@7: Okay, here's the scenario. You're in Belltown on a weekend morning just before the bars close. You walk past what appears to be some sort of an altercation in a parking lot. Maybe the lighting isn't all that great, maybe it's actually pretty dark at the edge of that alley where you're standing. Suddenly, from a distance you see two guys dressed all in black start chasing you, they don't identify themselves and there's no OBVIOUS indication from your perspective exactly who they are.

Given the above scenario, what do you think the average law-abiding citizen would do?

Let us not forget the KCSD has developed a notorious reputation over the past few years for these kinds of strong-armed tactics, including a flagrant inability to identify themselves as LEA's when conducting their business, particularly when outside their normal jurisdiction (i.e. within the Seattle City Limits).

And look at the camera footage from the Cinerama. As the victim comes into frame, he's not running; he's obviously slowed down to walking speed. His hands are clearly visible, held slightly out from his body. In the bright light of the sidewalk, it's clear he isn't holding a weapon and doesn't appear to pose any sort of threat. He begins to turn in the direction from which he came, then raises his arms defensively as the KCSD enters the frame at a full-speed run, bodyslams the guy squarely in the midsection, knocking him some SIX OR SEVEN FEET through the air and slamming his head into a concrete wall. He hits the wall so hard in fact that his feet fly up into the air nearly over his head. Meanwhile Ossifer Friendly is in direct line-of-sight of this with a completely unobstructed view of the impact a mere six feet from where he's standing.

And what does he do then? As the victim lies limp and unmoving on the ground, probably already suffering massive brain-trauma, our victorious Executor Of Justice begins dragging his trophy like a hyena that's just dropped a gazelle, twisting and rolling the body while his head bounces along the sidewalk, no doubt exacerbating whatever injury the poor man has already suffered.

While the good-ole-boys who run the KCSD, and their buddies in the Prosecutors Office may stand together on their side of the Blue Line, the victim's family should take this guy to civil court and make him pay for the life he's effectively, and unnecessarily, ruined.

And just for emphasis @7, these were NOT blue-uniformed SPD, they were black-clad King County Sheriffs Deputies, who from a distance at night on a street with low visibility might not be as immediately recognizeable to the average Seattleite. To someone in that situation, they could look like rent-a-cops at best, and at worst like street-thugs; from the Cinerama footage, it's not obvious- even in the enhanced footage that comes at the end of the sequence - whether the KCSD who body-checked this guy had on a badge or even shoulder insignia (which is much more obvious on the second officer who comes into frame at around 0:11).

As to the "truncheon, handcuffs & gun", maybe you haven't noticed, but most cops sport these things called "utility belts", with all sorts of pouches, loops & holsters attached for carrying their equipment. The standard-issue for these is black leather, with the cuffs safely stored in a black leather pouch (so that, for example, in a struggle they can't be used to drag or exert leverage on the officer), and guns (black) secured in black leather or nylon holsters. So, we've got a couple of guys wearing all-black, sporting black belts off of which are hanging a bunch of black things that at night and from a distance aren't going to exactly jump out in contrast against those all-black outfits.

Given the circumstances as described by witnesses in the various articles about this incident, the ONLY way anyone would have had a reasonable expectation of knowing these guys were cops would have been IF they had immediately identified themselves. The witnesses indicate this may not have occurred, at least not within their earshot, but the cops say they did. However, KCSD has a reputation for failing to ID themselves in similar situations that have occurred in the past, so their "word of honor" isn't exactly pristine in cases such as this.