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Video: Seattle Police brutality or justified force in arrest of Issac Ocak?

BY Jillian Raftery  on January 7, 2013 @ 1:28 pm (Updated: 4:12 pm - 1/7/13 )


Warning: This video may be inappropriate for some audiences.

Seattle attorney James Egan has released another video of a client's arrest that he is calling police brutality, which is under review by the Seattle Police Department's Office of Professional Accountability. But Dori is skeptical about Egan's claim and thinks the officers were just protecting themselves.

The incident began when Egan's client, Isaac Ocak, left his car running in the parking lot directly outside of the door of a Marshall's department store in Seattle on December 29, 2010 while exchanging a Christmas gift he bought for his nephew.

The video, released Friday by Egan, shows Ocak initially talking calmly with officers next to his car, then answering questions with his hands spread on the officers' car.

After several minutes Ocak is handcuffed by the officers, who say that he was resisting arrest and that he bit one of them on the hand. Ocak says that he felt harassed by the officers and that he didn't do anything wrong.

Egan says that the main issue is that they had no reason to suspect Ocak of a crime in the first place, or to detain him after they found out why his car was left locked and running outside the store.

"In that circumstance they could determine or dispel whether criminal activity is afoot," said Egan.

Ocak wasn't breaking any laws by leaving the car running on private property. The officers, however, asked him about his driver's license, registration, and proof of insurance. They also asked why he had so many keys on his key ring.

"They started asking him about his license and insurance, and meanwhile, Dori," said Egan, "he's been detained for eight minutes on the hood of the patrol car with Officer Longley telling him to keep his hands on the patrol car. This is well beyond the scope of what's called a 'Terry stop-and-frisk' or 'Terry stop-and-detain,' and that's when the officers jumped on him because he lifted his hands off the hood of the car one too many times."

Egan thinks their questions indicate that the officers were looking for a reason to arrest Ocak.

"There was no reason to detain him once they determined that his parking there was legitimate, albeit improper - I'll agree, leaving your car running outside a store is a dumb, juvenile thing to do," said Egan. "The car's locked, but they've sorted out the reason behind it. But they can't even issue a parking ticket, do you understand, he's on private property - they can't do anything after that except tell him to move his car."

Dori empathizes with the Seattle Police Officers involved who may have felt unsafe when Ocak became agitated.

"They say it looks suspicious, running car outside a store - something a shop-lifter might do. Guy with a - they say - a history of assaulting cops. Not complying, doesn't keep his hands on the hood. They say they smelled weed from the inside of the vehicle," said Dori. "I think these cops have to make sure they come home at the end of shift."

According to reports, the car wasn't registered to Ocak. His background check was also flagged, saying he had a juvenile record and had been "assaultive" toward officers in the past.

Dori, considering all the details, thought the officers had a reason to be worried.

Egan denied flatly that Ocak posed a risk, or that he had ever been "assaultive" in the past. He said that Seattle Police spokesman Sean Whitcomb could not give any evidence of "assaultive behavior" when asked by Seattle Times reporters at a press conference Friday.

"If he's 'assaultive' towards officers in the past, then why are they detaining him further? He's not assaulting them right there," said Egan, "he's saying 'Sir, please let me go. I apologize. I shouldn't have parked there. I understand it.'"

For Dori, it doesn't matter why Ocak was stopped. It all boils down to the fact that Ocak appears to be resisting police officers.

"The guy wasn't complying, in my view," said Dori.

Jillian Raftery, Social Media Captain
Jillian Raftery is a social media captain for the Dori Monson Show. She loves the neighborly vibe of the Pacific Northwest and spends as much time as possible outdoors.
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Comments (14)


