Video shows SPD officer shoving homeless man

Before people criticize the officers' quick actions in this clip, they should watch this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9igSoJHEdUo

If we don't let the police do their job Seattle will be like Detroit or St Louis.  Go take a walk around there at night and tell me that is what you want.

KOMO sure is quick to label people transient. Guess anyone out of work deserves that label and a seprarate

type of justice from the police and Judges.

I gave this video to KOMO 4 and have read many opinions about whether force was excessive. 

 

MORE IMPORTANT than whether the force was excessive is the officers lied in their police reports and internal investigations, which is a fact *only* clear by watching this video that was about to be deleted when I requested it.  Officers wrote that Mark "did not comply with ORDERS given to him" to lay on the ground.  "Orders," as in multiple orders, that he presumably had a chance to respond to (more than 2.5 seconds in reality). (EMPHASIS added)

 

After citzens complained of use of force against Mark, the Office of Professional Accountability (OPA) (which reviewed this video for its ruling) found that "officers made VERBAL ATTEMPTS to control him, which the subject IGNORED" and that "the subject did not respond to COMMANDS to get on the ground."  Again, "commands," as in more than one.

 

Within the OPA's "Analysis" section, the officer's Use of Force statement was quoted as if entirely the truth: "[Subject] did not respond to [Officer's] command to get on the ground.  Instead [subject] turned and stared at [witness officer] as if he was looking right through him... he maintained a gaze I would describe as a '1000 yard stare'... a pre-attack indicator... He had just DISOBEYED [officer's] command to go to the ground.... I thought more verbal commands would only give him more of an advantage than he had already gained when it came to accessing a weapon."  All this in 2.5 seconds?  Are you serious?  Watch the video again and see if Mark is staring at anything but the ground as he shuffles about, and if he even then registers a command he "disobeyed."  Was Mark gaining an "advantage" in 2.5 seconds of not registering what was said?

 

Further, OPA wrote: "All witness officers gave consistent accounts [with] the named employee..  consistent with what was captured on in-car video."  Really?  All officers circled the wagons around a lie?  What video did the OPA see?  The OPA concluded that Mark "was unresposive and non-compliant" and had disobeyed "commands."

 

My point is, if in fact the force shown on the video was not excessive and was necessary, why not tell an account in their police reports and to OPA that is consistent with the in-car video, as the best evidence of what happened?  Why not say, "Well, we thought he might be armed, and we didn't want to take any chances, so though we said Get on the ground and we can't say he heard nor had time to respond to that single command, we took him down regardless as trained by pushing him quickly into a patrol car."  Why lie about what the in-car video clearly shows didn't happen?  And why does OPA accept that despite the contradictory video, and make findings consistent with the fiction told instead of the actual evidence?  The camera doesn't lie, but the public very probably won't see it, except this time we do.  How many other OPA "investigations" are like this one?

 

The fact officers weren't truthful in their statements, and instead maintained that multiple commands were given that Mark "disobeyed," just raises the question whether the force as shown (not the fabrication told) *was* actually appropriate, and why the OPA itself is not accountable to the truth.  OPA knows that virtually nobody gets these videos to audit their findings; if I hadn't requested this when I did, it would have been deleted by now, and the written record maintained as the "truth."  To me, that's sad, and it cheats us all out of accountability in favor of protecting an officer's use of force, excessive or not.

 

The full relevant report is here:

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2012/08/dash-cam_video_from_2009_shows.php

 

James Egan

In a city where the mayor has a memorial for an alcoholic + offender, nothing surprises me. I am glad I am not part of the local PD. The mayor and the spineless chief are ignoring the rising crime rate in the midst of this circus. 

"Three witnesses to the incident thought the force was excessive and complained to the department, but an internal investigation cleared the officers of any wrongdoing." Of course the officer did nothing wrong... INTERNAL INVESTIGATION.

I just watched the video 3 times just to make sure of a few thing. If the report came in that the man was supposedly armed, then why didn't SPD ordered the man to take his hands out of his pockets first. Secondly, you clearly hear a SPD officer saying " Is that him ! " Didn't any of the so called witness give SPD a description of the man?

