Comments

2

Scotty Bach
Jacob Briskey
Alexander Everett
Jason Marchione
Caitlin Rochelle
Michael Settle

3

This government is too weak, dysfunctional, and hopelessly incompetent to defend itself from an ongoing coup d'Ă©tat being plotted openly. Pathetic.

Gee, I wonder what the OPA will barf up after Coup 2: The Obvious Result of No Consequences.

4

Pay raises all around. If we defund them, we may lose them! Maybe cop of the year award to distract from what they actually did?

Reporters needed to do sleuthing to get their names. If they were not cops, the police would have launched the public smear campaign with pictures, video footage and dramatic narratives included 5 minutes after the riot ended. This thin blue line double standard is why so many people hate the cops.

This horseshit is just infuriating:

"Any contrary result would be incorrect – both constitutionally and morally – and would undermine the rule of law that is the bedrock of our society. It would also serve to speed up the current decline of reason, objectivity, and fundamental fairness that plagues America and its contemporary collective discourse."

Well Myerberg, when have the police EVER treated someone who is not a cop by that standard of "fundamentally fairness and "rule of law that is the bedrock of society" you speak of? I just can't seem to find it in any case that does not directly involve the police.

They are police so they are debating firing. Anyone else they would have already been incarcerated.

Any guess on what police department they will go to work for after they are fired from SPD? These are exactly the kind of hard charges police departments around the country are looking for to fill their depleted ranks.

5

Interesting the FBI has not arrested any one of them yet. That may be in the works. As there is no evidence they entered our Capitol building or assaulted anyone, they'd be pretty far down the feds' list of priorities. (Still, the feds are being thorough. It would be quite the embarrassment for the SPD to have active officers 'relieved of duty' via FBI arrest before getting fired by the department, now wouldn't it? Yet another wonderful benefit of paying taxes in Seattle these days, the shame just never ends...)

@4: 'Well Myerberg, when have the police EVER treated someone who is not a cop by that standard of "fundamentally fairness and "rule of law that is the bedrock of society" you speak of? I just can't seem to find it in any case that does not directly involve the police.'

Oh please, well-off white guys get careful treatment from the police all of the time, far beyond the basic dignity quoted here.

6

@5: "Oh please, well-off white guys get careful treatment from the police all of the time, far beyond the basic dignity quoted here."

If that's your defense of the obvious double standard, it's not a good one. Wealthy and White helps, but no one but a cop is so wealthy and so white that there names would not have been released by the police months ago.

Thank the police union for that and spare me the talk of equality before the law.

7

@6: As should already be perfectly clear, I wasn't defending anything, just stating the obvious.

I would find it hilarious if Myerberg et. al. were still loudly thumbs-a-twiddle when the FBI arrived to haul off our uniformed offenders.

9

@3: The OCA was asked to prepare a report, it did, and the Chief has the names of Employee #1 and Employee #2 that he'll probably ask to resign or have terminated. High probability Diaz will do that.

So what's this anti-government incompetent talk? I thought that was a stereotype of Republicans.

10

*OPA

11

Myerberg says that doing anything other than exonerating the other 4 SPD officers "would also serve to speed up the current decline of reason, objectivity, and fundamental fairness that plagues America and its contemporary collective discourse." This from the guy that just three weeks ago said to KUOW that the OPA is "most robust, transparent civilian-led system in the United States of America. It's not debatable.. We have more civilian oversight here than anywhere else.. I have not seen a model that's better than ours."

I guess statements from Myerberg that are Orwellian, patently ludicrous, and disconnected from any objective measures do not "speed up the current decline of reason, objectivity, and fundamental fairness."

The OPA are about police investigating police. This fact was highlighted last week in the South Seattle Emerald's article revealing that an OIG review indicated serious "deficiencies" in an OPA protest investigation that "cannot be remedied."
https://southseattleemerald.com/2021/06/30/oig-memo-reveals-serious-deficiencies-in-opa-protest-investigation-that-cannot-be-remedied/

SPD has killed more people in the last decade (during reform) than during the decade before that. In all these cases the OPA has deemed the killing "Lawful and Proper," failed to investigate the killings, or has still not issued a report. 14 months after the SPD murder of Terry Caver there is still no OPA report.

