punch or two involved when they are cuffed, we just get to see it more and more now. Â Shouldn't the be held to a higher standard. Â Glad to see his Union Brothers stood up and said "Hey get away from here or stop kicking him"..If you can't police your own how can you police others?
@Matt Covington Police SHOULD be held to a higher standard than civilians whether they are on duty or not. They have a "professional" image to uphold and if they do something to tarnish that image they HAVE to be held responsible! Police should know the laws/rules more than anyone.
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SPD is NOT holding their officers accountable and thankfully the DOJ stepped in. If superiors can't get their officers under control then let the DOJ handle the punishments. At least justice would then be served.
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Most Washington State police are an effing joke.
Acquitted of assault . then found guilty of excessive force , when does restive force become assault?? suspended for 10 days with out pay , but he not being suspended ??? provided he doesn't assault ( use excessive force) What?? So if he not being suspended , then he still on duty and if so he working for free ?? And of course Diaz is now implementing his 20/20 plan of transparency and honesty Sorry for the sarcasm , but let's face it we the citizens of wa state are all probable criminals in the view of law enforcement and police officer are allowed to do as they please . this includes , escalate a volatile situation, shot first , threaten suspects , regularly violate are civil rights. with little if no consequences if not caught on police videos that seem to disappear with out plausible explanation. Police officer have no mentors Older officer to help the new young officer adjust to using there authority responsibly , and defuse bad situations when possible instead they are operating on contempt , fear , and power trips . to assert control. It's hunting season for citizens , so be obedient and submissive to all law enforcement and do not say anything other then your name and age that's the world we now live in. Disgusting Just some though.
jack-booted Thug. a Proud member of the largest street gang in AmeriKa .. the Police.
As long as these cops keep getting off scott free they will never change.
I understand some criminals fight back and deserve a little back but in some cases I've seen its simply the officer venting his frustration out on the person he's arresting.
Just like Diaz to override attempts at discipline.
Washington state justice is served... This type of behavior should not be tolerated. One bad officer ruins it for all officers, don't they get it????
What a crock. Typical for the SPD though.
Sounds like Officer Garth Haynes is your typical high caliber SPD officer. Should give him a raise and promote him to captain.
Video shows the cop and his friend wearing their jackets outside the bar and it was the cop who was bothering the women inside the bar. Just to clarify. (not had coffee yet, sorry)
The media keeps leaving out what was originally reported, that the woman was with a group of women who left the bar because this guy was bothering them and the video shows them wearing their jackets outside the bar. Unprofessional for sure.Â
Police dash-cam video showed him putting his foot on a hand-cuffed man. (As in restraining? To hold down..?)
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The man who was stomped told police he say Haynes, who was out of duty restrain a woman.
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Which one is it..., did he get stomped on or just had a foot on his head to be held down..?Â
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"Get Out of Jail Free" card comes in handy. Sounds like this guy is as "professional" off duty as he is on.
I'm sure the SPD doesn't consider itself above the law. After all, any of us that does the exact same thing would be let off with a warning too, right? This is why the jails are empty right now, right?
Yeah that'll show them alright. Was this actually part of the agreement with the DOJ? A slap on the wrist?
This man needs to be FIRED!!! Bring it on, DOJ!!!
This is insane. This lowlife excuse for a cop was found to be using excessive force.
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That means the person whose head he stopped on will point that out in a civil lawsuit against the city and we the taxpayers will have to give the victim millions of dollars to settle this case.
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And yet the cop keeps his job which means he can do this again and cost us another few million dollars the next time he decides to step on someone's head after he cuffs them.
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Great way to run budgeting for the police department.
And we all know that if 'Joe Citizen' had done the same thing, we'd be getting more than a 10 day suspended sentence!!
This "story" is missing a lot of information.For one thing, what REALLY was going on with the "woman"?What REALLY went on with the handcuffed man?What happened with the "friends"?Why didn't the officer have a partner or call for back-up?Why wasn't there any audio/video of the incident?Was the officer suspended or limited to desk dutyonce the investigation started,or did he continue his usual patrol?In this case, no information would have been better than partial- - and, seemingly, one-sided - - information.Very poor reporting.Regardless, why doesn't anyone realize that giving light sentencesto criminals (or officers who act like thugs)sends a signal that it's "okay" to do it?Why doesn't anyone realize that that's the reasonwhy gangs are able to continue adding to their numbers,and why violence in our society continues to escalate?
BS - the cop should fired and charged. Where is DOJ on this?
@raven Not having been at the trail I was always interested in knowing what evidence his lawyer was able to get the judge to supress from the jury. That is a problem in cases sometimes, the jury never gets to hear everything because the defense gets as much excluded as they can and the public is left to wonder at the not guilty verdict.