With only the small portion of video I've seen and the lack of information provided with the story, the shove does look excessive.  It reminds me of the shove that happened outside the movie theater where the guy ended up paralyzed (though if I remember right, he was running from them and they we're just trying to stop him.)  Too many times though I've seen these videos and what one deems "excessive" is primarily because the person they are stopping is not abiding by their directions.  If you treat the officer with respect and listen to and follow his directions you will have no issue. 

 

Secondly, I think it is wrong that people demand that these dash cam videos be made public.  All people are going to do is nitpick each one and create a bunch of fuss when there shouldn't be any at all.  Let the DOJ or whatever other governing authorities who want to investigate and issues see them but not the entire population, half of them aren't stable enough to handle it. 

It is interesting to me that the people on this forum who are against the SPD can't seem to make their point without name calling and cussing.  If you want someone to take your opinions seriously you have to speak like a mature adult, your words say a lot about your character.....

Calm down people. This was all easily foreseeable. And its going to happen whether you want it to or not. Its just the normal cycle of collapse and rebirth. We entered into the winter season in about 2005 and it will continue into the at least 2025. Has nothing to do with religion or astronomy. Its just the normal cycle of a different generation gaining their footing. That would be Generation X. The Baby boomers born in the summer cycle and so every thing looked just peachy to us. But we failed to look ahead and take care of the following generations.

The winds of change are blowing and its blowing a hurricane.

good job on the spds part, i mean did you see how agro that guy was?!!

If a cop told me to "get on the ground" I could do it in two seconds. How can we expect officers in the field to try and figure out if a guy is drunk or mentally ill on the spot. Either way, get them off the street. I'm tired of being expected to feel any sort of pity for homeless drunks and addicts, and maybe it's time to make a hard decision and start rounding up the so-called "mentally ill" walking the streets and put them in a secure facility where they won't harm themselves of the general public.

Why are some so judgmental of SPD?  The whole story is not in this segment.  This person was "possibly" armed.  Is SPD suppose to stand there and wait for compliance?  It only takes a fraction of a second for this "possibly" armed man to produce a firearm and fire it.  By the time an average officer or citizen to react to that offensive action, you are dead.  Hands in the pocket is a very dangerous situation, you just don't know whats in there.  What I saw was necessary, but again, I don't have all the facts.  He was shoved and then picked up.  He was not bloodied, beat up, etc.  Are people not reading cops getting killed?  2 in Louisiana killed, one in Canada in today's news.  This is why the "complainers' don't know what is going on.  I guess you like all the shootings going on in Seattle right now.  All cops are the thin blue line from chaos to law and order.  Quit second guessing them unless you are in their shoes.  Go to a citizen academy and see what they do.  Sometimes they take you to a simulated shoot or don't shoot situations and see how you react.  You will be surprised.  For those that think the officers want to get into situations that may get them fired for using unneccessary force, you might want to think twice.  Cop may have a split second to  make a life and death situation but everyone has all day to Monday morning quarterback.  And they do all this for all of us.  Tried be 12 rather than carried by 6.

I am definitely not one to support excessive force or abusive behavior by police, but I don't see anything wrong with what the cop did, actually.   They were responding to a call about a possible assault, and the suspect didn't obey the commands from Officers to get down.  He had his hands in his pockets.  The police did what they needed to do to protect themselves.

This incident happened 3 years ago - why is everyone getting their panties in a knot over it now?  I don't see how it can be used to claim that the Seattle police aren't changing their ways when it's not even a current incident.  I'm not saying how the officer reacted was right or wrong, just that it's long past & really doesn't seem relevant now.  You don't punish a child today for something he did last week when he's already been punished for the same thing yesterday.  Now if he does it again tomorrow, that's different!

Are you kidding me??? REASONABLE FORCE?! Yeah, right! The cops told him to get on the ground and in the same breath distracted the dude while another cop came up from behind him and tackled him onto the cop car. The man obviously looked confused. GIVE THE MAN A CHANCE TO GET ON THE GROUND YOU EFFING IDIOTS!

