Thursday, June 17, 2010
Engaging The Seattle Police - Part II
This young lady clearly did not see the Chris Rock video on engaging the police. (here). As for the policeman's action, I cannot judge the jaywalking stop (or slow-walking?), but it looks like Mr. Law was about to get a can of whup-ass from the second Black girl, so he needed to do something quick. I say a punch to the kisser is better than a heart-stopping tase, but that's just me. Unless the handbook says the face is off-limits, it sure got her attention. Can't we all just get along!
James C. Collier
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Technorati Tags: Engaging The Seattle Police - Part II, Chris Rock, Seattle, Arrest, Jaywalking, Acting White
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15 comments:
yeah i saw this one the other day. now i dont really like cops; they are lackeys for the govt. The females in question were resisting arrest(for jwalkn?? come on!!) so i dont know why they were being belligerent but the "pig" did use excessive force that easily i think if he wasnt try to grab the first girl then i think the situation could have be resolved easier. it just goes to show ya "911 is a joke!"
as a Black man, i am painfully aware of the reality of how race bias elevates the potential of the abuse of police power...however, in this it is obvious to me that two wrongs can never make a thing right. It is obvious that the two young women were clearly resisting arrest, with one girl foolishly crossing the line with physical aggression against the officer...Did the officer respond according to the dictates of his training?...did race bias influence his response to these girls?...would his response be the same if it had been two combative white girls?...would they even had been cited for jaywalking?
I read something today that said that jaywalking/traffic obstruction at the high school where this occurred had been a problem, and the policeman had been stationed there for the specific purpose of intervention. Next time better send a team.
And a team of black officers and white officers. Let the black and white officers handle their race so no mention of racism can be made.
And it would be an interesting study in how people act with similar as well as different race officers.
Have to wonder also if the officer in question had been black would the girls have acted more appropriately or does the site of a white cop addressing a problem with a black citizen just piss blacks off and make them act differently than with a black cop..
And I wonder if it had been a black student how would it have gone.
We know the attitude many young black women have.......
So many ifs to answer. Ifs that could define the situation realistically.
I live a few miles south of there. It is a TERRIBLE interesection. The overpass is not used much, by the way. Rainier Ave South is not a pleasant road for walking or driving.
The coverage in the local press stated that Officer Walsh was talking to two individuals for jaywalking when these girls jaywalked right in front of him. That's just stupid on their part.
Jaywalking enforcement ebbs and flows here in Seattle. My experience had been that saying, "Yes, officer, you're right, I was jaywalking" goes a long way to getting that ticket turned into a verbal warning leaving you free to jaywalk later that day.
These incidents never contain the police perspective. They are human beings who feel the same emotions, including fear, that we feel. This link to an article written by a Seattle Police Officer is interesting and informative
http://www.rainiervalleypost.com/?p=23257
One addition: A couple years ago, two blocks from this incident, I saw two officers wrestling one man to the ground. They nearly rolled into the street and I stopped the car so they would be safe.
The officers were a black man and a latino woman.
The suspect was white.
Anyway, this area, the Rainier Valley, is nearly evenly divided among black, white and asian, with some latinos.
The media always makes the situation worst by covering only one side of the story. I believe the officer had every right to punch her and I am black/latino. You can call me biased because I have volunteered my time at the police station in my city, but I would have done the same thing if two women tried to jump me, because I was enforcing the law. I think it was very foolish of her to try to fight the police office and resist arrest. She should have gave him way more respect than that. This is the type of behavior that really aggravates me. A black person gets pulled over for driving in an area that has high crime and they question the police, give attitudes and make the situation worst. They could handle the situation in a civil calm manner and prevent scenes like this. Instead of question the police officers authority, why not thank them for serving the community and putting their life on the line. Why not respond with yes sir, no sir and thank you. If you didn't commit a crime, then the officer will realize that they made the mistake in pulling you over and let you go!
"We know the attitude many young black women have......."
What attitude would this be anon??? Is it the same attitude that White women have? Does this entitle the police and ignorant individuals such as yourself to treat Black women differently (ie excessive force)??
