Justice Department begins preliminary review of Seattle police

[uppityperson]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014026946_justice25m.html

The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a preliminary review of the Seattle Police Department in response to a request by the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and 34 other groups seeking an investigation of officers' use of force, particularly against minorities. In their request, the ACLU and other organizations in December asserted that some Seattle police officers appear to "inflict injury out of anger" at suspects rather than to protect public safety.
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The confrontations include an officer kicking and threatening to beat the "Mexican piss" out of a prone Latino man in April; the repeated kicking of an African-American teen during an arrest inside a convenience store in October; and the pummeling of an African-American man in a police lobby in June 2009 in which officers were cleared of wrongdoing.

Also cited is an officer's fatal shooting in August of First Nations woodcarver John T. Williams, which led to protests that the officer acted too hastily and, according to sources, a preliminary finding by the Police Department that the officer's actions were unjustified. The letter also pointed to jaywalking incidents that have led to physical clashes, including an officer's videotaped punching of an African-American teen in June. Four different Seattle police auditors have raised concerns about such stops, the letter notes.

Police Chief John Diaz has sought to quell outrage over some of the incidents by opening internal investigations, making changes to bolster training and reaching out to community groups....(more)