Comments

1
Thanks for posting this, Ansel. The headline "SPD Officer Removed from Street Duty as Elderly Vet Says *She* Arrested Him Because He's Black" needs to be tweaked, though.
2
"where she will have no interaction with the public"

You know where she would have even less interaction with the public? In jail, where she belongs.
3
Thanks, Ansel. Question for SPD: To what extent was this behavior known about and ignored prior to it becoming public. And, do the bad cops have to be exposed, one by one, by newspapers, or is it possible for us to expect the SPD to actually manage their own officers?
4
So we the taxpayers are still paying her salary? BULLSHIT!
5
HEY! That man has a pen in his pocket! A pen is a deadly weapon in the hands of a trained assassin! Tase that man, and put him in a chokehold before he gets away!
6
Lest you think I am joking, I present to you the Houston officer who shot and killed a double amputee in a wheelchair because he refused to drop his pen:

http://www.texasobserver.org/hpd-clears-…
7
@5 - and if he falls down from the taser, he's obviously resisting arrest.
8
Police need to be reminded that their job is not to align the world with their perception of what the world SHOULD be.
9
A cautious commendation to Chief O'Toole for acting quickly in this matter. Let's hope that there will be some actual punitive action taken towards this rogue cop. A slap on the wrist here would be as damaging as no action at all. The only way in which public confidence in the SPD can be rebuilt is by decisive, punitive measures against violent, racist officers such as Miss Whitlach.
11
Superb reporting on this. Kind of tragic that it's taken so long to get to a place where an injustice can begin to be righted. Let's see where this tale ends - administrative leave (otherwise known as lets see if the next news cycle sweeps this issue under the rug) is meaningless.
12
Superb reporting on this. Kind of tragic that it's taken so long to get to a place where an injustice can begin to be righted. Let's see where this tale ends - administrative leave (otherwise known as let's see if the next news cycle sweeps this issue under the rug) is utterly meaningless.
14
If Chief O Toole wasnt aware this racist attitude is pervasive throughout a great deal of the SPD's ranks, even after all studies, DOJ reports, recorded incidents, and heaps of unrecorded incidents, she may not be fit to handle dealing with this department.

Of course, thats assuming she wasnt aware, and isnt just playing the PR role of fake shock and awe. This isnt the first SPD officer weve seen make racist comments or defend racism. Hell, Officer 110k a year Brian Pomper openly admitted it in the police union paper.

Also, removed from street duty is only a temp fix. They did the same to Ian Burke when he murdered that indian woodcarver, and Shandy Cobaine when he (and 4 other white officers) curbstomped Mario Monetti and hurled racial slurs. Neither were disciplined and niether were fired.

The fault isnt all (or even mostly) with O Toole. Ignorant King County voters re elected an equally bigoted prosecutor with a long record of defending these cops or refusing to charge them/'McCullough'-ing grand juries to get the cops off free. Satterberg has his own record of racially disparate charging, and his office has also been criticized by watchdogs AND state judges for begging racial stereotypes to juries.

They all have to be fired or sent home. The prosecutors, the OPA (BTW, which is run by cops), and the entire Seattle PD. Nothing short of crippling amounts of civil suits or a municipal referendum will do it. Weve seen the King Kounty Kouncil and the Seattle City Cowards turn a blind eye to it for the last several decades. Racism doesnt bother them, they arent black or latino. Hell, they spend most of their time trying to gentrify and redline whats left of the black, native and latino parts of the city.
15
@9:

"Acting quickly" is a relative term, seeing as how this incident occurred more than six months ago, and probably wouldn't have been acted upon at all were it not for the very recent public outcry as a result of the story having been brought to light.
16
LOL "Independent investigation by the Office of Professional Accountability".

That same office comprised of 3 cops and 2 pro-cop civilians (one of which has no employment record other than this)?

The same ones that ok'ed the murder of John Williams, the stomping of Mario Monetta, and pretty much EVERY other racially charged incident involving a white officer and a victim of color (or a white victim)? Or whos former head (Kathryn Olsen) is now a "paid consultant" to the SPD, who was removed after the city found out she was retaliating against citizens who complained about racial abuse from officers? That OPA? LOL GTFOH!

