Police expert questions SPD tactics in controversial video arrest

BY Josh Kerns  on November 28, 2012 @ 8:48 am (Updated: 7:32 pm - 11/28/12 )

The debate rages about whether Seattle Police went too far when they arrested a man in what's being called by some one of the worst cases of police misconduct ever caught on tape. But a police expert says if cops had handled the incident differently from the beginning, they wouldn't have ended up in the position leading to a physical confrontation.

Ron Weber, a former police officer and criminology instructor in Fresno, California, viewed the controversial video and analyzed it in an interview Wednesday with Seattle's Morning News.

"It seems like the first two officers had things at an even keel there and my question is why does this third guy come in and rile everything up," he says.

In a story first reported earlier this week, the patrol car recording shows a suspect in a hit and run investigation struggling with police as they try to arrest him. While two officers attempt to subdue Leo Etherly and pin him to the hood of the patrol car, a third moves in and pushes his hand against the man's throat.

"Quit choking me sir," Etherly said.

"I'm not choking you," said the officer. "I'm getting your head away from me."

At that point, Etherly appears to spit in the direction of one of the officers. The officer who had him by the throat then punches Etherly in the left eye.

While the use of force is coming under fire, Weber questions the way police handled the initial arrest.

"You really do not want to deal with anyone where they have the front of their body up. This guy is sitting on the front of the car. They obviously have no control over this guy and basically they put themselves in a position where this guy did act up."

Weber says police should have immediately placed the suspect face down.

"When I was a cop, I wanted to maintain as much control over an alleged suspect as possible and basically you have the most control when you're behind the suspect. The things that he was doing with his face wouldn't have happened if in proper position."

While Weber questions the way the three officers handled the arrest, he says it's difficult to determine whether it should be considered an improper use of force.

"Viewing the tape, it doesn't rise to the level of Rodney King or anything like that, but there are some questions about what the police officers did there at the time," he says.

Weber does point out spitting is considered an assault and an officer has the right to do whatever necessary to prevent further assault.

Etherly's lawyer, James Egan, insists the man wasn't spitting at police and was merely clearing his throat.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn said it was too soon to cast judgement on the situation. "Let's let the Office of Professional Accountability to their review before we jump to any conclusion. Our goal is to reduce the use of force and eliminate the use of unnecessary force, but also recognize: Our officers are human beings."

The Oct. 6 incident remains under investigation. Seattle Police Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said Tuesday the matter has been referred to the Office of Professional Accountability.

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What's next for Leo Etherly

Josh Kerns, MyNorthwest.com Reporter
Josh Kerns is co-host of KIRO Radio's Seattle Sounds (Saturday nights 7-8) and a digital content producer for MyNorthwest.com.
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Comments (21)


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  • Cash wrote...
    I wonder if this Expert took into account
    November 28, 2012 8:56 am
    That SPD is always considered wrong no matter what they do when he decided to chime in on this? Anyone who used to be "insert job title of anything here" and now consults or considers themselves and expert are usually the worst people ever involved in that specific career. The SPD cops tried to settle this and when it come time to make the arrest the suspect needs to comply. I personally would not like the situation where the guy is facing me like that but I have got to give them credit for allowing him as much room to face them as they did. I think the second he started to show resistance he should have been given the one chance to be cuffed and then taken down and forced into cuffs. Come on for goodness sake, he was under arrest and clearly resisted and intentionally assaulted the cops.

    I would like to see exactly what Luke would do if he was just minding his own business and this guy decided to run over his girlfriend and flee and then spit in Lukes face when he tried to detain him for the crime??? Luke Burbank is a complete joke and he does not have to like what he sees but the way he shows such hate in his opinion is just horrible. Get over it Luke, the guy got socked in the face while resisting arrest. BTW the tactic appeared to have worked as they were able to get control of him and down into a cuffing position right after that...

