The Strong Arm of the Law: Violent force by police gets a pass

[Echo In Light]

The Strong Arm of the Law: Violent force by police gets a pass
Seattle officers are rarely disciplined in cases against civilians, P-I finds
By ERIC NALDER P-I INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER

When a Seattle cop kicked the legs out from under a woman, fracturing her cheekbone as she fell face-first onto the pavement, the captain in charge of internal investigations recommended discipline.

But the department rejected the investigator's recommendation, calling for "supervisory intervention," a kind of retraining that is not considered disciplinary action by the department.

The "intervention" that the officer received included an admonition to keep using force when necessary on the street.

Six months after the woman was hurt, witnesses said the same cop kicked a suspect in the face as the man was trying to surrender. And once again, he was given retraining.

A Seattle P-I investigation found that the officer, Aaron Parker, has plenty of company. The Seattle Police Department hasn't disciplined any officers for unnecessary force in the past 18 months, during a time when it ruled on at least 161 force cases. During that same period, 12 other excessive-force complaints resulted in supervisory intervention with officers.

The last batch of sustained force cases occurred in the first few months of 2006, when three cases dating from 2004 and 2005 resulted in discipline, including a suspension, a suspension that was held in abeyance for good behavior and two reprimands.

The department takes disciplinary action in about 1 percent of cases where a complaint of unnecessary force is made. It sustains other allegations about 10 percent of the time, records show. Other types of complaints include abuse of authority, false arrest and discourtesy.

More:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/349469_force31.html

Also check the left column for related articles:
A look at 'force' incidents where cops weren't disciplined, and, Cops who lie don't always lose jobs

[Echo In Light]

1. Kick

[Greyhound]

2. Good thing we don't have fascism here. That would be really bad. n/t

[truebrit71]

3. A couple of nice multi-million dollar lawsuits should get that pig the "re-training" he deserves...

...:grr: