On May 12, Police Chief John Diaz announced that Detective Shandy Cobane—who was caught on tape last May stomping a prone, innocent Latino man's head against the concrete and threatening to "beat the fucking Mexican piss out of you, homey"—would receive a 30-day suspension without pay, after which he will be transferred from SPD's gang unit to the department's patrol unit as a patrol officer.

"This is the maximum discipline available to me short of termination," Diaz said. When asked point-blank if he wanted to fire Cobane, Diaz said, "Frankly, yes," but ultimately "it came down to the fact that what he said, which was appalling, versus his entire career... the possibility of me being successful in a termination case was slim to none."

Cobane will also be required to sign a last-chance agreement acknowledging that if he receives another sustained complaint for racist or inappropriate remarks (or a similar grievance), he will be immediately fired. And that goes for the entire department: "I've made clear to the department and [Seattle Police Officers' Guild president] Rich O'Neill that termination will be the presumptive penalty for people using racial slurs," said Diaz. "The line's been drawn here. I thought I'd made it clear before. Now I've made it very clear." recommended