  • Add A Comment

  • codetalker wrote...
    Off Camera
    January 7, 2013 1:02 pm
    It doesn't look like a bite rather it looks like the officer was pulling open his mouth using pressure on his nose. I also am disturbed they took him off camera. Really? The guy was able to move 4 larger men off the hood of the patrol car. I find it hard to believe 4 officers could not control him.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ricoli wrote...
    Seattle cops
    January 7, 2013 1:03 pm
    Just another reason I call them pigs. It's been years since I have spent five cents in Seattle, and will never again.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Endcat wrote...
    Yet ANOTHER example
    January 7, 2013 3:08 pm
    of Seattle police officers being bullies and thugs. This guy had no business be detained and the video proves it. Why is having a large number of keys on his key chain important. These officers harassed and bullied this guy only because they could. No crime was being committed, no persons were being injured they were just being THUGS. As for the supposed bite, I have watched this video and if this cop got bit it was only because he was jamming his hand into he teeth and upper lip and nose. These cops WAY over stepped their authority. They are abusive bullies who should be charged with assault.
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  • Kathie wrote...
    SPD
    January 7, 2013 3:40 pm
    So tired of the SPD. They think they have all the power. Unbelievable. SOOOOO glad I don't live in Seattle and rarely go there. Although many others almost as bad. I saw NO reason for any of this. Ridiculous!'
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • elguapola wrote...
    Hits like a girl.
    January 7, 2013 7:36 pm
    Sure the kid was annoying and wouldn't shut up but the red head cop was way to obvious with the fake bite and to make it even worse he hits like a girl. And the way they got him out of camera angle was great too, it's like they practice it.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Digger Dan wrote...
    SPD out of line
    January 7, 2013 7:42 pm
    Hey Bryan: Is that as deep as you go. This isn't about parking. The point here is not whether the guy bit a cop’s hand or whether the cop should have hit him in the side of the head when he resisted (unnecessary with four officers and an unarmed man). But, like others who have commented, the wrong that occurred here happened before that. These cops ran the guy’s background, and saw that as a juvenile he had assaulted a police officer. One way or another, they were going to cuff him and take him downtown. How an unarmed man in Seattle, or the U.S., for that matter, can be told to hold his hands on a car hood for as long as he was told to with no arrest warrants outstanding, no weapons and while posing no real threat to the officesr is shameful, and any decent cop should be embarrassed. This was an abuse of power, and these cops are bullies – it was written all over their faces, and borne out by their actions. They didn’t like the guy. Too bad. Welcome to the United States. We’re still free, but I had to wonder after watching that video.
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  • Eta Huinya wrote...
    Digger Dan
    January 8, 2013 7:23 pm
    It never said he assaulted a police officer which is why the police could never show evidence to suggest otherwise. What it did say was he had been flagged as "assaultive" as a juvenile. assaultive is the police's fancy new label anyone who isn't blindly obedient and questions their authority in any manner not physical.

    What it told these cops was that if they held him without cause long enough he would probably getting PO'ed and giving them a reason to arrest him. The cop jammed his finger into the mans mouth, he wasn't bit. He knew that too, it was obvious by how quickly he got the altercation off camera.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Drool wrote...
    Never Would Have Happened
    January 7, 2013 8:23 pm
    If the car left running was a new BMW or Mercedes and the person that came out wasn't wearing saggy pants.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Lokelani wrote...
    Police kidnapping
    January 8, 2013 7:38 am
    Dori is an idiot. It should have taken only a couple of minutes- by talking with the store clerks to see if his story was true. There was no need to make him place his hands on the car ( he was frisked prior to that per his attorney). There was no need for the disrespect the officer showed him. I was especially disturbed by the officer stating he did not have to be nice. Hey, officer- if you are reading this- WE PAY YOUR SALARY! You work for us! If you want respect from the community, then show some respect back. He did not commit a crime, he should not have been forced to place his hands on the car hood for 8 minutes, he should not have been assaulted because he moved his hands, and the officer put his hands on his mouth. I did not see a bite. If there was one, it was probably a nip in the heat of the moment.What was the issue with the keys? If you are a burgler, you would break in, not use keys. I have about 12 keys on my key chain. Does that make me a criminal? Then, this kid gets placed in a car to be arrested. This is kidnapping,plain and simple, and I hope those officers get disciplined, and this kid make at least $100,000 for his ordeal.
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  • Police Chief David Couper wrote...
    Improving Police
    January 8, 2013 9:13 am
    What is “good policing?” What should you expect from your police? Perhaps one or more of the four major obstacles arresting police development is operating here? For more, follow my blog at http://improvingpolice.wordpress.com. Those police officers who serve in a democracy must be men and women who are highly-educated, well-trained, controlled in their use of force, honest, courteous to every person, and led by mature leaders. Is that your police? If not, find out what you can begin to do about it.
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  • irony wrote...
    detaining a person is questionable...
    January 8, 2013 11:07 am
    something like this where there's no criming going on at the moment they should have to call in for guidance not just run the plates etc... they should have made him use the key to open the door and did a search of the vehicle for drugs and merchandise to prove his innocent. if not then YES take him downtown.
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  • Eta Huinya wrote...
    irony
    January 8, 2013 7:33 pm
    Without a crime or criminal activity in view they couldn't search his vehicle without either his consent or a warrant. There was no shoplifting call, so no criminal activity to warrant his being detained. Leaving your locked car running while you're in the store is stupid, especially at these gas prices, but not illegal therefore no reason to be detained. Who cares if they thought they smelled marijuana, last time I checked it was legal in Seattle so they have no legal reason to detain him again.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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