MK
Sheena,
Would you be yelling this "respect" crap if it was a blond haired blue eyed 17 year old that got cold cocked by the police??? Please, I have seen enough White women get belligerent with the police and act in a disrespectful manner, and have yet to seen excess force used. Sh*t, I have seen drunk White college kids riot, resist arrest, and even THROW kegs at police, and did not see that level of force used.
"A black person gets pulled over for driving in an area that has high crime and they question the police, give attitudes and make the situation worst."
How do you know this is a high crime area? In what article or news report was this stated?? If you get pulled over YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO QUESTION WHY!!! Black people should be expected to be quite in the face of a police encounter they believe to be bogus. I am not going to thank the police officer for his "service" who pulled my cousin's husband and I over, gave him a 60 dollar ticket, and then when off on a long tirade about Obama.
Unlike you, I haven't forgotten that as a Black person, I have just as much to fear from the police as from the average criminal in the street.
MK
"Black people should be expected to be quite in the face of a police encounter they believe to be bogus>"
Sorry, I meant to say that Black people SHOULDN'T be expected to be quite.
MK
The Seattle police might be the weakest and most politically correct department in the country, and yet an officer can't even defend himself without being called "Racist!" This Kelly from the Urban League was most recently in the news assuring us that the Tuba Man killer was a fine young man and an honor student; after doing a few months for the killing he was recently arrested for robbery.
There is in general a very serious problem with black street crime in Seattle, but the white liberals who run the place want it overlooked so it is. Of course blacks can't even tolerate a white man defending himself.
The 17 year old (the punchee) has met and issued an apology to the cop
The 19 year old (the jaywalker) was previously charged with pushing a King County Sheriff's deputy, but that case was deferred because it was her first offense
MK
Yes, I would say the same thing about a blonde haired blue eyed 17 year old that got cold cocked by the police. I would say the same thing if it was an Asian or Latino, but that is not the case.
My concern is for the African American community. In this particular situation I believe that these two young ladies should have not attacked an armed police officer Do you agree? Or are you defending these ladies because you have seen so many white women supposedly “get away” with being disrespectful? Are you saying that it is perfectly fine for young African American men/women to get cocky with police officers after they have committed a crime?
Just remember MK, that police officers carry weapons. He doesn’t know these girls at all. Whether they are black/white/latino/asian/blue or yellow he has to protect himself and protect his weapons. Anybody can easily grab his gun or batton when in a confrontation.
Maybe you did not read my post entirely or maybe I didn’t explain myself clear enough.
“This is the type of behavior that really aggravates me. A black person gets pulled over for driving in an area that has high crime and they question the police, give attitudes and make the situation worst.”
I was giving another example.
“If you get pulled over YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO QUESTION WHY!!! Black people should be expected to be quite in the face of a police encounter they believe to be bogus.”
I agree with you. But I don’t agree with hitting police officers, copping attitudes and making the situation worst. It’s immature and there are other ways to handle the situation. You can keep your composure and ask in a calm manner why you got pulled over, if you get a ticket you can go to court and fight it or you could go to the station and file a complaint.
“I am not going to thank the police officer for his "service" who pulled my cousin's husband and I over, gave him a 60 dollar ticket, and then when off on a long tirade about Obama.”
Why did he get pulled over in the first place? Tell him to stop breaking the law and you won’t have to listen to police officers go on a tirade about Obama. The officer is entitled to his own opinion and he was just trying to get to you. If you didn’t react, then good for you, it didn’t work.
NEver mind all of the extraneous noise here... the officer's punch was a completely legitimate use of force. If you don't want a punch in the face, don't interfere (physically) when a police officer is about his/her duties.
No one, regardless of any physical characteristic, should be expected to be quiet in the face of an arrest they feel is bogus.
However, escalating the situation on the street with the officer will never ever do one any good.
The time to cease being quiet is much later, and calmly, with your lawyer in tow.
I've had far too many of my friends be needlessly arrested for the simple fact that they decided to pull an aggressive attitude over a minor problem. And I've gotten out of far worse issues simply because I'm calm and polite.
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