Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Crime / Two-Block Radius Not a Good Day to Be Driving This Car
Posted by Eli Sanders on Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 12:29 PM
- E.S.
There's currently a large police response near 11th and Pike for a traffic stop involving a car that fits the description of the car used in Saturday's murder of officer Timothy Brenton. A Stranger intern saw the driver of the car (a beat-up Chevy Monza) being ordered out of his vehicle by multiple officers with guns drawn. They made him put his hands above his head, walk backward away from the car, and kneel in the roadway—after which he stood behind a police cruiser, handcuffed, as officers inspected the grill of his Chevy.
- E.S.
Police at the scene wouldn't comment, but they could be overheard saying that the car matched what they were looking for. No bullet holes on the vehicle, though, and nothing but a bemused expression on the face of the driver, who appeared to be thoroughly cooperating with the officers.
UPDATE: And now, not long after it began, it's all over. The street's cleared of police cars, the beat up Monza is gone, and police spokesman Jeff Kappel says that while officers are of course going to be stopping a lot of cars that look like the one above, this stop, in the end, "was probably nothing."
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3
So, this guy got cuffed at multiple gunpoints because he's driving a small whitish, grayish, or bluish car? Nice.
6
And now I have no sympathy for the cops at this point. This was a fucking thug-assed thing to do.
But then someone who drives a monza is probably not too rich and probably not very white, right?
But then someone who drives a monza is probably not too rich and probably not very white, right?
8
What's that plate in the photo? 017WRY? Or something else?
Nothing listed for that 017WRY at http://web1.seattle.gov/courts/cpi/
Nothing listed for that 017WRY at http://web1.seattle.gov/courts/cpi/
9
This is what passes for clever these days? What kind of sick freak runs out and buys the same kind of car used in the shooting? Kitschy irony aside, give it a week, for christ's sake! Two weeks if you have half a heart. Doesn't it make you feel old to think what the kids today think is cool?
10
Y'all bashing the cops: what do you propose they do differently? They're looking for someone who, best we can tell, wants to kill cops specifically, and they don't know much about the person except what they were driving. If you were the guy who was ordered to make that traffic stop by your boss, wouldn't you be a little cautious?
Shit, I know some cops can be assholes, but they're also just people.
Shit, I know some cops can be assholes, but they're also just people.
11
Chevy Monza's got to be on the short list of worst cars ever, right? This is the kind of doors-falling-off overpowered underdesigned piece of shit that destroyed Detroit. I can't believe there are still some on the road. They've got to be almost as rare as AMC Pacers.
Commenters are nuts. This is the very picture of a reasonable search. Remember this guy is loaded for bear and just killed their brother. What are they supposed to do, wave?
Commenters are nuts. This is the very picture of a reasonable search. Remember this guy is loaded for bear and just killed their brother. What are they supposed to do, wave?
12
@9 for the win
@ 4, @ 6.. Sigh...give me a fucking break. You'd prefer, what response, exactly, for future murder investigations?
@ 4, @ 6.. Sigh...give me a fucking break. You'd prefer, what response, exactly, for future murder investigations?
15
So this is entirely hearsay, but I'm repeating it here.
A friend of mine has a brother in the SPD. He told her that there have been suspicious, seemingly coordinated attempts to murder police officers in Seattle recently, but they aren't being reported in/to the media, presumably to prevent discouraging a gloryhound murderer/assassin. She said specifically there have been pipe-bombs found under police cars, and that it is suspected to all be connected.
I am dubious.
She also said the attacker at 29th and Yesler knew how to avoid the on-board camara on the police car that was attacked, implying the attacker meticulously planned their crime.
I am still dubious, because this is hearsay.
But I can not WAIT for this piece of shit to get caught.
A friend of mine has a brother in the SPD. He told her that there have been suspicious, seemingly coordinated attempts to murder police officers in Seattle recently, but they aren't being reported in/to the media, presumably to prevent discouraging a gloryhound murderer/assassin. She said specifically there have been pipe-bombs found under police cars, and that it is suspected to all be connected.
I am dubious.
She also said the attacker at 29th and Yesler knew how to avoid the on-board camara on the police car that was attacked, implying the attacker meticulously planned their crime.
I am still dubious, because this is hearsay.
But I can not WAIT for this piece of shit to get caught.
17
#2 I sort of think this is a good thought. Police officer gets shot to death, all hell is released to find the killer, as it should be. Citizen Nobody gets shot to death and 30 minutes after the fact a single Patrol car shows up and determines a shooting has taken place. End of story. I suppose when it's one of your own the effort to find the killer is greater.
18
One thing is clear: They have no fucking idea who did this.
Eventually, someone will brag, and someone else will tell, and they will catch the perp. Until then, leave your greyish/whitish/bluish cars at home and don't make any sudden movements around cops.
