I've been pretty critical of the SPD over the years. And in the old days of the TDO battles, Pugel and I had several vocal, public run ins. Even so, over the years I have found him to be be a very smart guy, willing to reach out to those he might not see completely eye to eye with, and listen and learn. I am very happy he's become interim chief (he should have made it through the process and gotten that role instead of Diaz to begin with). We've all done stupid shit. Owning it, admitting it's stupid, learning from it, and moving on is all we can do. And he's doing that so props to him.
@5 I agree about Pugel and he should get a pass but @2 has something too. We've seen a lot of arrogant bullshit come out of SPOG/SPD and this doesn't help them win "hearts and minds" IMO.
The production values were pretty good for 1986. And from the narrator's suggestion they watch the next video featuring an attempt to squeeze some new electronic hardware into the patrol cars, there's a certain self-effacing quality that makes fun of themselves.
This one was hideous of course, and perhaps more admiral than Pugel's decision to get it out now just in case it came back to haunt him later, is Fitzsimmons insistence all copies be destroyed right after it was made.
#5 gets it right. Pugel should be commended for owning this and asking for our understanding. He's got mine.
As the reporter who asked that question about being forthright, I want to say: Thank you, Chief Pugel. This action speaks louder than a lot of empty words and damage-control PR we've heard from the SPD in the last several years. Admittedly, this video is awful--to say nothing of the drum track--but stepping up took a lot of courage. This is the sort of leadership and responsibility we've needed from a chief.
If SPD hadn't created such a horrible reputation of late, we'd be rightfully enraged that any officer who participated in the first place was ever allowed to become Chief. But our bar of expectation is so low of late, and we're so desperate to find some glimmer of hope that SPD is getting its act together, we're willing let bygones be bygones and heap praise for simply admitting he was involved in this profoundly disgraceful project. hmm....
ha ha.... Old Jimmy the Drunk must have been blackmailed into falling on the sword.... I've had a copy for 20-years.... Iike Jimmy... he likes bourbon just like me.... Too badge likes toshw up drunk at crime scenes in middle of night though.... shouldn't be driving drunk.... Told ya'll
5: Remember when you lobbied for fining panhandlers, against the income tax on the rich, and for gambling in Seattle bars? Did you ever own those actions, admit they were stupid, learn from them, and move on?
It's always fun to complain about police until you have to deal with the scum they're around to deal with. Can some cops please clean out the first floor of the Stratford Apts on 4th Ave? They're some SSI collecting potcard abusing sub species cultural icons of their own dealing drugs there.
#15: "No apology needed, Seattle used to have a sense of humor. " totally agree.
I'm sorry, is the author of this article trying to tell us that we should hold someone accountable for actions over two decades old? especially something that showed humor in the PD? Or is Cienna telling us that what we have here is a show of honesty from SPD?
I do hope that the interim chief wasn't pressured into releasing this video by someone who actually thought it would be damaging... com'on.
How are we ever going to attract and keep our "best & brightest" if we're going beat up people for an error in sensitivity and taste made nearly 30 years ago? Why would anyone want to seek appointed (or elected) positions like Chief if we're going to all "harrumph harrumph harrumph" over crap like this?
How many homeless Vets are there? My opinion would be Viet Nam or current homeless Veterans you are mocking them too. I think this is shameful all around.
This isn't much more than a caricaturization of how Seattle neighborhood associations imagine and speak of the homeless. This isn't a cop thing. It's an us thing.
No, they would decry their real leather jackets for animal cruelty and demand they drive electric scooters. They would not see the humor in the new Hyundai "tailpipe" ad for the ix35 fuel cell SUV:
The action is repetitive and predictable. Also lacking in humor. The guy pretending he's hitting the Mustang window with the bottle is not at all convincing. Also, the ideas of them all having their own bottles of booze is crazy. I can see why he's embarrassed at having been a part of that video.
I'm less bothered by their caricatures of people who waste away on the street, spending all day, every day, drunk than I am of their joking about going out and beating people for the fun of it. Pugel and his buddies may have (and I would guess probably have) become more sensitive to the plight of the underprivileged, but the practice of Seattle Police throwing their weight around and abusing whomever they want when they think nobody is watching seems not to have changed. Just a few years ago, Greg Sackman at SPD watched his subordinates beat the hell out of Maikoiyo Alley-Barnes outside the War Room on Capitol Hill. Even SPD's internal affairs unit found Sackman to have acted inappropriately. Not long after that, he was promoted. Last year, he was put in charge of the SPD drone program.
How dare the SPD accurately depict homeless people hanging out under the viaduct getting drunk. Sure its an embarrassing video, but so are the ones you make in high school.
I was realizing this was back when I had overseas duty, before I moved here, and Seattle was a gritty punk-industrial kind of place back then, that nobody had heard about. Attitudes were very different, and expectations of the cops were that they were probably going to beat you up for slouching.
Pugel was appointed two and a half weeks ago and obviously didn't raise the video during the vetting process before the announcement. Good for Pugel for responding to @10's question a couple of weeks later, but you have to wonder about why it took so long, and whether the Mayor's office even knew this was coming.
I actully commend these officers on their humor in the face of all the nastiness society has to offer.
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.c…
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/nasty…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFr30p0aZ…
if you ever needed a reason to be glad you didn't become a cop
This one was hideous of course, and perhaps more admiral than Pugel's decision to get it out now just in case it came back to haunt him later, is Fitzsimmons insistence all copies be destroyed right after it was made.
#5 gets it right. Pugel should be commended for owning this and asking for our understanding. He's got mine.
If SPD hadn't created such a horrible reputation of late, we'd be rightfully enraged that any officer who participated in the first place was ever allowed to become Chief. But our bar of expectation is so low of late, and we're so desperate to find some glimmer of hope that SPD is getting its act together, we're willing let bygones be bygones and heap praise for simply admitting he was involved in this profoundly disgraceful project. hmm....
Yea they really should have cut after the second chorus.
Some peopel just dont know when to quit.
Yea they really should have cut after the second chorus.
Some people just don't know when to quit.
I'm sorry, is the author of this article trying to tell us that we should hold someone accountable for actions over two decades old? especially something that showed humor in the PD? Or is Cienna telling us that what we have here is a show of honesty from SPD?
I do hope that the interim chief wasn't pressured into releasing this video by someone who actually thought it would be damaging... com'on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKsaWbr3B…
No, they would decry their real leather jackets for animal cruelty and demand they drive electric scooters. They would not see the humor in the new Hyundai "tailpipe" ad for the ix35 fuel cell SUV:
I was realizing this was back when I had overseas duty, before I moved here, and Seattle was a gritty punk-industrial kind of place back then, that nobody had heard about. Attitudes were very different, and expectations of the cops were that they were probably going to beat you up for slouching.