The Department of justice released a report on the SPD. So far it seems like the elected officials are saying the right things, but there’s a lot of hard work to make sure that things improve. So, while it might be tough for the police, from the rank and file up, to accept this it’s also a great opportunity to improve the department.
And opportunities like this don’t come along very often, so I hope the police will embrace it. It can be tough to hear you need to change. And for many, the first inclination may be to recoil, to make excuses, to figure out why it isn’t so bad. But I hope we can move beyond that, because it is so bad. Because,
- When SPD officers use force, they do so in an unconstitutional manner nearly 20 percent of the time;
- SPD officers too quickly resort to the use of impact weapons, such as batons and flashlights. When SPD officers use batons, 57 percent of the time it is either unnecessary or excessive;
- SPD officers escalate situations, and use unnecessary or excessive force, when arresting individuals for minor offenses. This trend is pronounced in encounters with persons with mental illnesses or those under the influence of alcohol or drugs. This is problematic because SPD estimates that 70 percent of use of force encounters involve these populations.
And we have a chance to fix it. We have the chance to take a serious look and make policing better in the city. The cops on the street can either fight it or they can embrace it, but these opportunities don’t come up very much.
there are some things I don’t get. A Police Officer can be arrested for certain offenses while on the job. Assault under color of authority, malfeasance, misprision, etc. If these are crimes, under State and Federal law, why is it that officers can get away with such things, including apparently, outright murder (the native street drunk woodcarver for example, flat out executed for insubordinate behavior) and keep their jobs? Why is it such that even in the light of Union protection and advocation, Officers can repeatedly overextend their authority and step outside of the law and still remain on the job?
It would seem to me, that any such offense, and any successful lawsuit against an Officer should automatically result in a firing and loss of law enforcement license, even in spite of the Union. It should be written into their standard contracts. The Cop that shot that bouncer in the alleyway above Pike Place market a few years ago continued to escalate the situation, picking the fight and refusing to back off until he finally shot the guy. He is still on the job. Flat out street executions of those types are becoming increasingly commonplace everywhere in the Nation.
Cops are above the law, and they know it. They get away with shit every day that everyone else would be arrested for. Time for that mindset to disappear. Time to weed the bullies and thugs and sociopaths out of the entire industry. Because if we don’t, some day some cop is going to step over a line that the department won’t be able to handle.
My understanding (could be wrong on this) is that when the DOJ gets involved it’s not here’s some things you might want to change, it’s here’s what you will change.
Anyone else notice how well behaved the natives are downtown these days?