Outrageous! It is OBVIOUS from the tape that the Officer was wrong. She was driving and from at least 100' away the man )Wingate) was standing waiting for the light. He was doing NOTHING. She (the officer) created the incident. Totally. 100%.

Here is as an outstanding clear case of "living while black".

And as an old white guy who pays taxes I am PO'd that the City will (properly) be wasting money (cop time, courts etc etc) and compensating Mr. Wingate (yes he deserves $$$ damages) because of the cop's mistake. The guy spent the night in jail for god's sake! For nothing. He should get a "We are sorry."

f i r e h e r

This officer (thank you for the photo) has harassed me before, on the hill. I'm a white guy, gay, middle-aged, and she has shouted at me for pointless reasons before (I won't detail it here). She has done the same with another man I know (African American, younger). Harassment with no reason.

She has an axe to grind, clearly, and it might be that she doesn't like men. I don't know, I really don't, but her actions caught on tape with William Wingate are REPREHENSIBLE. She needs to be disciplined and he needs to be compensated for damages.

She's a mess and has serious issues. He's an old man who has served his country and was minding his business. She had no right to harass him like this and she needs to be addressed NOW.

Thank you, Stranger, for publishing this.

So sorry William Wingate had to experience this. Cynthia Whitlach should be permanently barred from police work... and she's not the only one.

I've had this happen to me, where the officer completely fabricated facts on the incident report, knowing full well that when standing in front of a judge guess whose word will prevail?

It's a shitty feeling when those whom we fund with our tax money abuse their power to harm, rather than help other people.

One take-away is that cams-on-cops may indeed be a very good idea. True, it didn't stop this idiot woman from lying but it shows that she was in fact lying and totally wrong. I can't believe that she still works for SPD.

Disgusting. Whitlach should be fired. She won't be, which is why the SPD has zero credibility and will continue to be reviled by reasonable citizens.

Is this Alabama now and I didn't notice?

Investigate Whitlach. Fire her if she has a pattern of harassing citizens, or if it's determined that she did in fact fabricate the charges against Wingate.

Don't take this the wrong way but hey Stranger, do you have the few minutes before this tape stars. I'm only curious because that's probably what SPOG will offer as an excuse. She saw him brandish the club, and instead of stopping right away, circled the block for incomprehensible reasons and went back to make the arrest. (the old...the tape only shows part of the story defense.)

Or did she maybe see an old black guy with a golf club because those are scary and illegal in public, both old black guys and golf, and circle the block with the express intent of creating a situation. Or escalating as the consent decree put it.

Those east precinct cops, they see you with a golf club, they be hatin'.

@12: "do you have the few minutes before this tape stars."

No. There's no more video before this, according to SPD.

Thank you, Ansel, thank you, Stranger. Maybe there is some teeny tiny kernel of a reason for her behavior, but criminy she should be barred from working as a PEACE officer.

@6 Not only does the video not stop her from lying, the video also apparently doesn't jeopardize the cop's job or expose her to any further discipline.

The main obstacle is the power of the police union and its culture of infallibility and defense of its members to the point of absurdity.

@12,

I like the suspicious way you think, but in the the 1:50 before she pulls over, she takes a left and two rights and waits at two red lights - no way she's whipping around the block to follow up on something that happened before the tape starts.

That fucking cop should be fired. Citizens of Seattle need to contact the Chief of Police and insist on this. The tape is wonderfully incriminating, against her. What a horrible, lying person. Unbelievable. But maybe not, these days.

And Mr. Wingate should be highly compensated. At least five years' worth of that cop's salary and benefits.

The case is dismissed. Meanwhile, the charges of "unlawful use of a weapon" and "obstructing a police officer" still show on the Seattle Municipal Court website for this man. And I'm sure these details are ingrained in just about every $10 online background check site by now.

Our criminal justice system is flat out broken. SPD at least tried to make amends, but in today's world anyone and everyone arrested is GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT.

The case is dismissed. Meanwhile, the charges of "unlawful use of a weapon" and "obstructing a police officer" still show on the Seattle Municipal Court website for this man. And I'm sure these details are ingrained in just about every $10 online background check site by now.

Our criminal justice system is flat out broken. SPD at least tried to make amends, but in today's world anyone and everyone arrested is GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT. And unfortunately the decision makers in Seattle and Olympia don't care.

