Well this certainly bodes poorly for police reform. As well as being pretty crappy in its own right.
I just got a call from Seattle Times reporter Steve Miletich confirming a rumor I’d heard recently: Seattle police chief Harry Bailey has overturned the one-day suspension of Officer John Marion, the cop who threatened to harass me at work in retaliation for reporting on police misconduct. Chief Bailey wants to provide more training instead, and as Miletich explains, Bailey doesn’t seem to understand that he’s also apparently overturned the misconduct ruling itself
The police in this city are problematic on a level enough for the DOJ to get involved. They have a pattern stretching back over a decade. The last mayor half assed reform only when the Feds got involved, and previous mayors didn’t even do that much. It’s disheartening to see Ed Murray’s team not even be able to match the halfassedness of his predecessor.
But maybe I’m making too much of one thing. Oh (Seattle Times link).
Bailey, who was appointed interim chief last month by Mayor Ed Murray, said he took the action as part of a sweeping review of more than 25 pending grievances stemming from backlogged disciplinary actions imposed by former interim Chief Jim Pugel and former Police Chief John Diaz.
He said he wants to “get all of these things cleaned up before the new chief comes,” a reference to Murray’s goal to find a permanent chief by the end of April.
Bailey said he was working with the City Attorney’s Office and the Seattle Police Officers’ Guild (SPOG) to resolve some of the cases.
We let police officers carry guns and arrest people on the public dime. We ought to expect there will be some accountability when the fuck up, but it’s looking like even that is too much to ask.
So this officer suffers from a lack of training? It takes specialized training to know that threatening a citizen for simply observing you in public is improper?
I’ve had professional contact with police for more than 20 years. Police are routinely described by prosecutors and judges as having extraordinary powers of observation, an understanding of human behavior beyond that of other mortals, and generally being beyond the criticism of civilians. But when a cop does something indefensible, something even a child would know is wrong, then it’s a lack of training.
Meaningful police reform won’t happen until there’s acknowledgement that some cops shouldn’t be cops. And police conduct is viewed using the same standards as other occupations.
So this officer suffers from a lack of training? It takes specialized training to know that threatening a citizen for simply observing you in public is improper?
I’ve had professional contact with police for more than 20 years. Police are routinely described by prosecutors and judges as having extraordinary powers of observation, an understanding of human behavior beyond that of other mortals, and generally being beyond the criticism of civilians. But when a cop does something indefensible, something even a child would know is wrong, then it’s a lack of training.
Meaningful police reform won’t happen until there’s acknowledgement that some cops shouldn’t be cops. And police conduct is viewed using the same standards as other occupations.
Is it totally out of line to suspect that Mayor Ed has appointed a good ol’ boy to pre-empt the incoming chief by sweeping all the pending disciplinary cases against bully cops under a rug before the new chief arrives?
@2 “But when a cop does something indefensible …”
You mean like when a cop blows away a litter of kittens in front of little kids?
http://rt.com/usa/cop-accorti-.....oting-669/
On the other hand, what kind of idiots let their kids run around the neighborhood flashing “toys” like this?
http://www.nydailynews.com/new.....-1.1494144
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Parents who let their kids have toys like that should at least teach their kids that when a cop says “drop it” and points a real gun at them, they’d damn well better drop it.