Officer Whitlatch was seen on dashcam video arresting 69-year-old military veteran William Wingate last summer. She claimed hed swung at her with his golf club, which he in fact used as a cane, and that the dashcam video would prove it. The dashcam showed no such thing.
Officer Whitlatch, seen on dashcam video arresting 69-year-old military veteran William Wingate last summer. She claimed Wingate had swung at her with his golf club, which he in fact used as a cane, and that the dashcam video would prove it. The dashcam showed no such thing. SPD

The Seattle Times reports:

Seattle police Officer Cynthia Whitlatch was notified Monday she faces termination over the arrest of a 69-year-old African-American man who was carrying a golf club as a cane but she accused of wielding as a weapon, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Under department disciplinary procedures, Whitlatch will be given an opportunity to plead her case at a meeting in August with Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole before O’Toole issues a final decision, according to one source.

An internal investigation into Whitlatch’s July 9, 2014, arrest of William Wingate sustained a variety of policy violations, including biased policing, another source said.

What needs to be made clear here is that the SPD's misconduct arm, the Office of Professional Accountability, has merely recommended that Whitlatch be fired, according to Ron Smith, the president of the Seattle Police Officers' Guild (SPOG). Chief Kathleen O'Toole has not made a decision one way or another, Smith said, and it will be up to her in the end. (A police department spokesperson says the department won't comment on Whitlatch's disciplinary process.)

Whitlatch, who has been at home on paid administrative leave since January, was notified today of the OPA's firing recommendation by the department's HR department, Smith said.

"She was told today and as you can imagine, she is quite shocked," Smith said. "I came in off my vacation to be with her when she was informed." He said Whitlatch wants to fight her for her job, and that the union would back her up.

"There is no evidence that he [Wingate] didn't swing the golf club at her at 11th and Pike," Smith said. "Everybody wants to sit there and take whatever Facebook post she had and draw conclusions about her state of mind. That's scary to me when you have the thought police."

Seattle police chief Kathleen O'Toole has said that she was "shocked and disappointed" by Whitlatch's Facebook comments, in which she railed against "chronic black racism." Whitlatch will meet with O'Toole about her case sometime in August, according to Smith.

More to come as we get it...

UPDATE: In a statement, OPA Director Pierce Murphy defends his findings:

The OPA conducted a thorough and objective investigation into the allegations of bias and improper conduct raised in this case, an investigation that has been certified by both me and the independent civilian OPA Auditor. After careful review and consideration of all the evidence, I recommended that the Chief of Police sustain the allegations and end the involved officer’s employment. I stand by the quality and objectivity of OPA’s independent investigation, as well as my recommendations to the Chief.