Pick187
06-16-2010, 12:30 PM
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/96413004.html
SEATTLE -- Seattle police officials said Tuesday that their officers are trained to throw a punch in certain situations, but said they have a "number of concerns" regarding the tactics an officer used in dealing with a 17-year-old girl he punched in the face while trying to cite a group of women for jaywalking.
"The issue we have to investigate is whether the force he used is reasonable given the combative resistance he was facing... and we're not going to pass judgment on that until the matter has been thoroughly investigated," said Assistant Seattle Police Chief Nick Metz.
Seattle police have directed a review of Seattle police tactics and training to ensure the training and implementation of those tactics are appropriate and consistent, Metz said.
The review comes in the wake of an altercation captured on video that shows Officer Ian Walsh punching the teenage girl in the face while struggling to get her and another teen under control in South Seattle.
The incident began when Walsh spotted four young women jaywalking the 3100 block of Martin Luther King, Jr. Way S. Walsh asked the group to step over to his patrol car, but the women were being "verbally antagonistic toward the officer," according to officials.
Police said the 19-year-old woman, identified in documents as Marilyn Levias, was resisting when Walsh tried to place handcuffs on her.
Officials said the 17-year-old girl intervened and placed her hands on Walsh's arm, "causing the officer to believe she was attempting to physically affect the first subject's escape," police said.
Walsh pushed back the second girl, but the girl came back at him. Walsh then punched her, police said.
Metz said Walsh will be transferred to a training section and the department will conduct an internal review.
"The officer is going to be transferred to the training section for a few days to review the tactics that he's been taught," Metz said. "The issue we have to investigate is whether the force he used is reasonable given the combative resistance he was facing. We're not going to pass judgment on that until the matter has been thoroughly investigated."
Veteran police trainer: Officer was 'well within scope' of appropriate response.
A 30 year veteran of law enforcement training told KOMO News Tuesday Walsh was "well within the scope of appropriate responses to the situation."
Robert Bragg, the program manager for Fitness and Force Training, said a blow to the face is also within the scope of their training and would be considered a "reasonable response".
It was a potentially threatening situation for the officer, Bragg said, not only with respect to the physical actions of the two women involved but also the group of on-lookers surrounding them and the comments they were making.
Bragg said one area where the officer might have done better was in getting control of the first woman faster. He says Walsh should probably have taken her to the ground quickly instead of trying to cuff her standing up.
Metz: Situation could have been easily defused
Metz said his department has been proactive in reaching out to the African-American community over this recent incident, but added the two women bear some responsibility for their actions because "even if you believe an arrest is unlawful, it does not give you the right to resist."
He added the situation could have been defused if the women had just cooperated.
"It certainly would have not escalated to what it did and the these women have to bear much of the responsibility in the altercation that occurred," Metz said.
But at a press conference later Tuesday, leaders of the Urban League and NAACP said the officer's reaction didn't fit the action, and that the punching was extreme, even if it was a taught tactic.
"That appears to be an overreaction to what appears to be a nonviolent jaywalking situation," said James Kelly, President and CEO of the Urban League of Seattle. "Unfortunately this seems to become too far and too often of the typical police response. The provocation of the 17-year-old may have presented a confrontation situation but the violence in the form of a full-blown fist to the face was wrong.
"This is another case where we stand here and say to the police, 'Shame on you.' "
Kelly added that while he wasn't making excuses for the way the 17-year-old acted, two wrongs don't make a right. "The overreaction of non violent situation should be the last resort, not standard police practice," Kelly said.
He called upon Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and the two candidates for Seattle police chief to determine how to "put an end to this kind of overreaction."
"If not, the video will keep playing and the world will keep wondering how we've lost our niceness to Seattle."
Both teens were cited for jaywalking. Levias was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of obstructing an officer and released on her own recognizance. Her next court appearance is scheduled for Thursday. The 17-year-old girl was booked into the Youth Service Center for investigation of assault of an officer.
