DOJ Launches Investigation of Seattle Police

On Thursday, the DOJ, launched a formal civil rights investigation into the Seattle Police Department following the fatal shooting of a homeless Native American woodcarver and other incidents of force used against minority suspects. The investigation is to determine whether or not Seattle police have a “pattern or practice” of violating civil rights or discriminatory policing, and if so, what they should do to improve, Seattle U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan and the assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s civil rights division, Thomas E. Perez, said during a conference call Thursday morning. Durkan’s office previously conducted a preliminary investigation.

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the investigation would involve reviewing the police department’s policies, watching officers on the beat, gathering records, and interviewing officers, police brass and community groups. Perez said that the goal is to make sure the community has an effective, accountable police department that controls crime, ensures respect for the Constitution, and enjoys the trust of the public it is charged with protecting.

This stems from a request for an inquiry by the ACLU and 34 other community groups, after last summer, a Seattle officer shot and killed woodcarver John T. Williams. The video from Officer Ian Birk’s patrol car showed Williams crossing a street, holding a piece of wood and a small knife, and Officer Birk, exiting the vehicle to pursue him. While off camera, Birk shouted three times for Williams to drop the knife, then fired five shots. The knife was found folded at the scene, but Birk later maintained Williams had threatened him.

Birk has since resigned from the force, but hasn’t been charged with any crime, by the state, as prosecutors cited the high bar of having to prove he acted with malice and without good faith. A review board found the shooting unjustified. The DOJ also confirmed Thursday that it is taking a look at whether Birk should be charged criminally with deliberately violating Williams’ civil rights while acting under “color of law” as a police officer.

And another incident caught on camera include Seattle officers using an anti-Mexican epithet and stomping on a prone Latino man who was mistakenly thought to be a robbery suspect; an officer kicking a non-resisting black youth in a convenience store; and officers tackling and kicking a black man who showed up in a police evidence room to pick up belongings after he was mistakenly released from jail. Fox News

Police Chief John Diaz said in a message to employees Thursday that he looks forward to the DOJ’s feedback and knows any recommendations made will be based on “research, best practices and sound principles. Durkan, who has served on Seattle’s shootings review board, said the formal review was not prompted by any specific incident and stressed that no conclusions were reached in advance.

Now this investigation comes two weeks after the DOJ issued a scathing report that followed a similar investigation of the New Orleans Police Department. In that case, the DOJ found that New Orleans police have often used deadly force without justification, repeatedly made unconstitutional arrests and engaged in racial profiling.