 

SPD, you make me sick.

Nothing wrong here, pansy liberals. You're all to blame for the mentally ill walking the streets. I  do reserve a little sympathy for these people, but as a tax payer and Seattle resident I'm tired of smelling these people, and having to put of with the harassment. 

 

Another report by Komo showing the lack of support for SPD and the community. At some point SPD officers should just transfer out of this city, and let the pansy's fend for themselves. 

 

 

 

SPD is never going to change because its not just the SPD,its all police agencies state or federal. We are all the enemy now. You are guilty until proven innocent in the minds of law enforcement. Won't be long now. Maybe another year.

More anti-police noise from naive commenters and KOMO. The officers are responding to a reported armed person.  His hands are in his pockets. He does not comply. He can shoot or stab you in the blink of an eye. Sounds like many of you would give him a nice hug and leave. The police can't do that. The officers reaction is perfect and an example of what to do, short of taser or shots fired when you confront someone in this context.

Most of you commenting negatively on this action would probably not go home at night to your families after work. You would be shot, stabbed, beaten or killed with your poor naive attitude.    

What's the deal with the woman doing exercises in the background?  Anywho, notice the cop who just came out of the truck.  He's nonchalantly going about his business in no hurry or with any concern.  I don't know about you, but police who just lollygag (and yet claim they might have been in danger), is the important detail showing precisely what the mood of the event was about.   

As ex-military, and a current public employee, all I can say is if you can't serve the public you've sworn to protect, you are beneath contempt.  If you can't let your actions be seen in the open, find another line of work.  It's really a simple concept.

i'd like to see what was said BEFORE he walks into the video.  there's where your evidence is at.

Imagine if everything you said that was on video for the last three years was suddenly evidence in court for your prosecution. your opportunity to plead the fifth would be gone, that is the Shield that these officers want, however, the victims in these same videos if they say or do anything on the same film are prosecuted,  period. The full weight of the law that will hang you and has protected the officers guilt time are on same video tape and again all we do is say "who let them off the hook?", well it wasn't the citizens and that is clear.It is a committee designed to white wash the criminal activities of the Seattle police. They are a part of the problem that has the Federal government noticing the Stench of Injustice in Seattle. Yah it stinks big time!  The system by design is unjust, the videos can only hang the hunted and not the hunters. There is nothing fair about a hunter with a 21st century gun hunting in the woods. there is nothing fair about the way the police hunt people down and treat them like animals. (Tenderize bag and tag) The hunters are never in danger of Bambi getting a day in court for the death of a loved one.The officer in court would say he was afraid for his life and had to shoot the unarmed deer. (look up that lame excuse sometime) Some people are more equal than others. the videos will never be released. they cant be, too much obvious corruption system wide. You might catch on.  Reminds me of the late 60's with riots on the horizon. I think mayor Daley of Chicago would be proud of the officiers. So would Pilate. Go wash your hands of this and look the other way. They only treat the other guy bad, it would never happen to  you, not to you. later dude.

Really? 3 years ago is outdated and irrelevant to what's been going on since. Seems that the media here is try to incite a lot of bs against the SPD on an otherwise slow news day! I think Tracy Vedder should put her money where her journalistic mouth is and put on a jacket with SPD on it, be a target and run around with a few policemen day in and day out for a week just to see what it's like to keep the city and law abiding citizens safe. Let's have both sides of the story!

What the problem is, is that any time one of the officers abuses his power and should be charged with a crime,  the police investigate and of course, ALWAYS denies them of any charges.  They need to start having trial by jury in these cases.  Just because these officers wear a uniform, it gives then NO MORE rights that any of us.  They just get paid to run around and upholding the law, not beating people up.

I love how there's an apparently mentally ill woman behind Tracy doing some kind of calisthenics. I'm calling the SPD. In three years I expect to see some video of that crazy woman's beating.

A mentally ill person murdered my friend.  I arrested a mentally ill person that had just beaten another person to a pulp (dead).   But, I guess dead and injured Cops and Citizens don't matter to Ms. Vedder, just ratings and controversy.  I'd like to see HER deal with some of these subjects.