SEATTLE -- Seattle police officials said Tuesday that their officers are trained to throw a punch in certain situations, but said they have a "number of concerns" regarding the tactics an officer used in dealing with a 17-year-old girl he punched in the face while trying to cite a group of women for jaywalking.
"The issue we have to investigate is whether the force he used is reasonable given the combative resistance he was facing... and we're not going to pass judgment on that until the matter has been thoroughly investigated," said Assistant Seattle Police Chief Nick Metz.
Seattle police have directed a review of Seattle police tactics and training to ensure the training and implementation of those tactics are appropriate and consistent, Metz said.
The review comes in the wake of an altercation captured on video that shows Officer Ian Walsh punching the teenage girl in the face while struggling to get her and another teen under control in South Seattle.
The incident began when Walsh spotted four young women jaywalking the 3100 block of Martin Luther King, Jr. Way S. Walsh asked the group to step over to his patrol car, but the women were being "verbally antagonistic toward the officer," according to officials.
Police said the 19-year-old woman, identified in documents as Marilyn Levias, was resisting when Walsh tried to place handcuffs on her.
Officials said the 17-year-old girl intervened and placed her hands on Walsh's arm, "causing the officer to believe she was attempting to physically affect the first subject's escape," police said.
Walsh pushed back the second girl, but the girl came back at him. Walsh then punched her, police said.
Metz said Walsh will be transferred to a training section and the department will conduct an internal review.
"The officer is going to be transferred to the training section for a few days to review the tactics that he's been taught," Metz said. "The issue we have to investigate is whether the force he used is reasonable given the combative resistance he was facing. We're not going to pass judgment on that until the matter has been thoroughly investigated."
Veteran police trainer: Officer was 'well within scope' of appropriate response.
A 30 year veteran of law enforcement training told KOMO News Tuesday Walsh was "well within the scope of appropriate responses to the situation."
Robert Bragg, the program manager for Fitness and Force Training, said a blow to the face is also within the scope of their training and would be considered a "reasonable response".
It was a potentially threatening situation for the officer, Bragg said, not only with respect to the physical actions of the two women involved but also the group of on-lookers surrounding them and the comments they were making.
Bragg said one area where the officer might have done better was in getting control of the first woman faster. He says Walsh should probably have taken her to the ground quickly instead of trying to cuff her standing up.
Metz: Situation could have been easily defused
Metz said his department has been proactive in reaching out to the African-American community over this recent incident, but added the two women bear some responsibility for their actions because "even if you believe an arrest is unlawful, it does not give you the right to resist."
He added the situation could have been defused if the women had just cooperated.
"It certainly would have not escalated to what it did and the these women have to bear much of the responsibility in the altercation that occurred," Metz said.
But at a press conference later Tuesday, leaders of the Urban League and NAACP said the officer's reaction didn't fit the action, and that the punching was extreme, even if it was a taught tactic.
"That appears to be an overreaction to what appears to be a nonviolent jaywalking situation," said James Kelly, President and CEO of the Urban League of Seattle. "Unfortunately this seems to become too far and too often of the typical police response. The provocation of the 17-year-old may have presented a confrontation situation but the violence in the form of a full-blown fist to the face was wrong.
"This is another case where we stand here and say to the police, 'Shame on you.' "
Kelly added that while he wasn't making excuses for the way the 17-year-old acted, two wrongs don't make a right. "The overreaction of non violent situation should be the last resort, not standard police practice," Kelly said.
He called upon Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and the two candidates for Seattle police chief to determine how to "put an end to this kind of overreaction."
"If not, the video will keep playing and the world will keep wondering how we've lost our niceness to Seattle."
Both teens were cited for jaywalking. Levias was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of obstructing an officer and released on her own recognizance. Her next court appearance is scheduled for Thursday. The 17-year-old girl was booked into the Youth Service Center for investigation of assault of an officer.