Listen to Ross and Burbank weekdays on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM
 Ross+Burbank


police.jpg
A Seattle University professor is conducting his own independent review of the Seattle Police Department's use of force. (MyNorthwest.com/Stephanie Klein)

Seattle University professor conducting independent review of SPD use of force

BY Jamie Skorheim  on November 30, 2012 @ 10:34 am (Updated: 2:05 pm - 11/30/12 )

Police use of force has been a big topic of conversation in Seattle since the shooting death of Native American woodcarver John T. Williams prompted a Department of Justice investigation. The results of the investigation suggested that SPD officers showed a pattern of violating the Constitution in use of force, in about 20 percent of cases where force was used. That statistic shocked a Seattle University professor, so he's been conducting his own review.

"If it's true, that would be an indicator of a very serious problem," says Matt Hickman, an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Seattle University. "But everything that we know about use of force from the research literature, tells me that number is extraordinarily high."

Hickman tells KIRO Radio's Ross and Burbank Show that he and a group of students are trying to duplicate the DOJ's investigation results.

"We want to try and replicate it and see, is that possible?"

According to his research, Hickman says use of force is very rare, and the Seattle Police Department is not high on the spectrum compared to other departments.

"One thing to keep in mind about this is that in general the use of force is an extremely rare event, and if you want to talk about excessive use of force, that's even more rare," says Hickman. "What we know about the rates of use of force in Seattle [...] is that it's about two and half percent of all arrests in the city of Seattle actually involve reportable use of force."

Hickman says with the rise in release of police dash-cam videos, the public is beginning to think this kind of thing happens all the time, but that's really not the case.

"The available research literature on arrest based rates of use of force range from about 1 percent up to about 16, depending on how force is measured."

How use of force is measured can also vary, which makes determining the severity of the problem a difficult task.

"Force means different things to different people," says Hickman. "For members of the public, if an officer just touches them they might consider that to be excessive force, when in fact that's a routine interaction. The police departments and the courts have very different definitions of what constitutes force."

In evaluating use of force cases, Hickman also says the dash-cam video can't be relied on to show the whole picture. In evaluating a video that drew a lot of press attention this week, showing a suspect apparently spitting on an officer to which the officer responded with a punch, Hickman encourages people to consider what is not shown.

"What events transpired prior to the interaction on the front of the car?" asks Hickman. "No information about that is in the video. We don't know anything about the status of the suspect. In most use of force incidents, drugs and alcohol are a key factor."

Hickman is conducting his own research of the Seattle Police Department to see just where his research comes out compared to the DOJ results.

The Seattle Police Department has already reached an agreement with the DOJ to make changes based on the results of the review. But Hickman plans to continue in his own review.

Jamie Skorheim, MyNorthwest.com Editor
Whether it's floating on Green Lake, eating shrimp tacos at Agua Verde, or taking weekend drives out to the Cascades, she loves to enjoy the Pacific Northwest lifestyle as much as humanly possible.
More Ross and Burbank

MyNorthwest.com - Purpose of Comments statement
Bonneville Media encourages site users to express their opinions by posting comments. Our goal is to maintain a civil dialogue in which readers feel comfortable. At times, the comments can descend to personal attacks. Please do not engage in such behavior. We encourage your thoughtful comments which: have a positive and constructive tone, are on topic, are respectful toward others and their opinions. Bonneville reserves the right to remove comments which do not conform to these criteria.

Comments (6)


  • Add A Comment

  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    Thank you Prof Hickman
    December 2, 2012 1:25 pm
    Thank you for presenting FACTS. But your numbers & research will fall on deaf ears in Seattle. They will deny it; they will call you a racist, a liar, a homophobe, a right wong nut job...take your pick. That city, it's pols and it's residents, hate LE...until they need them.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • murr wrote...
    Ya, one taxed based entity looking into another.
    December 2, 2012 1:37 pm
    Ya Ya Im wondering how this will work out, huge leap of faith here ????? Our dear leader would tell us everything is on track too. A joke.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • tlmbrt wrote...
    Refreshing
    December 2, 2012 5:42 pm
    Finally a balanced story that admits that while the media overhypes these "excessive force" cases, they are actually pretty rare. And cases that actually are confirmed are even more rare. Suspects quite often make these charges following a confrontation where their own actions (resisting, spitting, biting, etc) precipitate a strong police response! And the DOJ crackdown has actually emboldened perpetrators and their lawyers to claim excessive force or brutality in order to help their cases in court!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • longwayhome wrote...
    Cops have a tough job
    December 2, 2012 7:33 pm
    aj has a "past" that he hasn't come clean on as of yet. C'mon aj, if you are going to run for dogcatcher or meter reader we want to know all about your shady history.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • MagneticPatriot wrote...
    Its all about the money and this is a joke!
    December 3, 2012 10:15 am
    Excessive force is a joke and DOJ saw a target with Seattle City Council not saying “NO”. There are far more cities that DOJ should be in this country other than Seattle.

    If you look state wide at ALL the number of police use-of-force statements in relation to the number of arrests and or interactions the percentage is very low even in Seattle!

    On a completely different note, the people that are getting arrested (again) is all these cases are career criminals or have had multiple run ins with law enforcement! This is more a pattern than anything else!

    Show me a story that someone completely innocent and never been in jail or has been arrested, has had an issue? You can’t!

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • sportsguru wrote...
    MagneticPatriot
    December 4, 2012 10:17 am
    Sure here you go: http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/19464064/rogus-police-detective-accused-of-arresting-innocent-people-still-on-the-job http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/26/nyregion/in-the-bronx-resistance-to-prosecuting-stop-and-frisk-arrests.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/ronhuff.htm http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-10-13/news/30291567_1_nypd-narcotics-detective-false-arrest-suit-henry-tavarez http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Officer-threatens-to-make-up-evidence-after-arrest-of-innocent-men-139266773.html There are ton's more if you like.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }