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Luke Burbank: Conflict shown in latest SPD video didn't have to happen

BY Jamie Skorheim  on January 7, 2013 @ 11:47 am (Updated: 10:54 am - 1/25/13 )

After watching a video released Friday by a lawyer showing a Seattle police officer striking a man during an arrest in 2010, KIRO Radio's Luke Burbank says the thing that bothers him most is that it appears the conflict didn't have to happen.

"Watch the video and ask yourself: Did this need to happen?" said Burbank on Monday's Ross and Burbank Show.

The video shows Isaac Ocak, 18 at the time, who had left a car locked with the engine running outside a department store while he returned some items on Dec. 29, 2010, said his attorney, James Egan. When he came back, officers questioned him about why he'd left it there.

The video shows Ocak speaking with the officers and referring to one as "sir" but becoming more agitated as he was questioned. As the questioning continued, Ocak occasionally lifted his hands off the hood of a patrol car despite orders to leave them there. As officers pressed him to the hood, Ocak resisted. An officer is seen grabbing Ocak's mouth and Ocak bit him, prompting the officer to punch him twice in the head as other officers held him down.

Watching the physical exchange, Luke says the officer's behavior certainly isn't the worst of the worst, but it seems the way the situation deteriorated could have been avoided.

"It is a situation that did not have to happen, in my opinion," says Luke. "I would describe this kid's behavior as annoyed but compliant. He's bothered because he doesn't think the officer should be hassling him [...] Looking at the situation, the kid does not seem to present a threat."

Ocak's attorney James Egan obtained the video under the state's Public Records Act and publicized it Friday after filing a complaint for damages against the city on Ocak's behalf.

Egan said the incident shows unnecessary aggression by the officers, and fits in with the Justice Department's findings that Seattle police had a pattern of unnecessarily using force, especially in low-level situations that could be resolved verbally.

Taking a look at the consequences now, Luke says it's upsetting things had to go this way.

"What you have at the end of it is an officer apparently with a bit finger. You have a kid that got roughed up pretty good. You've got a $100,000 lawsuit against the police department, which by the way means us, when it comes to who pays this out, all over something that didn't necessarily have to happen."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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.
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Comments (16)


  • Add A Comment

  • MagneticPatriot wrote...
    Maybe people should do exactly what is asked of them...
    January 7, 2013 11:52 am
    If you are told by a police officer to keep your hands on the hood of the car maybe you should do that. Hundreds of people get arrested every day and it is always a video of some career criminal that has been arrested before that is doing the wrong thing again! Lets show the other 1,000 dash cam videos of people getting arrested without incident? Get off the drama horse!
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  • Paul Kersey wrote...
    In Seattle, if you leave your car running at the curb
    January 7, 2013 3:31 pm
    you will get a beat down by a mob of goons. If you are an illegal alien selling crack in Belltown, they will give you the keys to the city.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Jeff Schroeder wrote...
    Perhaps The Cops Should write a check
    January 7, 2013 3:57 pm
    ...when they are found to be brutalizing People-not the taxpayers. I'll bet they they'd shape up "Right Quick"
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • sportsguru wrote...
    they made sure they got them
    January 7, 2013 4:30 pm
    out of the way of the dash cam so they can use there excessive force. These cops are out of control.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • JeffShelton wrote...
    Who cares what Luke Burbank thinks
    January 7, 2013 4:33 pm
    He thought the last incident was over board as well so clearly his expertise and thoughts don't mean anything since he doesn't know what it is like be an officer because if he did he would keep his stupid mouth shut. All you have to do is obey the officers and you will be on your way. You are right this didn't need to escalate but the dumbarse punk kid who came from a broken home, probably one where he didn't obey his parents, showed his lack of obedience toward the officers and the officers controlled the situation to the best of their abilities. I have been pulled over 8 times since 2001 and have never gotten a ticket. I once got forced out of my car at gun point for a mistaken ATM robbery suspect who was wearing a similar striped shirt as me, which I complied even though I did nothing wrong, I knew they were just doing their job and they didn't need anymore added stress from me trying to not comply with them.
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  • Snout wrote...
    Except for one dikey SPD cop,
    January 7, 2013 5:14 pm
    I've had nothing but decent interactions with the department. It's simple, they deal with trash all day long and once they figure out that you're not a threat then things go smoother than a burrito through a white guy. Follow instructions and don't be a dildo.
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  • Robert1429 wrote...
    Do some research
    March 4, 2013 9:03 pm
    I felt the same way until I realized how rampant and out of control cops are. There are instances everyday of police brutality. These cops should be charged.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Cash wrote...
    If Luke is against it...
    January 7, 2013 5:34 pm
    Luke is about as far from an independent thought as you will ever get. He simply does not like SPD and he will clearly does not like cops in general. This clearly makes him against all things SPD regardless of what has happened. If the car was stolen and it was his stolen car and they just let him head on down the road without identifying him guy he would be up in arms for failure to act. It is not an easy job and there are always going to be those who see things differently but things happen. The fact of the matter is the police had the right to investigate a suspicious circumstance here because it fit the circumstances of a crime in progress; robbery/theft from the store and the possibility that the car itself was stolen.