The fact that the SPD thinks nothing is wrong here speaks volumes. They're public servants, not public masters.

Btw, I have been critical of Ansel in the past -- just criticisms I think -- but I have to say that digging up that tape is exactly what good media should be showing to the public. Good job Ansel! and good job SLOG. That tape is, I think, "breaking news" and the Times, KIRO et al should be embarrassed.

I knew her back in college and pre-SPD days. She USED to be a nice, fun, decent person. Being on the force/having the gun and badge has really changed her into a despicable person who abuses her place of power.

if Whitlach got the death penalty, i think the police as a group would fall in line very quickly.

The SPD "Thug Culture" remains alive and well. Citizens, both black and white, are "the enemy."

The fact that Officer Whitlach claims Mr. Wingate "hit a stop sign" with his club/cane should have alerted anyone with half a brain that her story is utter bullshit, seeing as the nearest stop sign to where she stopped him at 12th & E. Pike would be one block west at the North-South intersection of 11th & E. Pike, which means she would have had to have seen him allegedly hit the sign when she made the turn at 0:16 (he would have had to have been out-of-frame to the left), and then be able to walk one full block in the roughly minute and a-half between the turn and when she stops at 12th & E. Pike. Granted, an able-bodied person could probably traverse that distance at normal speed, but a 70 year-old man with obvious trouble walking? Not bloody likely.

She's a liar plain-and-simple, she was caught out on her lies, and she should be punished accordingly.

Officer clearly realizes that she can lie and do whatever she wants with impunity. I'm at a loss to even dream up a reason why she wanted to harass this man.
Where are these reforms O'Toole is supposed to be qualified at overseeing? Has she seen this? Do her paychecks bounce or something?

Seeing police abuse their power makes me sick. FIRE THIS WOMAN! When are there going to be changes made? The angry "I've got a bone to pick," attitude of this "officer" needs to be dealt with by termination. Is it finally time to police the police? We the people are supposed to have the power, but this is sickening. Time to formulate some new laws that keep the police in check. They should face higher consequences than a normal citizen when messing up. I'm tired of seeing Police officers protected in their inner sanctum of the "I've got your back bro," culture that seems all to prevalent across the US. I used to like the Police, not so much anymore.

https://www.facebook.com/cawhitlatch?fre… Here's her facebook page. Leave her a nice message.

But we don't know what occurred before the tape. It is possible that Whitlack's occurred before the tape was rolling for before the gentleman came into the frame. Whitlack swore to everything in her police report under penalty of perjury and there are no witnesses or other evidence to contradict what she has sworn to (it is not on the video tape, but that does not mean it did not occur, because we can't know that the tape captured the entire interaction). So the fact that Whitlack swore under penalty of perjury knowing that all it would take would be one or more witnesses, perhaps unknown to her and out of her view, to contradict her and make her guilty of perjury, is a strong disincentive to put what she said in her report.

The other issue here, is that under Terry v. Ohio (1967) and a strong body of case law, the threshold for reasonable detention, let alone arrest, is far lower than that required for a conviction.

There is no way this guy should have conceded any criminal act and it is highly unlikely that he would have been convicted.

Had he dropped the golf club when asked the first time, he likely would have been told by Whitlack to stop banging street signs with his golf club, to stop swinging it, etc. and been sent on his way.

We all get accused by somebody at some time of doing something we don't think we did or something we actually didn't do. Most times we say to ourselves, if they want to believe that, there is nothing I can do, lets take the easy way out, tell them what they want to hear, or agreed to disagree, so I can move on. Trouble usually comes, and things escalate far beyond the initial event or alleged event, when both sides get stubborn and must be "right". That is what happened here. Shame on both of them.

I would not, if put on this guys jury, given the evidence, voted to convict him in a million years. That does not mean there was not a legal basis to detain and speak with him or even to arrest him, although I share Dawn Mason's doubts.

He got arrested and the cop and SPD spent a whole lot of time defending their actions and the officer's integrity. Nobody was made safer, and the rapport between the community and their protectors was eroded. Everybody lost, nobody one.

So she supposedly witnessed him "aggressively swing his golf club in the direction of her patrol car", considered it a "weapon" and then casually spent 90+ seconds driving back around to that spot? If he was indeed a menace to society why wouldn't she either instantly pull over and deal with it or hastily drive around to the spot?

