Seattle police officer who rolled bicycle over protester’s head suspended for 7 days

A Seattle police officer who rolled a bicycle over a man’s head during a September 2020 protest was disciplined by the city’s Office of Police Accountability (OPA) this week, receiving a seven-day suspension without pay.

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The incident occurred in the former CHOP zone near Capitol Hill’s East Precinct, during protests over a decision by a Kentucky grand jury to indict one of three officers involved in the death of Breonna Taylor for wanton endangerment.

In video posted to social media, several bike officers can be seen moving forward, with one walking both of the wheels of his bicycle directly over the head of a man laying prone. The incident was referred for potential criminal charges, with the Seattle City Attorney’s Office eventually declining to prosecute the case, citing the man’s “failure to cooperate with the prosecution.”

In a statement to the OPA, the man said he had “no interest in criminal charges being pressed on anyone,” and that he wanted “a more stable and peaceful world, not revenge.”

The officer spoke to the OPA as well, claiming that while he had noticed the man lying down in the street ahead of him while walking his bicycle, he “thought that he needed to stay on his line and couldn’t move as it might confuse the officers following behind him.” He went on to allege that he believed he had lifted his bicycle over the man.

After being shown video of him rolling his bicycle over the man later on, the officer admitted that it looked “horrible.”

The OPA also cited a separate, longer video taken at the scene, which indicated that “approximately two seconds” before the officer reached the man, the man had “laid down in the street in the direct path of officers.”

While the OPA deferred to the City Attorney’s Office as to whether a crime was committed, it did rule that the officer violated SPD’s use of force policy, as well as employee standards that dictate how officers should “strive to be professional.”

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“OPA believes that the decision to step over the Subject, rather than to go around him, was a bad one,” the ruling reads. “The video indicates – despite (the officer’s) recollection – that there was more than enough room for (the officer) to have stepped to one side or the other to make sure that he avoided the Subject.”

“Moreover, while (the officer) denied that he intended to make contact with the Subject, the video is compelling evidence to the contrary,” it continues. “Again, when looking at the video, there is no indication that he ever lifted the bicycle while walking over the Subject.”

You can read the full report from the OPA at this link.

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