by Doug Collins

The Free Press

We hope that the Free Press is not construed as being anti-police because of this article. The people in blue perform many useful and heroic deeds, but they are also capable of misconduct. This misconduct is an underreported topic. The following documented allegations hopefully help bring to light the discontent that the public sometimes feels with police. The current dispositions of these complaints are not currently available to the Free Press, but local researchers like Hoffman are encouraged to press for these and investigate further.

• A member of SPD allegedly ordered a used submachine gun from a weapons dealer in California. Although he had no authority to purchase weapons on the behalf of the department, the accused utilized SPD stationery and claimed to be the Weapons Acquisitions Manager.

• A man was contacted by SPD robbery detectives who asked him to view photo montages to identify robbery suspects. While viewing the photos, the man claims that he picked one subject and got no reaction from the detectives. He picked a second subject and again got no reaction. When he picked a third subject, one of the detectives jumped up in elation exclaiming, "We've got him!" The man stated in his complaint that he felt uncomfortable with the process that the detectives were using.

• A complainant wrote a letter alleging that officials and others have supported violations of fire codes and parking laws concerning a local festival. [Ed's note: the name of the festival was blacked out and further details were not given.]

• A man was awakened by activity outside his apartment. He looked out the window. An officer was taking photos of the man's building. He went out and spoke to the officer. He later learned that there had been a rape across the street. In the next issue of the Capitol Hill Times Police Beat column, an item on the rape indicated that a suspicious man had been leering out of a window and had come out. The man felt that he was improperly listed as a possible suspect.

  ...she was told that since she lives in the Fremont area she should expect to be burglarized.

• A detective received a complaint from an alarm company that a police officer acted inappropriately while responding to an alarms call. The officer was alleged to have told an alarm customer that the alarm company was one of the most unreliable in the area. The officer went on to touch the customer and ask her to dance. The customer did not want to be involved and did not want to complain to the police, according to the alarm company.

• The owner of a business alleged that two officers came into his business and seemed to be using the front windows for observation purposes. The owner said that one officer had his hand around the grip of his gun as he talked to the owner. The owner twice asked him to take his hand off his gun. The officer said "Why, are you scared?" The officer finally took his hand off his gun, said that he took it personally, and wouldn't be doing business there, and left. The owner's wife corroborated the account.

• A deaf man was going to visit an acquaintance. He knocked on her door and no one answered. He decided to walk around for a while and try again later. About a half a block away, an officer grabbed him by the arm to turn him around. The man stated that the officer may have been calling to him, but due to his hearing limitations, he did not hear the officer. He tried to tell the officer by sign language that he could not speak and needed to write messages down. The officer never got out any paper.

• A man reported that he observed an SPD motorcycle officer riding with the headlight of his motorcycle turned off. He stated that he pulled up next to the officer and informed him of the light being out. He alleged the officer was rude and belligerent to him. The officer reportedly told him that the matter was his (the officer's) concern, and that it was none of the man's business.

• A homeless woman who was panhandling was stopped and frisked by an officer. She alleged that the officer proceeded to berate her, saying she had no shame or pride, and was taking advantage of people's charity. The officer allegedly asked her if she believed in God, and told her that God would provide her with a job.

• A woman called for information on how to recover damages from an injury she received while being arrested. Her complaint was that an officer placed handcuffs on her so tight that it cut off her circulation, resulting in nerve damage to her wrists. She claimed that several officers were present during her arrest and none of them would listen to her when she complained about her pain.

• A woman reported that she had called the Burglary Office to discuss an earlier burglary in her condo. She had some additional information and a possible suspect. She stated that she was advised that the detective on her case was on leave for two to three weeks. She felt that no one cared for her additional information and said she was told that since she lives in the Fremont area she should expect to be burglarized.

• A complainant wrote stating that she observed an officer grab the throat of a suspect and hold on until the suspect fell to the ground. The officer told the suspect to "Spit it out." Apparently the suspect did so. The complainant felt that the use of the "choke hold" was abusive.

• A woman reported to 911 that she heard several shots fired outside of her home. She informed police that there were shell casings in the street. She was advised to leave the shell casings in the street, and officers would be by. Three hours later, she went to bed, not having seen any officers. She was complaining about a lack of response to her call.

• A man stated he made a shoe shine box and began to shine shoes downtown. According to his account, he was approached by an officer who told him he could not set up business there without a license. He went out and bought a license and again set up business morning. He stated that the same officer came up and told him it didn't matter that he now had a license, he could not do business there.

• A person observed Parking Enforcement Officers impounding vehicles that were parked in front of driveways, but noticed that these driveways weren't being used anymore. These driveways led into a parking lot, but lines were painted there, and cars were parked in front of the driveways, therefore the driveways were "nonfunctional." The person felt that the police department should be spending money on something else, and also thought that there must be a strange relationship between the police department and the towing company "who is getting money from all these tows."

• Mace sprayed by "six white officers from the gang unit" allegedly endangered a one-year-old baby. A sixteen-year-old girl described via her mother that police officers came in through a locked door with no warrant or permission, "sprayed mace all over," and arrested an individual in a downstairs bedroom. The mace covered the entire house, and an aid unit was called for the baby. The girl asked the officers why the suspect was also maced after being handcuffed.

• A woman who had been raped by her ex-husband called to report that the officer who responded to her 911 call was very non-caring and made a comment about her house smelling bad. She did not know if he took a report on the incident.

• A man stated that his wife was assaulted and hospitalized for two days. He felt that the police did not assess the situation as serious as it was. He said that the courts declined prosecution in the case, with an explanation that the police report on the incident did not merit prosecution. He felt that because his wife is Filipino, that there may have been a language barrier when the incident was first reported.

• Two officers detained a subject on the grounds of a school near Martin Luther King Way S. These officers pulled a gun off of the subject. One of the officers took the gun, allegedly placed it to the head of the subject, and said the words "Bang, bang, bang." One witness obtained badge numbers. There were many other alleged witnesses at the school.

• A woman called stating that she had been stopped by an officer and given a ticket for speeding. She alleged that the officer, while very polite, "smelled like a brewery."

• A man alleged that he was taking a friend to the King Street train station to drop him off. He had trouble reaching the station due to traffic from a Mariners game in the process of letting out. He stopped to ask a SPD motorcycle officer who was working on Jackson street about how to get to the station. He reported that the officer told him to "Get out of here or I'll write you a $47 ticket." And when his friend attempted to get out of the car to walk to the station, the officer again yelled at him to move. He eventually dropped his friend off about a third of a mile away, and the friend had to run to catch the train.

• A woman complained that she was stopped by an officer and asked if she was a prostitute. She described her own clothing as "sexy" and stated that the lower part of her buttock was exposed. She stated that she was only walking to the bus and was not engaged in any suspicious activity. She alleged that the officer threatened to cite her for "indecent exposure" if he ever saw her "dressed like that again."

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Contents this page were published in the July/August, 1997 edition of the Washington Free Press.
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