Absolutely enraging. WTF. Shameful, what a piece of shit.

Fire shitty cops!

" "If this person had been white," said SPD spokesman Sean Whitcomb, speaking by phone on Tuesday, "I would imagine it would have been the same outcome. We don’t believe this was a biased policing incident. We don’t believe the officer acted out of malice or targeted this man because of his race." "

***Sight*** Bias is not malice or targeted! That's why is called "Bias"!!! It's beyond that, it's the system, it's the fear many people may deny when they see "different people" than themselves!

SPD is a truly disturbed police department, on the same scale as NYPD. No wonder they're under federal oversight, they simply cannot treat people that way and expect no repercussions. The new chief needs to clean house of every moron like Whitlach, these people clearly have no business being police officers, they are NOT up to the standards of the job.

Once again, a case where the people who say "it wasn't about race" must know they are lying, because if things like this were happening to white people they'd be up in arms.

I enjoyed the post on her Facebook page where she's horrified that a white kid got arrested for wearing a pro-gun t-shirt to middle school. I agree that it's horrifying. It's almost as horrifying as a cop arresting an elderly black guy for walking with a makeshift cane.

I don't think this is a race issue. It's a gender issue. Officer Cynthia Whitlach does not like men.

Here's her Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/cawhitlatch

@38: Send me a screenshot if possible. ansel@thestranger.com

Here is a older post from the SPD with a short feature on this repulsive woman, Officer Cynthia Whitlatch:

http://www.seattle.gov/police/precincts/…

WTF? The officer just pulled over and started talking shit immediately. I didn't even see the golf club at first cuz it was on the opposite side of him from the camera. He's clearly leaning on it like a cane. That's such obvious police bullshit.

As raindrop points out, that is a good healthy walk. I hope I'm that spry at 70.

Also why hasn't the cop been fired?

OMG I got assaulted by a guy high on bath salts and the city attorney did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to the guy, but an old black man with a golf club they go after? I FUCKING HATE THE COPS AND THE CITY ATTORNEY IN THIS CITY.

Oh take a look at her Facebook page. She has a post on July 17, 2013 linking to footage of Trayvon Martin "The Trayvon Martin Picture the Mainstream Media Doesn't Want You To See" and her comment: "He's huge."

Office Cynthia Whitlatch was one of the 126 SPD officers who filed a lawsuit against the Seattle mayor, city attorney, Department of Justice monitor and U.S. attorney general saying use-of-force policies are unreasonably restricting their Constitutional rights. The officers claimed that SPD reform "tried to block rules intended to stop excessive force." This happened last May:

Noted here: http://www.thestranger.com/slog/archives…

Her name can be found on this list: http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/seattle-…

@31... he 'escalated' the situation by not doing what he was told do ? whitlach could not have been lying because she was sworn and under 'penalty of perjury' ? that's some seriously regressive plantation thinking there buddy.

Not surprising that the SPD van driver listened to Right Wing Talk Radio on the drive to jail.

She should be charged with making a false police report. Would mean a lot more than "counseling."

I think that @32's take makes sense.
If Wingate was doing something of real concern a block away and a threat to some passerby etc etc then she should stop the car immediately -- warning lights on -- and confront him immediately.

Officer Whitlach lacks wits. Clearly bigotry killed her brain cells.

However, looking for her on Facebook and encouraging people to harass her online is creepy and dangerous.

@13: Are you trying to suggest that they were trying to catch him "driving dirty"? Wouldn't a quick pat down to ensure he didn't have golf balls have sufficed to prove he was not?

Fired, hell. She deserves to be sued blind.

What the SPD needs to understand is that blatantly obvious bullshit like this ("you swung his golf club at me") not only calls into question this particular officer at this particular time; it calls into question EVERYTHING THAT THEY DO. Every interaction with even the most violent felons is called into question. This is why people hate and fear them: THEY HAVE GOOD REASON.

I hope Mr. Wingate gets a terrific settlement out of this when all is said and done.

@31:

That was my main point for my comment @27: if Officer Whitlach has truly seen Mr. Wingate acting aggressively, either to her personally or to an inanimate object, why did she wait so long to engage? She claims he "hit a stop sign", but there aren't very many of those in the vicinity of where she pulled over, and really only TWO (as I cited) physically located within the time-frame of the video, so if it didn't happen there, then she took a good, long while to ponder whether or not to engage, which I think any reasonable person would hold up as a strong indicator that she did not regard his alleged actions as threatening, despite her later allegation.

If, as you suggest, the inciting incident occurred prior to the footage, then Mr. Wingate must be a pretty spry old man indeed, because he would have had to have gone a minimum of two blocks in under two minutes, assuming, for the sake of argument, his alleged actions took place at the next nearest intersection with signs, 10th & E. Pike, which Officer Whitlach passes just before the footage starts. Otherwise, the distance between where the incident could have occurred and where the stop took place begins to expand considerably, which would lend even less credence to Officer Whitlach's story. But regardless, it still does not address the more pertinent question of why Whitlach did not choose to engage IMMEDIATELY, particularly if she believed Wingate represented a threat to her person or to the general public, which seems to be her justification.

As for lying on her report, well, it wouldn't be the first time a LEO misrepresented what occurred in the belief they either would not be challenged at all, or if they were, their version would prevail simply because of who they are.

I strongly suspect that this officer was the one who followed me all the way to my home because I dared to look at her in my rearview mirror. Looks just like her.

Like the other posters said, I think she has a big problem with men.

I'm pretty sure THIS is the very type of stupid, easily refuted and unsupported police action that will draw the ire of the new Police Chief. She has said, on record, that "rogue" community policing is the SINGLE most infuriating issue she has uncovered in Seattle and the one she will INSTANTLY respond to. I dare say this "officer" will be under microscopic surveillance for the foreseeable future. Her career track does NOT look promising. She may want to update her resumé!

Shame on her.

Cynthia Whitlach is a great officer. The Stranger is doing its part to stir people into a frenzy.

MFS, we've got a video here that says the opposite, so maybe shut the fuck up.

Did she delete her Facebook page?

z

ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING!!! THIS BITCH NEEDS TO FIRED FROM SPD!!!!

Where I live, older black men often use golf clubs as walking sticks. Useful for tripping assailants, for whacking aggressive dogs, and for holding us up when our knees fail us. Assailants know to avoid the golf clubs because they can do damage more than one way -- great for breaking a gun-holding wrist, for example -- and dogs don't particularly like being beaten on the head if they get pushy. Worst comes to worst, you can try to jam the club down a pitbull's throat. But the steel shaft is great for support when your steps are slow, and that's the most common use, plus you can get individual clubs at the flea market or at yard sales for $1.50, far cheaper than a regular walking cane. This "peace officer" needs to have her ass fired.

And yet in the great state of Washington, it's legal for non-criminals to open carry a firearm on the street (RCW 9.41.050 & 9.41.290)........but hey, watch out for senior citizen with the 3 iron! Rarely do you see a department lose credibility faster than SPD.

Is the "course of action the department believes is appropriate" being fired. Because it should be.

Seriously, charge her with kidnapping: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?…. There

At minimum that's a class C felony (unlawful imprisonment).

"If this person had been white," said SPD spokesman Sean Whitcomb, speaking by phone on Tuesday, "I would imagine it would have been the same outcome. We don’t believe this was a biased policing incident. We don’t believe the officer acted out of malice or targeted this man because of his race."

How dumb do police think citizens are? I am almost more offended that they think we will believe this, over what they did to the poor man. Police are not here to protect and serve anymore, they are here to harass and collect $$$.

@51: That was my thought too: of course the cop driving the van is listening to some idiot on KIRO rant about Costco and left-wing intolerance.

As for this case: SPD this is why you are under a consent decree! The fact that our new chief hasn't taken action on this is a further example of how badly Murray screwed the pooch of SPD reform right from the start and has yet to get a handle on it.

@61: A great officer who stops old men walking with golf clubs for no reason, then insists they be charged and prosecuted...

Come again?

I don't think people understand just how threatening a 70-year-old man with a stick can be to a person with only a badge, baton, .40 caliber pistol, a shotgun in the rack, and a 5,000 pound vehicle to protect her.

I'm sure this apology from SPD will be of great comfort to Mr. Wingate - along with the generous financial settlement he'll surely be receiving as a result of Officer Whitlach's bone-headed, easily refutable lying on her arrest report.

@51 Fuck Dinesh D'Souza

THIS is actually a video that people should take to the streets over. I know it doesn't have the sexiness of a police shooting...but this illustrates SO WELL the entire case of systemic racism that we're trying to make.

This 70-year-old man was just completely harassed, arrested and jailed overnight. Imagine he had been 19 and wearing a hoody?

This is such a great example of the issue.

I'll keep saying...Police should be required to live in the community they police. The SPD has become an occupying force.

Lesbians always having something to prove (rolling eyes)...

Good ol' SPD, being the worst thing in seattle for decades. Fire her. And fire those failures that think "counseling" is a appropriate punishment. Fire her.

Again, f i r e h e r.

Classic example of an officer choosing to escalate rather than de-escalate a situation. That's ineffective policing at its finest.

@56: Exactly. That's why, ethics aside, it's vital to the interests of the police that they not tolerate fabrication of evidence by their officers. If it happens ONCE, it casts doubt on every other case in which the officer in question was involved, and then legitimate cases fall apart and actual criminals walk free.

She lied and anyone who sees the video can see that. She books him and files a report but nobody checks the video. If an officer says they have evidence on tape then someone needs to review it right there.

@61 The video of this great police officer at work caused me to explain to my four-year-old son today that too many police are dangerous, hateful, disturbed people that can't be trusted, and that the freedom and lives of black people who have committed no crime are at risk every time they talk to police. So, yeah. Great work.

Witlatch's behavior is of course reprehensible, and she should be fired.

Almost as bad is the way SPD closed ranks around her and supported her bullshit arrest. That none of the other cops around her or above her contradicted her bullshit claim.

She should be fired, but all the cops that backed her up are equally culpable. More and more each day, SPD as a whole disgusts me.

I've seen him walking before. Just a man. Not a threat. He likes his golf club. That officer might need a mental health evaluation. PTSD?

Operation Bad Apple:

Take the Cops directly to jail!!!

The only good cop is one who takes the bad one to jail.

Another anti-black bigot in Seattle. I'm so shocked!

Fire Whitlach! I actually shed a tear watching this video, especially watching this poor old man trying to step up into the paddywagon. My god, this city's pd has some fucked up officers among it's ranks. As a nurse I've always had a respect of the police, believing they were out there to help people, like I am. But god, I have to say I no longer feel this way, in fact I don't really trust the police in general anymore, and I'm terrified of the power these people are given.

Is this officer STILL employed as a "peace officer" in Seattle...If so , i would run away as fast as i could if i ever saw her approach me ! And i am white !

@50. If she witnessed him, from a block away, him swinging the club at the temporary stop sign, she, or any officer, has a right to stop him. Under Terry v. Ohio all that is required to detain someone (the 4th Amendment precludes "unreasonable" search and seizure and detaining someone so they are not free to lave is a "seizure" per Terry) is a belief based on observed behavior (not just a hunch) that a crime is about to occur, is occurring or did occur. Probable cause might or might not be developed as a result of that stop and a citation or arrest, might, or might not follow. In this case, the crime would be criminal mischief.

Further, if she observed him swing at the sign, he saw her seeing him, and raised the club at her while glowering menacingly up the block at her, you might have the additional crime of Harassment or a threat of Assault. That is harder to swallow.

The officer then turns right, going up the block toward this gentleman. He is still out of the camera frame because of the cars parked on the right, but may not be to her, because of her different vantage point from the camera in the vehicle, ability to turn her head, etc.

So her sworn account of what occurred and what we see on the tape are not necessarily contradictory or mutually exclusive. They may compliment each other because they capture different parts of the exchange.

She had a right to stop him under Terry v. Ohio (I would encourage readers to google and read the case, since it is so fundamental to the rules under which law enforcement operates and is the legal standard by which stops are judged). Once she stopped him, she had the right to make sure he does not have a weapon that can hurt her (the golf club qualifies both under common law - Terry v. Ohio in particular - and RCW 9A.16.010).

The issue here on both sides is more one of judgment. Was he really swinging the club in a way that would damage or knock over the sign? She has a duty to investigate, but she can do it in a way that is less likely to escalate and less presumptive that he is in the wrong, and not just tapping at the sign because. Once he is detained and not free to leave, as she states to him many times, he has an obligation not to resist, to drop anything that is a weapon or can be construed as a weapon, and not resist. If he does so, she can complete her investigation, determine there isn't probable cause to make an arrest, and send him on his way, in minute or two, maybe less.

This interaction could have gone, "Don't be swing that cane (or golf club) at signs or people." He could have replied, "OK. I didn't mean any harm." Instead, she comes charging up the block pre-disposed to the idea that he is a vandal and a defiant one at that. He comes at it from the idea that she has no right to stop him and with a big chip on his shoulder. Here we are. Cops have bad hair days and so do citizens. Once either side starts to escalate and the other side retaliates in-kind or escalates it further, it turns into something that does not reflect well on anybody involved. Cops and citizens both come from the human race. As long that is the case, there will be problems.

@90, Jesus Christ, you are full of shit.

@90
I think you are being far too-kind to the Officer. I am totally sympathetic to cops; imagine pulling an erratically-driven car over on a lonely road at 2 AM. Good cops earn their pay and we should respect them.

But in this case, there is no foreshadowing to her response. Was she calling to HQ? "I am stopping for potentially dangerous old man with golf club." No.

Where is there ANY probable cause for her to have even stopped? None we can see. Where was her chatter to HQ "I am getting out of car."

In this case, if she has any basis to have even spoken to Wingate, the video/oral documentation will protect her. Or condemn her.

That woman has absolutely NO business in a police uniform. She is a coward. William Wingate has forgotten more about courage than that woman will ever know. Who knows the lying coward might shoot next time she imagines seeing a minority do something she don't like. I really wish the good police officers would grow a pair and call scumbags like Whitlach out.

The most darkly hilarious thing about the entire video, is the right-wing talk radio playing in the SPD van. With the host talking about the "Obama's America" filmmaker.

I think it's fairly obvious she has a problem with men.

That was assault and kidnapping.

SPD hasn't changed any within the last two (2) years. I was Harassed and Retaliated against by two (2) East Precinct Officers for four (4) years. Nothing happened to them, but I was put through this Court System Plea crap just like this man when I did nothing wrong. They lied and denied and made things up as they went along. After all this mess was over I went to get a copy of this Court's Record and all my evidence and witness list was missing from this file and also the false DUIs that someone placed on my DOL record, that DOL said was never on there in the first place. I have been waiting for a response from the city and court regarding this matter, but I have received no response from any of them I have had e-mail contact with.

When it comes to minorities & how we or the police deal with it, I think the "weed bus" and dismissing all the marijuana charges, including the high percentage of minorities, was a start in perception.

Drugs & violence. I saw mostly not minorities doing drugs & violence on Capitol Hill.
And we on Capitol Hill laugh at the eastside (Bellevue) on how innocent they portray themselves when there is marijuana endorsing Gates, or AWOL/crackhead republicans... "Kill the Messenger" (2014).

I definitely saw how Seattle feels when Seattle protests. Thank you Seattle.

It could be like Spokane...
http://www.krem.com/search/mlk%20bomb/
http://www.krem.com/videos/news/local/ko…

And we homosexuals are watching Putin and the republicans, like "8: the Mormon Proposition" Romney.

Thank you Ansel, and The Stranger, for reporting yet another SPD atrocity.
When is this shit going to end?

While we're on the subject, let's also oust the GOP / Tea Party shitheads hellbent in making Washington the next Alabama.

The fact that she has not been disciplined is shameful and disgraceful. That cop sounds like a complete piece of shit.

I tend to be pro-cop, but this video pissed me off! Whitlach lied! She's driving a police cruiser and is threatened by an elderly man and a golf club? Man up bitch. But the scary part: 1) Whitlach is a FTO! FTO? Field Training Officer, she trains new cops. 2) Quoting the story: "Metz, in particular, "kept trying to convince us nothing was wrong here. He defended the officer." when discussing reviewing the tape with police commanders including assistant-chief Nick Metz (now ex). Maybe there is a reason he didn't get the job as chief with the SPD?

@90, you understand that he didn't actually swing his golf club at anything, right?

@90: Keep talking. You're halfway to China.

@90: The issue at hand doesn't seem to be the legality of the stop so much as the conduct of the officer. Strawman KO'ed though, nice combo.