Let's consider some other objective measures of the OPA. Police Scorecard.org evaluates almost all US policing agencies, using a variety of metrics assessing different outcomes and dimensions of policing.

Police Scorecard gives Seattle a total accountability score of 20% out of 100, ranking Seattle 35th out of 51, far worse than average. The most recent update from OPA confirms this: out of the 108 protest cases so far investigated, only 18 have been fully or partially sustained, resulting in a reprimand as the only documented discipline in all but three cases so far.

But no surprise. Straight out of law school, in 2008, Myerberg went to work in the New York City Law Department, in the federal litigation division. He worked on defending NYC against the righteous civil claims of the “Central Park Five.”

Myerberg left New York City in 2014 to work in the Seattle City Attorney’s office, most notably defending “the City of Seattle and employees of the SPD in federal and state tort actions” (quoted from his resume), that is, mostly defending SPD officers that engage in abuse.

During this time he also worked as “emergency responder and legal advisor” for the Seattle Office of Emergency Management, which involved writing memos regarding “demonstration management” and being the “primary emergency responder” for the Seattle City Attorney’s office for emergencies such as demonstrations (didn’t realize that practicing constitutional rights could be an emergency).

Hence, Myerberg has spent his entire working life, prior to becoming OPA director in 2017, defending police and cities against the people they abuse. Would the City have hired as OPA director a person whose only experience was advocating for those harmed by police? Of course not. Yet hiring an individual who spent his career defending those who engage in the harm simply escapes attention, even from the media. Even from Rich.

We need real civilian oversight and control of the police in Seattle. See: SeattleSTOP.org

12

4

Reporters are probably afraid to go after them, as apparently cops are allowed to do whatever they want with impunity.

It's been covered here before, but we have a big problem here. The police have become a paramilitary force no longer accountable to the citizens they are supposed to serve. They are heavily armed and trained, and many of them are part of white supremacist/Boogaloo accelerationist terrorist groups. If things get as spicy as they're looking to get during the 22 and 24 elections this could be bad news indeed.

At least that's how it looks from where I'm sitting. Morty, please come along and tell me I'm out of my mind. I'd love to be wrong.

13

Use whatever due process is available to ascertain that they each weigh as much as a duck, judge conclusively that each is a witch, and apply the traditional penalty.

14

People wonder why so many want to defund, destroy, abolish, and completely obliterate law enforcement. They fucking tried to overthrow a free and fair election in the name of white supremacist terrorism! Fuck the cops. I would sooner set my house on fire than call the cops no matter what was happening to me. Cops are nothing but terrorists and murderers.

15

What exactly do police do again? They don't prevent crimes, but seem to love committing them. They dont help you if you've been the victim of a crime. They don't investigate anything. They take hours to respond if they respond at all. I'm not sure what we as taxpayers are paying for.

16

Imagine if one of these guys was your partner and you find out they were at the rally.
Riding in patrol car on the next shift after you find out must be pretty awkward lol.
Cop 1: "Sooo, uh, Jan 6th, eh?"
Cop 2: "Yeah, it was pretty fu..."
Cop 1: cough treasonous shit bag cough
Cop 2: "What's that now?"
Cop 1: "I said I hear DC is beautiful in January"

I know a lot of you think all cops are POS so this conversation would never go down like that, but for the sake of my joke pretend Cop 1 has a conscience. Thanks.

17

@15 they inspire a lot of great television, so there's that.

18

@8

You spoke 14 minutes too soon.

19

@14: Except the Capitol Police, right?

22

@11 Washington State also ranks 39, a solid D- on asset forfeture as well with almost no tracking of the money police and the prosecutor steal, I mean take from citizens on the poor end of the spectrum who deal in cash:

https://www.freedominthe50states.org/asset-forfeiture/washington

Fascinating background on Myerberg.