Eventually, someone will brag, and someone else will tell, and they will catch the perp. Until then, leave your greyish/whitish/bluish cars at home and don't make any sudden movements around cops.
20
"A New Day In America!", of course not!
This is just the way they react when one of their gang killed.
Would any street gang act differently?
This is just the way they react when one of their gang killed.
Would any street gang act differently?
21
This is why people rightfully hate the cops:
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/01…
Murdered in cold blood in Oakland
Todd Chretien reports on the outpouring of anger after Oakland police killed an unarmed man on the platform of a transit station.
January 7, 2009
ON NEW Year's Eve, as scores of horrified people looked on, Oakland transit police forced 22-year-old Oscar Grant to the ground, kneeled on his head and then shot him in the back.
Grant, an African American father of a 4-year-old daughter and an Oakland grocery story worker, died several hours later. The bullet entered his back, ricocheted off the concrete floor and punctured his lungs.
Police attempted to confiscate cell phone videos taken by Bay Area Rapid Transit passengers and initially claimed that security cameras didn't record the incident. However, in the last two days, they have been forced to admit that the security cameras did capture the assault.
Additionally, one especially graphic video taken by a passenger was released by the Bay Area television station KTVU. It shows an unarmed and unresisting Grant, lying face down, shot at point-blank range by an officer as his horrified friends and onlookers watch.
Although police and BART authorities still refuse to give the name of the officer who shot and killed Grant, KTVU obtained a copy of the civil lawsuit filed by Grant's family, which names officer Johannes Mehserle as the shooter.
Grant "was unarmed and offered no physical resistance to BART police officers," according to the claim filed by attorney John Burris. According to KTVU's summary of the lawsuit:
Grant fell to his knees and put his hands up "in an effort to demonstrate that he was submitting to the Latino officer's thuggish display of authority."
But the officer dug his knee into Grant's back, causing Grant to "yell out in agony," the claim states.
Grant feared for his life and "made a valiant effort to de-escalate the situation by appealing to the officer's sense of humanity by telling the officer that he had a 4-year-old daughter" and asking the officer not to use a Taser gun on him, according to the claim.
The claim alleges that Mehserle, who was standing nearby, kneeled down and restrained Grant's hands, then "inexplicably" stood up, drew his firearm and pointed it directly at Grant's back.
The claim states, "Without so much as flinching, Officer Mehserle stood over Mr. Grant and mercilessly fired his weapon, mortally wounding Mr. Grant with a single gunshot wound to the back."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
THE NEW Year's killing has provoked a growing community response as the police account of the incident has fallen apart. Although Mehserle has yet to issue a statement, according to media accounts, police officials suggested to the press that he intended to use his Taser gun on Grant and claimed he might not have recognized the difference between the two weapons.
That assertion has been met with disbelief by anti-police brutality activists. Burris cast further doubt on the police account at a January 4 press conference:
It's an outrageous set of facts. My sense is clear that this was an unjustifiable shooting. There were no movements, and he was not trying to overrun the police officer. A gun cannot discharge accidentally. You have to have your finger on the trigger.
When conduct like this occurs, there is a price to pay. Police have to be held accountable when they engage in this kind of unlawful conduct.
Following the killing, a spirited, spontaneous protest of 20 people took place outside BART Police headquarters on January 5. Grant's family is holding a memorial for him in his hometown of Hayward, just south of Oakland, on January 7.
Activists are planning a rally to demand justice for Oscar Grant at the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland later in the day, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. The protest was called by concerned community members and is spreading quickly by word of mouth.
Police brutality is nothing new in Oakland. In the last few years, a string of police killings have angered residents, including last spring's shooting death of 15-year-old José Luis Buenrostro-Gonzalez, which remains an open case, with no officers being accused of any wrongdoing.
"We have no intention of letting the cops off the hook," said Dana Blanchard from the Campaign to End the Death Penalty. "The whole criminal injustice system is rotten, and we're going to do everything we can to make sure Oscar Grant's death shines a light on it."
More...
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/01…
Murdered in cold blood in Oakland
Todd Chretien reports on the outpouring of anger after Oakland police killed an unarmed man on the platform of a transit station.
January 7, 2009
ON NEW Year's Eve, as scores of horrified people looked on, Oakland transit police forced 22-year-old Oscar Grant to the ground, kneeled on his head and then shot him in the back.
Grant, an African American father of a 4-year-old daughter and an Oakland grocery story worker, died several hours later. The bullet entered his back, ricocheted off the concrete floor and punctured his lungs.
Police attempted to confiscate cell phone videos taken by Bay Area Rapid Transit passengers and initially claimed that security cameras didn't record the incident. However, in the last two days, they have been forced to admit that the security cameras did capture the assault.
