Slog - Comments on OPA Actually Sustains Some Complaints In This Month's Report http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/opa_actually_sustains_some_complaints_in There are five sustained complaints in this month's report from the Office of Professional Accountability, which handles internal investigations for the Seattle Police Department. Three of the charges were against one officer involved in a domestic violence incident. Another was against an officer who failed to file a use of force report. The best one (and by best I don't mean good): An SPD dispatcher, while off duty, apparently picked up a 16-year-old boy—who was a runaway—took him home, gave him alcohol and had sex with him. OPA reports do not include information about employee discipline.... Copyright 2008 Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:22:30 -0800 Sat, 25 Oct 2008 11:56:55 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by age of consent? Isn't 16 the age of consent in this state? If so, what's wrong with an off-duty dispatcher having sex with a 16-year-old? We're missing something here...

]]> age of consent? http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/opa_actually_sustains_some_complaints_in#c1183137 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/opa_actually_sustains_some_complaints_in#c1183137 City Fri, 24 Oct 2008 22:03:59 -0800 Comment by Henry @1: there are a few situations where age of consent is 18 in WA, but I don't see how this fits into any of them unless the dispatcher also worked with children as part of his job.

]]> Henry http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/opa_actually_sustains_some_complaints_in#c1183150 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/opa_actually_sustains_some_complaints_in#c1183150 City Fri, 24 Oct 2008 23:32:29 -0800 Comment by Anon What the fuck is wrong with you people?

#1 The legal limit for consuming alcohol is 21 in Washington, not 16. Supplying it to a minor is even worse.

#2 Coercion is not consent.

#3 Dispatchers are still police officers. I'm sure he had a uniform lying around somewhere and gave some "don't go to the police and tell anyone, I am the police!" speech.

]]> Anon http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/opa_actually_sustains_some_complaints_in#c1183196 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/opa_actually_sustains_some_complaints_in#c1183196 City Sat, 25 Oct 2008 09:49:56 -0800 Comment by Anon And, well, you know, police officers are supposed to be role models and outstanding citizens otherwise they're just thugs with guns. The discipline should be a firing for behavior unbecoming of a law enforcement officer.

]]> Anon http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/opa_actually_sustains_some_complaints_in#c1183198 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/opa_actually_sustains_some_complaints_in#c1183198 City Sat, 25 Oct 2008 09:53:25 -0800 Comment by Jerry wonder why the 16 year old would turn him in?

in my late teens, all I longed for was an older guy to take me home and introduce me in real life too all the stuff I had imagined for years.

then I moved to Seattle about 19 to go to the U of W ... and ... found the parks, peeps, and bars.

and thanks to several older guys, my life and sexual side fell into place and I have never looked back and still have warm feeling about those first crushes and long, so long, passionate weekends....

Jerry, now proud Ferry (love my signs on the waterfront)

]]> Jerry http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/opa_actually_sustains_some_complaints_in#c1183220 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/opa_actually_sustains_some_complaints_in#c1183220 City Sat, 25 Oct 2008 11:52:11 -0800 Comment by RonK, Seattle Anon @ 3 & 4 believes dispatchers are police officers, is "sure" the dispatcher "had a uniform lying around", and used it to exert "coercion" (like other "thugs with guns").

SPD 911 dispatchers are civilian employees, not sworn officers. (You could look it up.)

The conduct in question was consensual. (You could look it up.)

"He" (the dispatcher) wasn't "apparently" off-duty, she was explicitly off-duty ... and 911 dispatchers don't work at the grocery store anyway, unless it's a second job. (Ditto.)

What we have here is an example of agenda-driven coloration, omission and serial fabrication of the sort that raises skepticism regarding citizen allegations of police misconduct.

Note: 4 of the 5 sustained complaints concern personal conduct off duty - not abuse of public authority - while the fifth is a derivative of an incident proceeding from a stop in which satisfaction of the "reasonable suspicion" standard is ambiguous in retrospect.

The monthly report includes the following item under "Cases Mediated":

The complaint alleged that after being cited for driving infractions, the employee left the area also committing multiple infractions.
Oh, well ... nobody's perfect.

]]> RonK, Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/opa_actually_sustains_some_complaints_in#c1183221 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/opa_actually_sustains_some_complaints_in#c1183221 City Sat, 25 Oct 2008 11:56:55 -0800