Slog News & Arts

Line Out

Music & Nightlife

« All the News that Fits | Last Shots in the Ron Paul Rev... »

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

SPD Settles Another Brutality Case

posted by on February 13 at 16:33 PM

The Seattle Police Department has settled another police brutality case out of court.

SPD will pay Aaron Claxton $20,000 for an incident in August 2006, where Claxton was repeatedly tasered by plainclothes officers—from one of SPD’s elite anti-crime teams—inside his home. Officers claimed Claxton—a 22-year-old Boys and Girls Club counselor—had been speeding, and failed to stop at a stop sign near his home in North Seattle. Claxton was also charged with obstruction, but the case was dropped because of, according to court records, a “lack of proof.”

While Claxton settled for a relatively small amount, his suit is yet another example of a lack of confidence in our city’s police accountability system. As I’ve said before, if SPD won’t discipline officers, people are going to continue to take their claims of officer misconduct to court, rather than deal with SPD’s slow and ineffective method of policing its officers.

RSS icon Comments

1

Tasered by plainclothes cops in his home for running a stop sign?

Did they have a warrant?

He could have legally shot them ... and no jury would have convicted him.

Posted by Will in Seattle | February 13, 2008 4:39 PM
2

Really?
You can shoot cops who do not threaten deadly force, if there is some defect in their procedures, or their warrant is flawed or something?

Wow. That will certainly help us recruit those extra 49 cops we need.

Posted by barrister | February 13, 2008 5:02 PM
3

I'm sorry I haven't been following the cop news, but can I ask: are the cops who are not on the Anti-Crime Team not anti-crime?

PS: "Your honor! Not guilty by reason of I read it in a Will in Seattle post!"

Posted by elenchos | February 13, 2008 5:18 PM
4

How would you know they're cops?

If someone broke in your house ... just saying.

Posted by Will in Seattle | February 13, 2008 5:27 PM
5

I may have missed it in the weekend caucus craziness, but did you see that SPD actually fired an officer last Thursday?
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/350715_badcop9.html

Posted by Gidge | February 13, 2008 5:27 PM
6
Really? You can shoot cops who do not threaten deadly force...
considering you don't find out if a taser is deadly until after you die from being tasered, I would consider someone threatening me with one "threat of deadly force"
.. if there is some defect in their procedures, or their warrant is flawed or something?

yeah I would call busting into someones house in plan close and assaulting them a "defect"

people died for Americans to have civil liberties. Start acting like it.

Posted by meanie | February 13, 2008 5:37 PM
7

@ 3—
The Anti-Crime Teams are plainclothes officers in unmarked vehicles that deal with the street level crime (drugs, prostitution, etc) that Vice and Gangs can't/won't.

Posted by Jonah S | February 13, 2008 5:40 PM
8

@ #6: did you mean "plainclothes?" If not, your post makes not a lot of sense.

I would call busting into someones house in plan close and assaulting them a "defect"

Posted by GrammarNazi | February 13, 2008 5:47 PM
9

Thanks for clarifying that, GrammarNazi!

Posted by We'd be lost without you | February 13, 2008 6:00 PM
10

Actually, people have died - on video - from being tasered multiple times - just up in Vancouver BC ... it was national media there.

But seriously, no jury would convict him if he had.

Posted by Will in Seattle | February 13, 2008 6:01 PM
11

Do these payments come out of the SPD budget? They should.

Posted by Trevor | February 13, 2008 6:18 PM

Comments Closed

In order to combat spam, we are no longer accepting comments on this post (or any post more than 14 days old).