Additionally, one especially graphic video taken by a passenger was released by the Bay Area television station KTVU. It shows an unarmed and unresisting Grant, lying face down, shot at point-blank range by an officer as his horrified friends and onlookers watch.
Although police and BART authorities still refuse to give the name of the officer who shot and killed Grant, KTVU obtained a copy of the civil lawsuit filed by Grant's family, which names officer Johannes Mehserle as the shooter.
Grant "was unarmed and offered no physical resistance to BART police officers," according to the claim filed by attorney John Burris. According to KTVU's summary of the lawsuit:
Grant fell to his knees and put his hands up "in an effort to demonstrate that he was submitting to the Latino officer's thuggish display of authority."
But the officer dug his knee into Grant's back, causing Grant to "yell out in agony," the claim states.
Grant feared for his life and "made a valiant effort to de-escalate the situation by appealing to the officer's sense of humanity by telling the officer that he had a 4-year-old daughter" and asking the officer not to use a Taser gun on him, according to the claim.
The claim alleges that Mehserle, who was standing nearby, kneeled down and restrained Grant's hands, then "inexplicably" stood up, drew his firearm and pointed it directly at Grant's back.
The claim states, "Without so much as flinching, Officer Mehserle stood over Mr. Grant and mercilessly fired his weapon, mortally wounding Mr. Grant with a single gunshot wound to the back."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
THE NEW Year's killing has provoked a growing community response as the police account of the incident has fallen apart. Although Mehserle has yet to issue a statement, according to media accounts, police officials suggested to the press that he intended to use his Taser gun on Grant and claimed he might not have recognized the difference between the two weapons.
That assertion has been met with disbelief by anti-police brutality activists. Burris cast further doubt on the police account at a January 4 press conference:
It's an outrageous set of facts. My sense is clear that this was an unjustifiable shooting. There were no movements, and he was not trying to overrun the police officer. A gun cannot discharge accidentally. You have to have your finger on the trigger.
When conduct like this occurs, there is a price to pay. Police have to be held accountable when they engage in this kind of unlawful conduct.
Following the killing, a spirited, spontaneous protest of 20 people took place outside BART Police headquarters on January 5. Grant's family is holding a memorial for him in his hometown of Hayward, just south of Oakland, on January 7.
Activists are planning a rally to demand justice for Oscar Grant at the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland later in the day, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. The protest was called by concerned community members and is spreading quickly by word of mouth.
Police brutality is nothing new in Oakland. In the last few years, a string of police killings have angered residents, including last spring's shooting death of 15-year-old José Luis Buenrostro-Gonzalez, which remains an open case, with no officers being accused of any wrongdoing.
"We have no intention of letting the cops off the hook," said Dana Blanchard from the Campaign to End the Death Penalty. "The whole criminal injustice system is rotten, and we're going to do everything we can to make sure Oscar Grant's death shines a light on it."
22
This sounds like reasonable behavior, given what just happened to one of their own.
The perp is obviously a cop-hater. If you were a cop, and there was one itty bit of a chance that a traffic stop was the cop-hater, wouldn't you be careful and paranoid as shit?
The perp is obviously a cop-hater. If you were a cop, and there was one itty bit of a chance that a traffic stop was the cop-hater, wouldn't you be careful and paranoid as shit?
23
Er, I don't think there are very many Chevy Monzas in Seattle. Probably fewer the same color as the one that was used in the shooting. I'm sure the first thing the cops did was pull up all the Chevy Monzas in the DMV database that matched the description of the car and tracked them down. Their caution in the traffic stop is not unreasonable since the driver is potentially an armed killer. Since the guy wasn't roughed up, just cuffed n' stuffed for a short amount of time while the car was searched, you can't really cry 'brutality' on this one. It's pretty obvious they were just following procedure.
24
@23 Or not. There is nothing in the police description of the shooter's vehicle to indicate that it was a Monza. In fact, it has been described as a "small, light-colored sedan, possibly a Toyota".
25
@15: Friends were kidding yesterday that if the attackers avoided the onboard camera they must have taken off in reverse.
26
It's stunning that innocent people driving a similar car to the killer could so easily end up with a bunch of guns getting pulled on them. That sounds pretty traumatic.
Although I'm not quite sure how differently they should respond, since they're dealing with a suspect that has proven to be so brazen. What a pickle
Although I'm not quite sure how differently they should respond, since they're dealing with a suspect that has proven to be so brazen. What a pickle
27
@24 Riiiiiiiiiight - you're assuming the Seattle Times has all the information? You go with that, buddy.
28
@27 - And your assumption is what? That SPD has a better description of the suspect's car than has been reported, and they are keeping it a secret?
Uh, OK.
Uh, OK.
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