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  • seacougr wrote...
    Seattle Police
    November 28, 2012 8:57 am
    The suspect shouldn't have spat on the officeer, but the third officer initiated it. Truthfully the police department was clearly in the wrong and I hope they pay dearly for this. Two things wrong with the police department: Their training is obviously out of whack and something needs to be done with the ego of these hotshots like the officer that initated and agitate this situation. It's long overdue the department needs to be cleaned up, beginning with the so-caalled chief and his command staff followed by all the slime in the department. In addition, something needs to be done about the so-called police guild and their mouthpiece oneal ! These guys need to understand they are servants and working for the public and get above and beyond this self serving egotistical crap. If the mayor and city council doesn't do something soon, then it will be time for the citizens to step up and take care of it on their own. The citizens of Seattle deserve much better than what we have now. Seattle Police, what a poor example of an organization !!!!!
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  • SeattleNative wrote...
    "Clearly in the wrong"
    November 28, 2012 9:46 am
    You and I must be viewing a completely different video. I hope this "fine, upstanding" citizen has plenty of time in the gray-bar motel to meet up with some Bubbas who will teach him the meaning of respect.
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  • MaryJaneLeBeau wrote...
    AJ forgot his meds again!
    November 28, 2012 9:01 am
    You have NO idea what the police force has to deal with on daily basis. As for choking, you can't speak if you can't get any air. He wasn't choked. Wah, wah, he cries after he ran down a woman on a BICYCLE! The guy is a drunk and a drug dealer! Why else was he sitting in the park with 2 other thugs in the middle of the afternoon???? Selling! I hope he get to stay at the gray bar hotel for a long time, at least until he gets clean. The police did EXACTLY what they were trained to do. If he didn't like it, he shouldn't have resisted arrest when they tried to cuff him. IDIOT!
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  • listener99 wrote...
    MaryJaneLeBeau is that fact or supposition?
    November 28, 2012 11:39 am
    It was 4:38pm according to the dashboard cam - he could have been coming from work, or work a graveyard shift. If he were drunk, the officers would have been giving him a sobriety test and breathalyzing him, rather than talking to him for several minutes. He seemed to be in a residential/commercial neighborhood, and his "friends" didn't appear to be acting suspiciously or feeling guilty, since they hung around to watch before leaving. To make such statements (esp. calling the two others "thugs") really doesn't generate much in the way of a respectful discussion, does it?
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  • HLC wrote...
    SPD got it wrong.
    November 28, 2012 9:33 am
    This cop needs to go away. Theres no way this cop should have thrown a punch. If this is the way he was trained the whole program need to be looked at. If three cops couldn't have spun this guy around to get some cuffs on him without strikeing him in the face they all need to look for other work.
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  • circuitfr wrote...
    HLC
    November 28, 2012 10:00 am
    Go ahead and see how easy it is the take someone down who doesn't want to go down. You would be amazed how hard it is for 2 or 3 cops to take down one crazed lunatic. It typically cannot be done without some bumps and bruises. This isn't the movies. The cops are trying to control, they are not frantic and trying to wail like a street fight...the guys that fight are...different tactics. There are people that you can beat the piss out of and they'll still fight you. You can break their arm, they'll start swinging at you with their broken arm...
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  • lazarusrose wrote...
    @circuitfr
    November 28, 2012 10:14 am
    it wouldn't be hard for them to take the guy down if physical fitness and training was upheld. cops get lazy and fat and end up using excessive force or even deadly force in unwarranted situations. this is why SPD is under review in the first place. its our job to scrutinize government and law enforcement tactics in order to keep us fair and free.
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  • Cash wrote...
    @AJ
    November 28, 2012 9:44 am
    HA I forgot that Luke fights for all things gay... I just don't understand why the cop can't do his job without being tossed under the bus? I agree the use of force should be reviewed and evaluated by the brass and OPA but I think there is a reason for why the guy was treated the way he was. The world out here on the street is violent and sometimes you have to talk to people in a language they understand. The guy brought this all on himself and I don't think the cop did anything wrong here. I personally would have used different tactics from the start to avoid being face to face with him but I think that is a product of the on-going dump on SPD and they are getting sloppy with their safety because of it. Luke has no idea how hard it is to control someone who does not want to be arrested and how much it takes to accomplish taking him into custody without getting anyone hurt.
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  • ten4goodbuddy wrote...
    yeah
    November 28, 2012 10:07 am
    It's so hard to take control of someone with 3 people present and him pushed back on the car... LOL, Dbag bitchh straight up didn't like getting spit on, then follow protocol and put him on his face before cuffing him... Dude got spit on and didn't like it, that's why he hit him. Get some self control, or find a new job.
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  • just Fred wrote...
    Maybe I am missing something here
    November 28, 2012 11:18 am
    Does anyone, ANYONE, not understand that if you argue, provoke, resist, or do, or not do, anything but follow the instructions of the Police YOU ARE GOING DOWN!!!!!!!! Is this news? If this guy would have just gone along with the police instructions none of this would have happened. Sorry all you bleeding heart liberials, this guy got exactly what he deserved. I just hope if/when the shoe is on the other foot and something happens to one of your loved ones, the police are there for you too. Sure, there are bad cops. There are bad teachers, bad doctors, bad bosses, bad dogs, and on and on. Get over yourself. The next time a crime is committed to you, who ya gonna call?
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  • Cash wrote...
    @AJ
    November 28, 2012 11:30 am
    I don't have a problem with his use of force but and it worked as it stunned him enough to get him into custody without further incident. Like I said I personally do not like the situation where they allowed him as much space as they did. Based on what I have heard and seen I think I would have immediately taken him into custody before having the chat at the car; that usually is the best and most of these guys will cooperate at that point if you make that lawful order immediately and then become angry and bitter. The plus is they are already cuffed up; in this case they gave him too much space and that is what allowed him the time to get more and more angry and the courage to resist like he did... Anyhow I am not fully defending the cop; there are many different ways of handling this situation and just because I would take another approach does not mean how he did it was wrong. Leo decideded how this went down and now is complaining about it and his lawyer is looking for your money.
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  • dori monson fan wrote...
    it is very disturbing to me
    November 28, 2012 3:04 pm
    that the police failed to tase mr. etherly until he wet himself. they had every reason to. he nearly murdered a woman with his van, fled the crime scene (felony), was combative with police, resisted arrest, and assulted an officer. what more does he have to do to get some voltage?! next time tase him bro!
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  • hedujg26 wrote...
    Tough call...
    November 28, 2012 3:46 pm
    Technically, the cop shouldn't have swung, but i also tend to believe the situation lended itself to that kind of reaction. Resisting arrest and spitting? You do that, and the cops are gonna take you down with force. I was a bouncer, a rugby player, pretty physical stuff, and it is not easy to takea down someone who doesn't want to be taken down, especially when you are limited in the steps you can take. A 14 year old girl can take down anyone with a kick to the balls, but when you have to use restraint, your options become very limited. And when the guy starts spitting, thats the threat of disease. The siht gets real aboutthat time. AJ, why do you even post here? You pretty much bring nothing to the table. Really.
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  • when reality hits you wrote...
    Looks like some scornful judgement against the officer.
    November 28, 2012 4:33 pm
    You cant immediately tell the difference between human scum and a good guy and sometimes we are taken before the facts come rolling in.
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