The probably wanted to give the OPA leadership job to SPOG President Mike Solan to prove how much they believed in police accountability, but his dancer card was already full.

Looks like they found the next best thing. It's like having Giuliani head up the Donald Trump stop the steal team.

@21 It pains me to agree with you, but I think you have something there. Not that exposure to bad people makes them worse since the police are generally worse than the people they deal with, but that it's a systemic problem, not a bad apple problem. Unless the entire system is reformed, nothing will change.

24

@23: I take it you have never been the victim of a violent crime by the police.

Here's the difference. Most criminals are too short sighted to care about the consequences of their actions. When the hurt people it's generally in service to a great goal (like shooting someone while robbing a bank).

When the police hurt someone, causing pain is often the end in itself. They don't do it for the money, they do it for the pleasure.

You might be surprised to learn that I do not blame the individual police for this so much as the toxic culture they swim in. If you were there long enough, you would start making and laughing about rape jokes too.

Rape Jokes, Crotch-Grabbing, and More Allegations Against Seattle Sheriffs
https://www.thedailybeast.com/rape-jokes-crotch-grabbing-and-more-allegations-against-seattle-sheriffs

26

@25: I take it you have never been the victim of a violent crime by the police. By that, I mean you will not find the police anywhere near a violent crime scene unless it's the police comming the violent crime. This is not hyperbole:

https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/why-are-arrest-rates-for-rape-in-washington-state-so-underwhelming/
"The most recent surprising data from 2016 indicates that the percentage of rape arrests by Pierce County and SPD were only 7 percent and 8 percent, respectively. "

https://www.criminallegalnews.org/news/2018/feb/16/us-murder-clearance-rates-among-lowest-world/
"Statistically, U.S. law enforcement agencies are the worst crime solvers in the Western world. According to official data, there are arrests for about one-eighth of burglaries, about one-third of rapes, and about two-thirds of murders. But official methods of reporting can distort and exaggerate murder clearance rates, and the official clearance rate has held steady for three decades, despite strong declines in the rate murders are being committed."

Here's an example of a Seattle Police Officer at a violent crime scene:

"Seattle police sergeant sentenced to 23 years for repeatedly raping his own children"

https://www.sott.net/article/393593-Seattle-police-sergeant-sentenced-to-23-years-for-repeatedly-raping-his-own-children

27

@25 As I said, this is not an individual police problem.

You show me a team that fails, I will show you poor leadership. The senior members of the Seattle police department from Lieutenant on up are toxic.

28

@11 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. The union contract, the holes in the oversight framework, cops investigating cops, cowardly chiefs, etc. etc., all of it is hugely problematic. But Meyerberg... that dude seals the deal. He never should have been hired as the director of OPA, and unless and until he goes, OPA, and thus police reform in Seattle, will remain feckless.

29

@28 You're welcome. You're welcome. You're welcome.

But here is the real issue: how did the Seattle Community Police Commission (CPC) conclude that Myerberg was the best person for the job? How did a former CPC commissioner, along with a former CPC staff member, end up working for the OPA?

Answer: the entire system -- City Council, CPC, OPA, & OIG -- is an incestuous, walled off, self-reinforcing universe. The CPC is completely cutoff from the community and has supported Myerberg every time he deemed an SPD murder "Lawful and Proper."

So the whole system is rotten, and was intentionally so designed from the start. We need to have a system like they have in Nashville, or, even better, like the ones Oakland and Portland, Oregon are putting in place. We have designed a model based on all these: see SeattleSTOP.org

30

Did people watch this NYT video analysis? It's well done and very informative as to what developed there.

With regard to these SPD officers who attended, I'm amazed the investigation and criticism isn't pointing out their involvement in a group that acted that way specifically in relation to their fellow officers. There's no way you could have part of that without being aware of how they were treating police. In addition to the Times video which is already pretty comprehensive, I saw further footage of these interactions that were incredibly hostile and violent.