The only instance where they recommended any action was when a black cop assaulted two Ballard men at a bar. If that doesnt explain Seattles Joke of an OPA office, I dont know what does.
17
Just another day at the SPD, hating the people who defended our country from threats. Thanks for defending our country, now because of your skin color you should get into this cage.
18
@15- true. I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt as it is entirely possible that she had no prior knowledge of this particular incident. The action came very quickly after the incident was reported on, which is far more than would have happened under her predecessors. So, a cautious commendation. I want to believe that we have hired someone able and willing to reform the department.
19
I'm a straight middle-aged white guy. And just as I now assume, rightly or wrongly, that any rabidly virulent homophobe is in fact homosexual himself, I'm nearly at the point where I simply assume any cop is lying about a suspect doing something violent. This is not a good thing for anyone.
20
Are there any gatherings of off-duty cops supporting Off. Whitlock?
21
OPA didn't OK the John Williams shooting. The Force Review Board called it unjustified, I think. Ian Birk resigned right after the trial before any OPA action would be taken (as it was made clear he'd have been fired).
22
This is crazy.

Look at this man's face. His grey hair. His cane. His glasses. Why the hell would a white cop with a gun in a patrol car feel threatened in any way by that face? That is not a rational sane thought. The threat is entirely in her deranged mind.

When I see that face, I want to give him a hug. Not arrest him. WTF is the matter with SPD?
23
Great reporting! But what about Pete Holmes? It sounds like the city lawyers pressed charges even though they saw all the evidence, they need to be held accountable as well. Please follow up on them.
25
I suspect there are other cops in the East precinct whose behavior over the last few years ought to be reviewed. We all have stories. It's sad and likely the officers would feel victimized but a measure of trust has to be rebuilt. We can't have officers exaggerating constantly in their reports to build cases. It is just not ethical. We can't have officers losing all common sense as we saw in the pepper spray incident on MLK day. It's unruly and abusive. We can't have racist officers. We can't have power-drunk officers. We need trusted officers that can help make the east precinct safer and that we can at the very least tell our kids they can be relied upon to help us.
26
Why did it take a whole six months for this sad episode to go public?
27
Why is the victims name W.Wingate in this one but in the post I was reading before this its B.Davis? Hm anyway I'm so happy/relieved she is off the streets! It's so obvious she does not like black people & it's a damn shame.. It's 2015, when will people realize we're all human? Smh I know not ALL cops are bad, of course we have great cops out in the streets ready to protect me nd the people I care about but we all seen footage of those bad cops!! Beating people to death etc & it's police officers like this lady who need either some more training or js taken off of the force.. Thank god she's off the streets!!!!!
28
Your headline is a mess because you tried to cram every sympathetic detail you could into it. I am sure this is a result of internet writing where you need the clicks, but it is a confusing mess.
30
The sad thing about all this is that Whitlatch will probably not learn or evolve from this incident. I'm betting it actually makes her a worse person. She will adopt a victim mentality and blame the black gentleman and the rest of the world for her problems and fail to accept the fact that the face in the mirror is what's causing her troubles. Whitlatch does not seem like a person that accepts responsibility for her actions. I imagine the only things Whitlatch regrets are dating the ex, posting her crap on Facebook and being caught on camera.
31
@29: I was talking about grammar and syntax, but hey, don't let that stop your breakdown.
32
@30 I completely agree. We need to move the dialogue forward. I believe this officer deserves a chance at redemption (though not as a Seattle Police Officer). Attacking her personally (her looks, etc.) is just as ignorant as what she did. That just causes her and others like her to dig in their heels and double down. You help legitimize their victim mentality.

The only people who can change the culture of our police department are the City Council, Mayor and Chief. We need to be holding their feet to the fire (in a decent and respectable way) via protests, civil disobedience, video taping every police interaction with the public. We also need to create a culture in the police department where the supposed majority "good" cops are the ones who are calling out the "bad" cops instead of having their backs at all costs. The SPOG needs to go or seriously change its attitude regarding bad cops.

What we need are solutions and a path forward. Not name calling and she said she said claims from former lovers. Seriously, if hearsay isn't good enough for a court of law why is it good enough for the court of public opinion. This officer needs to be fired. All officers need to be re-trained on how to deescalate and we as a community have to continue to move forward towards creating a just society for everyone. EVERYONE.
33
So she gets not to do her police job and is on Administrative assignment? She should be fired not assigned elsewhere.

Please wait...

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