U.S. Department of Justice Launches Formal Civil-Rights Investigation into Seattle Police Department's "Patterns" and "Practices"
blogs.seattleweekly.com
By Curtis Cartier, Thu., Mar. 31 2011 @ 11:42AM Comments (8)
Categories: Crime & Punishment
What started as a preliminary review into the Seattle Police Department's use of force and possible racial-profiling techniques has now escalated into a full-on civil-rights investigation. Jenny Durkan, the U.S. Department of Justice attorney in charge of the initial investigation, announced the next phase of the inquiry today, amid a collective shaking of feet in boots by SPD brass.
Speaking with reporters, Durkan somewhat downplayed the investigation, calling it "a great opportunity to have experts with a new set of eyes" come in and look at the the department.
Officially, they'll be looking at "patterns" and "practices" within the department that put it at odds with laws against racism and improper uses of force.
The investigators will have plenty to look at, including Shandy Cobane, the SPD officer videotaped stomping the head of a prone Latino suspect after telling him he'd "beat the fucking Mexican piss" out of him.
There's also James Lee, the undercover officer who karate-kicked an unarmed and compliant black teen in a convenience store, then went on to punch two other dudes on the street.
Reaching back further, there's Ian Walsh, the SPD cop who punched a jaywalking black teenage girl in the face after her friend tried to intervene.
And of course there's Ian Birk, the since-resigned officer who shot Native American woodcarver John T. Williams, essentially because he looked at him meanly with a carving knife.
Whether all that amounts to legally finding a pattern of civil-rights abuses still remains to be seen. But considering that the DOJ could have dropped the investigation rather than escalated it, one has to bet that they'll be handing down some righteous judgments by the time this is all over.
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