Eight jurors decamped to a back room in Seattleâs federal courthouse this afternoon to decide whether 72-year-old William Wingateâs civil rights were violated by former Seattle police officer Cynthia Whitlatch.
Whitlatch arrested Wingate on July 9, 2014 for allegedly swinging a golf club at her and for âobstruction.â He spent the night in jail, but was subsequently cleared of wrongdoing and given an apology by the department. Wingate, a military veteran and former bus driver with a spotless criminal record, is seeking at least $750,000 in damages.
In closing arguments today, Wingateâs attorney, Vonda Sargent, repeatedly cited text messages sent by Whitlatch as a evidence of âdeeply seated racial bias.â The messages were uncovered in the discovery phase of the trial and then introduced as evidence in an earlier part of the proceedings.
"Donât let this go unpunished and unanswered," Sargent, who is black, said. "Weâre not going to wait until we have a body in the street. Weâre going to stop it here and now... itâs 2016."
In the text message records that were introduced into evidence, the identities of those texting with Whitlatch are redacted. The exchanges took place in January 2015, shortly after The Stranger broke the story of Wingateâs arrest.
âI say you did it because heâs black⌠He was being a total ahole,â said one correspondent.
Whitlatch responded, âYeah⌠thatâs pretty much what landed him in jailâŚâ
Sargent told jurors the texts amount to admission of bias.
In another exchange, the unidentified correspondent said, âGot the news. Complete bull shit.â
Whitlatch wrote back: âFacebook rant against black racism and arresting a man who swings a golf club at you is apparently going to get me lynched.â
The correspondent talked about an e-mail sent out by police chief Kathleen OâTooleâpresumably the message to employees in which O'Toole announced Whitlatch was being investigatedâand remarked, âI subjected myself to the misery of reading the Stranger. This would be a nonissue in a normal community.â
In another message, Whitlatch wrote, âIf I thought I was going to lose my job I think I would be totally fucked up in my head but thereâs no way Iâm gonna lose my job. The worst still [sic] do if they do anything is give me a bunch of days off and who cares I donât want to go to work anyway right now.â
She is appealing her firing. An administrative hearing has been rescheduled for January 10-13, 2017.
As the trial concluded today, William Wingate wore a grey suit and sat facing the judge with hearing aids, listening intently.
Whitlatch, in a turtleneck shirt with earrings, clasped her hands and stared at Sargent, at times shaking her head or dabbing her eyes with a tissue.
Robert Christie, the lead attorney for Whitlatch, told jurors the text messages were sarcastic and called Sargentâs claims âabsurd.â
âThis case boils down to a misunderstanding and a miscommunication,â Christie said. âIt had nothing to do with race. She was doing her job.â
âWe should not punish anyone for speaking out,â Christie argued, referring to Whitlatchâs Facebook posts, which were also cited by Wingate's legal team as evidence of bias. âEveryone, even people who are not African-American, should be able to vocalize a concern right or wrong, without being treated or labeled as a racist.â
Christie continued: âCynthia Whitlatch is more than what she said in a Facebook post or two sarcastic text exchanges or comments that she made."
Federal judge Richard Jones excused the jurors early today so they could beat traffic related to the Seahawks game. The jurorsâfour women, four men, mostly white, and none blackâresume deliberations tomorrow at 9 a.m.