News Maikoiyo Alley-Barnes
posted by on June 26 at 10:52 AM
The Seattle Times splashed a story across its front page today that will, without a doubt, lead to the firing or resignation of Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske. In April of 2005 three SPD officers arrested Maikoiyo Alley-Barnes outside the War Room on Pike Street—arrested and beat the crap out of Alley-Barnes.
Alley-Barnes was charged with obstructing justice, resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer—but all charges were dropped after the SPD refused to turn over a copy of a videotape of the arrest to Alley-Barnes’ defense lawyers; audio, however, showed that the SPD officers’ written accounts of the arrest were “inaccurate.”
The Office of Police the Office of Professional Accountability (OPA), which oversees internal police investigations, found two were guilty of excessive force and all three were guilty of serious breaches in conduct. She recommended discipline for all three.
Kerlikowske, however, did not punish the three officers involved in the assault on Alley-Barnes—just as Kerlikowske refused to discipline SPD officers Gregory Neubert and Michael Tietjen who were accused (and exonerated) of planting drugs on a black man in a freakin’ wheelchair, even after the arrest, which was caught on videotape, did not match up with the officers’ police reports.
It’s a great story, and I’m not writing this Slog post to take anything away from the Seattle Times or Mike Carter and Christine Clarridge’s reporting. But I did want to respond to an irate Stranger reader who wrote me this morning demanding to know why we never wrote anything about the arrest of Alley-Barnes.
Uh, we did cover Alley-Barnes arrest—in April of 2005. We were, in fact, the first Seattle paper to write about Alley-Barnes. Meanwhile, Jonah Spangenthal-Lee put in a public records request for the Alley-Barnes tape over a month ago and was down at SPD offices on Friday arguing with the public disclosure officers when the tape was left out of his request.
But, again, props to the Seattle Times.
What the hell is this crap? No dead children or rapist pastors? No butt-fucking or blow job stories? No pictures of sissy-freaks to beat off to?
Where is the real Dan Savage?
I agree, Dan, that was a terrific article. Notice that Sgt. Sackman, the "agitated" cop who instigated this whole event, also serves in the Army and was recently in Afghanistan.
Many Iraq/Afghanistan veterans come home and become police officers. I'm not excusing Sackman's behavior, but I've got to think that what these guys have seen and done in the Middle East is going to effect their behavior on the streets of Seattle. Expect to see more of it.
Still waiting for Carl Mack and Chief Kerlikowske to publicly give each other "groin picks."
I have no faith in due process or the City. If Kerlikowske didn't lose his job over this in 2005, he's not gonna lose his job over it now. Nickels protects his racist junta and he will find a way to bail his boy out.
Where is City Council? Not a peep from any of them.
Amen, #6.
DAve Coffman wrote:
Good question. I have received zero responses to my Thursday e-mail to each City Councilmember, an e-mail in which I specifically requested notification of when or if the full council briefing by the OPA Review Board would occur.
Clearly, disciplinary action needs to be removed from the Chief of Police, and the OPA should have the final decision.
Of course, you'd have to have pictures of the Police Guild leadership raping small children to get them to agree to it.
"... will, without a doubt, lead to the firing or resignation of Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske."
Really?!? What remarkable powers of precognition (not to mention prejudgement)!
Oh ye of little faith - you can bet your bottom dollar that Nick Licata is all over this.
@2 -
Professor Hubert Locke of the UW's Evans School of Public Affairs had a hypothesis somewhat related to yours. He said veterans have trouble integrating into society, and a disproportionate number become criminals. He even suggested this caused the rising crime rate after the start of the Vietnam War. I'm unsure if data supports that, but there is logic to his hypothesis. If you are trained to kill (and will die if you don't learn to kill), it's hard to readjust back into society.
Met and questioned a former SPD East Precinct employee last night. S/he noted that there had never been any of the normal station chat/banter about the case.
Chief Kerlikowske will be a guest on KUOW 49.9 FM's "Weekday" from 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. today (Thurs., June 28, 2007).
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