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Nothing to See Here…

Two Seattle cops under investigation for botching a Belltown drug bust have beaten the rap, but it’s still unclear what happened during the bust.

The inquest started after an African-American man in a wheelchair claimed the officers planted crack rocks on his lap and then arrested him using excessive force. Those allegations were followed by decisive action: dismissal of the man’s case, suspension of about 17 other cases, and an internal investigation of the two officers’ conduct. But the investigation found one misstep punishable only by letter of reprimand.

Chief Gil Kerlikowske said both claims proved to be unfounded. “I can tell you this case was investigated very thoroughly,” he said.

The officers are expected to be disciplined for failing to report they briefly handcuffed and detained a second man during the arrest.

That’s odd. When the PI broke the story in March, the prosecutor’s office indicated there were other problems with the case.

The man’s defense attorney, Ramona Brandes, said that when she pressed for a better reason, the deputy prosecutor told her: “Your client will know why.”

Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the prosecutor’s office, also would not elaborate beyond what was said in court. “We felt we had proof problems on this case,” he said.

If failing to document a temporary detainment created “proof problems” that were grounds for a major investigation, why would Kerlikowske practically exonerate the officers when they’re found guilty? Claims of excessive force are fairly common but probes of this scope are rare, so I doubt that suspect’s complaint on its own triggered the investigation.

It seems to me that police investigators and prosecutors genuinely suspected a greater malfeasance but couldn’t quite prove it. Video evidence of the scene apparently didn’t shed any light on things – it mostly showed the officers’ backs.

Comments (2)

1

see also: Seattle Times: "Cops' alleged lie leaves 17 cases in jeopardy", March 30, 2007

Posted by hyperlinker | April 10, 2007 2:59 PM
2

it's amazing how many people "can't quite prove" police malfeasance to the opa. people who file complaints must be a bunch of anti-cop idiots.

Posted by wf | April 10, 2007 11:12 PM

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