What do they have to say for themselves about this? They literally tried to bludgeon a police officer to death as he pleaded for them to consider that he was a father with children. They took his gun and his tazer and were shouting, "Shoot him with his own gun!" And then they tazed so repeatedly and brutally, he had a heart attack.

In one part of the NYT video, there's a mistake or omission. In the clip that shows Ashley Babbitt being shot, at one point prior, the videographers circle 4 people and identify them collectively as 3 police and 1 security person. But one of the people circled was Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri who briefly conferred with Babbitt before she climbed through the shattered chamber window and was shot. I'm even a little amazed they left this identifying information out.

I believe certain members of Congress were involved in what happened there, including Hawley and Babbitt, who was ex-military.

31

@30 "involved in what happened" - meaning they were part of the "upper levels" of planning and coordinating with specific objectives that may have included taking hostages and killing people if Babbitt had gotten through to let the others in; basically in order to execute a coup d'etat. This didn't just spontaneously happen on its own.

33

Am I the only one who thinks the OPA pretty much got this one right? NE1 and 2 lied and were right by the capitol building. Maybe they didn't go inside, but they were quite clearly in a restricted area where some shit was going down. They then lied about it. Chief Diaz should fire them or he's going to lose what credibility he and the OPA have.

If the location given is correct, NE3 was a couple of blocks away from the capitol building and outside of the perimeter that was set up around it. If some evidence comes up that they were closer than they said or lied in some other way, they should be fired as well, but until then, what can you do?

NE4-6 went to a political rally by the former president. I'd say the former president should face some consequences for what he said, but while inciting violence is a crime, hearing someone incite violence and then going back to your hotel room, not so much.

34

@33 Many African-American SPD officers, and hundreds of Seattleites, have expressed clear fear and discomfort regarding SPD officers who attended January 6th having power over their safety and their lives. This is so because of the undeniable high overlap between attending an event like this and harboring racial animosity or, at the very least, a high degree of racial insensitivity.

The SPD policy manual 5.001-POL(10.) states:
“Regardless of duty status, employees may not engage in behavior that undermines public trust in the Department, the officer, or other officers. Employees will avoid unnecessary escalation of events even if those events do not end in reportable uses of force.” (see: https://www.seattle.gov/police-manual/title-5---employee-conduct/5001---standards-and-duties )

An employee, even a public employee, always has the right to constitutionally protected free speech. What they do not have is a constitutionally protected right to employment when policies are violated and/or an employees actions outside of work make place the services they are employed to provide untenable given an erosion of public confidence and trust.

So, yes, all these officers can and should be fired.

35

@34, Naw, the government needs to respect the first amendment. If they worked for a private employer, sure, they could be fired. However, the supreme court has ruled that the government at every level must respect people's first amendment rights. If a policy encroaches on someone's right to speak or assemble lawfully, that policy would be unconstitutional.

36

@35 So your argument is that government employs get first amendment protections private citizens don't since a private employee could be fired and a government employee can not?

Sure, that's totally defensible to all the tax payers who pay government workers. We deserve less freedom and more accountability for our choices.

37

@36, it's not really my argument. Here's Lee Rowland, a first amendment lawyer from the ACLU, I guess you could say it's his argument... or just the law:

https://www.talksonlaw.com/briefs/can-you-be-fired-for-speech-outside-the-office

38

My name is Stephanie Madison from California, I have to give this miraculous testimony, which is so unbelievable until now. I had a problem with my ex husband 3years ago, which lead to our break up. when he broke up with me, I was not my self anymore, I felt so empty inside me, my love and financial situation became worst, until a close friend of mine Tina told me about a spell caster who helped her in the same problem that his name is Dr Zack Balo of wiseindividualspell@gmail.com. I email Dr Zack Balo the spell caster and I told him my problem and I did what he asked of me, to cut the long story short. Before I knew what was happening my husband gave me a call and told me that he was coming back to me in just 3days and I was so happy to have him back to me. We have two kids together and we are happy with ourselves now. Thanks to Dr Zack Balo for saving my marriage and for also saving others own too. continue your good work sir, If you are interested to contact him and testify this blessings like me, then contact the great spell caster through his email address: wiseindividualspell@gmail.com and his phone number +17633086495 or visit his website: https://wiseindividualspell.webnode.com you are the best among all the spell caster online I hope you see my testimonies and also keep praying for my family too.

