SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
Complaints about aggressive mustaches won’t stop Seattle police
Jun 2, 2015, 4:53 PM | Updated: Jun 3, 2015, 9:18 am
The Seattle Police Department is on pace to receive more than 1,500 complaints, according to Seattle Police Officers' Guild President Ron Smith. Many of those are internal. Last year the department received a total of 893. (AP photo)
(AP photo)
What do coercive horn honking, texting at stop lights, and aggressive mustaches all have in common?
They are complaints against Seattle police.
The Seattle Police Department is on pace to receive more than 1,500 complaints, according to Seattle Police Officers’ Guild President Ron Smith. Many of those are internal. Last year the department received a total of 893.
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“This is a byproduct of the settlement agreement the department is under with the federal government,” Smith told KIRO Radio’s Ron Upshaw and Don O’Neill. The agreement with the Department of Justice calls for more accountability to fix the department’s overuse of excessive force.
The Office of Professional Accountability, independent from the police department, investigates complaints made internally or by the public. Smith said the office will investigate any kind of complaint, even those that could easily be handled by a supervisor at SPD. Department policy calls for all complaints to be looked at, he added.
The department has received 762 complaints so far this year, KING 5 reports. Those that have been from the public have included some that Smith said might not be worth a full investigation by the Office of Professional Accountability.
A supervisor patrolling the north precinct honked at a cyclist who was riding in the way of vehicles, Smith told Ron and Don. The cyclist didn’t appreciate it and filed a complaint. The supervisor is now being investigated for coercive horn honking, Smith said.
Other internal complaints have included whether in-car video was properly activated and whether a case number was entered correctly, according to KING 5.
In the past, the department would have looked at that and other complaints — including aggressive mustaches — itself, Smith said.
Don suggested Seattle police no longer carry guns, drive cars (so they can’t honk their horns), use computers or have devices that text. But every time someone calls 9-1-1, police need to be there in 90 seconds to save a life.
Smith caught on to the sarcasm.
“We’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t,” Smith responded. “All these people can come up with their crazy ideas, take away our guns, put us in gray blazers and pink tutus.
“At the end of the day, who do they call when they need help? 9-1-1. Who responds? Seattle’s finest.”