    You may not agree being completely removed but if you were involved I think you would think differently. I don't like seeing cops taking personal offense to backtalk and they really need to learn how to communicate better and they can avoid a lot of this but sometime it can happen without even realizing it and it is the cost of doing business. If and when all the facts are in a decision will be made but this pick and choose reporting is clearly one sided and the media is 100% against anything and everything SPD does regardless and they do their best to turn them on the people to get ratings.

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  • soo purletiv wrote...
    "Do you know where you live?"
    January 7, 2013 7:25 pm
    What an axx of a cop!

    "How many keys do you need for a house?" What the hexx does that matter?

    "you're on video retard" Another good one!

    "What is wrong with you? What is wrong with you?" Oh, not much, I just left my car running while I made a return, sorry sir!

    "You smell like a weed factory back there. Just remember, I search my (inaudible) I search my back seat every time I put someone back there" Uhh, dumbaxx, did you not think to search him before you put him in the back? Funny how that was not an issue previous to "this" audio moment, dumbaxx! Sounds kind of like a "set up"?

    The guy left his car running while making a return. He was parked in a legal parking spot. A simple warning from the SPD would have sufficed. Even if the guy has a mouth, I thought the SPD was trained to ignore such disrespect?

    I am not defending his language, but don't we have a simple right to not be harassed by cops just because they want to?

    Everyone here ok with cops questioning you about nothing, just because they want to? You do understand that unless there is a crime being investigated, a person does not have to answer any questions from a curious cop, right? Some are willing, and that is fine. But not answering is no reason to be harassed.

    He answered the pertinent questions and then some.

    We may not like Issac's attitude and language. But that in no way gives any cop the right to treat him the way they did.

    A smart cop, unlike the dork in this video, would have looked past the attitude and tried to find common ground to diffuse the incident and move on. This buffoon couldn't de-fuse a fire cracker with a 20 minute fuse and a 10 minute head start...

    I find myself in the unenviable position of agreeing with Luke Burbank on this rare occasion: It didn't have to happen!

    But, sometimes paths cross between a smartaxx and a dumbaxx!

    Stuff happens...

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  • Nickatnyt wrote...
    The guy deserved it.
    January 7, 2013 8:31 pm
    Stupid guy all around. True story here...I was mistaken as a drug dealer once by SPD and I was quickly spread eagle on the concrete. I followed the instructions of the 3 cops and I was also 100% respectful to them. It only took 1 minute to clear the situation up and now I have a funny story to tell. On second thought, maybe I should have acted like the jackhole in the same manner as the guy in this instance so I could fleece the citizens for a 6 figure amount. I hope the d-bag gets a roughed up again after being a moron.
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  • sportsguru wrote...
    Just because
    January 7, 2013 10:07 pm
    You like your rights to be violated doesn't mean the rest of us have to be a pu55y and like our rights being violated. Give the kid a ticket, run a background check, whatever. But to call yourself a professional acting like this is absurd. You might as well have the street gangs apply for the police force, they treat people the same way. Oh wait, the SPD is a street gang.
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  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    Simple
    January 8, 2013 12:35 am
    Do not park on the sidewalk or in the front of a store ..if the car would have been parked "like a normal" person .. nothing would have happened.
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