39

@37: color me not surprised that those who write the laws do so in a way that grants them special rights, but sure, let's not question if it's ethical.

It's legal and that's good enough for those who write the laws.

40

What @2 said.

And it's not just 6 SPD. And it's not just the SPD.

41

The officers broke their oaths and participated in an attempted coup. Freedom of speech does not include participating in an attempt to overthrow our Republic. These traitors need to be publicly named and fired at the very least. They need to be named because their testimony in every case they have testified in is now under question if their racist and Fascist beliefs could have made them a biased witness. The traitors are:
Scotty Bach
Jacob Briskey
Alexander Everett
Jason Marchione
Caitlin Rochelle
Michael Settle
None of them should ever hold a job in law enforcement.

42

@35 & @37 Policy is policy.

Plenty of public service employees get legally & constitutionally terminated for saying stuff in their free time that compromises the work of the agency that hired them: teachers, firepeople, cops, etc.

The SPD policy manual 5.001-POL(10.) clearly states:
“Regardless of duty status, employees may not engage in behavior that undermines public trust in the Department, the officer, or other officers. Employees will avoid unnecessary escalation of events even if those events do not end in reportable uses of force.” (see: https://www.seattle.gov/police-manual/title-5---employee-conduct/5001---standards-and-duties )

BTW: Lee Roland is a woman, not a man. And your reference to her 2 minute video is 100% irrelevant. So, yeah, the law is the law.

43

For anyone interested in the legal standard and US Supreme Court precedent for firing public employees for what the employee might claim is free speech see: https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1608/pickering-connick-test

"the court must balance the employee’s right to free speech against the employer’s interests in an efficient, disruptive-free workplace"

45

My name is Stephanie Madison from California, I have to give this miraculous testimony, which is so unbelievable until now. I had a problem with my ex husband 3years ago, which lead to our break up. when he broke up with me, I was not my self anymore, I felt so empty inside me, my love and financial situation became worst, until a close friend of mine Tina told me about a spell caster who helped her in the same problem that his name is Dr Zack Balo of wiseindividualspell@gmail.com. I email Dr Zack Balo the spell caster and I told him my problem and I did what he asked of me, to cut the long story short. Before I knew what was happening my husband gave me a call and told me that he was coming back to me in just 3days and I was so happy to have him back to me. We have two kids together and we are happy with ourselves now. Thanks to Dr Zack Balo for saving my marriage and for also saving others own too. continue your good work sir, If you are interested to contact him and testify this blessings like me, then contact the great spell caster through his email address: wiseindividualspell@gmail.com and his phone number +17633086495 or visit his website: https://wiseindividualspell.webnode.com you are the best among all the spell caster online I hope you see my testimonies and also keep praying for my family too.

47

The tone of the "Fucking dorks" caption makes it seem like these traitors were just some harmless chucklefucks whose shenanigans were cheeky and fun, rather than cruel and tragic.

48

Arrest and convict everyone in on the January 6, 2021 invasion of the U.S. Capitol Building with willful intent to disrupt what was supposed to be a smooth transition of power from a white supremacist neofascist pig hiding in a bunker to an actual U.S. President and Vice President. Period. Anything less and this country is exactly like Afghanistan being taken over by the Taliban.
Want to retain democracy? Eliminate the GOP, QAnon, Proud Boys, Patriot Players, MAGA tools and all enablers of RepubliKKKan neofascism.

Where is Morty? I would be interested in reading his comments regarding the SPD officers guilty of participating in the Capitol invasion.


Please wait...

Comments are closed.

Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.


Add a comment
Preview

By posting this comment, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.