She is a Abusive C U NT. This is the type of officer that I hate.

@90 - Ah, I get it. You're a defer to the people with money and power shill. Doesn't matter if they're abusing it, we should just defer to them anyway because people like you think they know what's best for us.

You're a horrible American.

@102, Not on the video. But she pulled to a stop and then turned right. She would, if she is behaving as most drivers do, looked left, right, and left again. She could have seen the guy swinging the club at the sign at the other end of the block. She then makes the decision to turn right and find out what that is about. Only after she turns right and heads for the gentlemen is there any hope of the video capturing the man or his actions in the video.

@92, there is no "probable cause" to contact this man or detain him in the scenario articulated to 102 above. None is required. Probable Cause is required for an arrest and means that based on the facts present, it is more probable than not that the person being arrested committed the alleged crime. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probable_ca… The standard for stopping and detaining someone is much lower. It is reasonable suspicion. "In Terry v. Ohio, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a person can be stopped and briefly detained by a police officer based on a reasonable suspicion of involvement in a punishable crime." (Wikipedia, for convenience, not inconsistent with more authoritative and exhaustive legal works like Black's Law) If the officer saw the golf club being swung at the sign (a punishable crime, even if a minor one), that is reasonable suspicion to detain question, and see if their is probable cause.

Reasonable suspicion, which gives the officers the right to detain and question is a very low standard. I witnessed a man running out of the back of a house that had been burglarized. He saw me and ran the other way. I instinctively started to chase but quickly realized the guy was about to get to the end of a dead-end ally and since I am not a cop, did not think the risk of a confrontation with a possibly armed felon was worth it and stopped. The guy got to the end of the alley, took a good look at me and hopped a fence, ran through a neighbors yard, and onto a street right in front of some police that almost hit him because he had entered the street, full speed ahead, looking only back to see if I was still following. The police detained him because they thought his actions were reasonable suspicion that he may have been involved in a crime. Only after he was detained, did they get a radio call, based on my call to 911, that there had been a burglary and a suspect, matching the description I gave to 911, was who they had in custody.

The case went through pre-trial depositions and testimony before the judge so that motions by the defense on the admissibility of my testimony and other evidence could be presented to the jury. The defense asked at the end of pre-trial to dismiss on the basis that the cops had lacked reasonable suspicion (lots of people run recklessly out of yards into residential traffic, for lots of reasons not just criminal ones) to detain the guy in the first place, and had they not detained them, they would not have had him in custody when they received a report over the radio matching the guy's description of a possible burglar. The motion was granted and the case dismissed.

The dismissal was appealed to the Washington State Court of Appeals. That panel of judges found unanimously that given the history of the crime in the area, the officer's experience with how people behave when fleeing from a crime, the behavior of the suspect in running out of the yard, etc. that the trial judge had erred. They found reasonable suspicion existed to justify the officer's detaining the guy.

So you can see how low a standard reasonable suspicion is. Was it present in this case? Not on the video. But that does not mean the officer did not observe something reasonably suspicious before turning right and driving the block to the corner where she contacted this guy. And if she says that is what she saw, under penalty of perjury, barring other evidence to refute her, it is the facts. To say that she made it up, sufficient to overturn legal justification for stopping and detaining the guy (she hadn't arrested him yet, but he was detained the minute she told him he was not free to leave) requires some level of evidence beyond not believing her. Something like a witness who would be able to say, "I could observe the officer from my vantage point, and the man, and I never saw the golf club swung at anything." Or something like video of the sidewalk from a nearby business that would show the man never swung the club at anytime when he would have been in view of the officer at the location where she says he swung the club. Without that, the officer's statement stands, and reasonable suspicion for her to detain him stands. Beyond that, it is unlikely that "reasonable suspicion" that the guy swung the club at property (malicious mischief) or a person (assault) is really lacking. The facts bear that out in the fact that SPD did not arrest the man for either of those charges, rather they did so for obstruction, because he was resisting detention based on reasonable suspicion.

Having fun in the weeds yet? It's important, because those are the rules we have established to govern the interaction between citizens and police. If we don't like them, we can change them, but in the interim, we have to judge the parties involved based on the facts in evidence before us (her unrefuted testimony is part of that record, even if it is uncorroborated, or less than credible), by the standards we have established through democratic and constitutional processes.