I think the title of this post pretty much says it all. The finalists for the Police Chief of the City of Seattle have been announced. I’m not going to list the names or talk about any of them individually because honestly I don’t know them and I don’t think it’s going to make a difference who they pick. Police culture is police culture, period. As a criminal attorney I get a first hand (albeit slightly biased) look into how the police department works every day, and it’s not something some bureaucrat at the top is going to be able to change.
For example, on April 17 there was a report of a robbery near Northgate. The cops walked around until they found some Latino guys, then they cuffed and stuffed them. And, while they were at it, one of the officers put his boot into the head of one of the guys while another stomped on the back of the guys leg. Know what the guy did? Nothing. Know the only reason we know about it? Somebody video taped it and then sent it to TWO televisions stations (the first sat on it).
One isolated incident doesn’t a pattern make. But ask any criminal lawyer in the city and they’ll tell you this isn’t an isolated incident, particularly the part about walking up to people who only fit the description of a suspect because they are the race of the reported suspect (and sometimes not even that). This isn’t going to change no matter who is hired as police chief. It’s a cultural thing.
There will be a lot of news and reporting in the next few weeks and months about the hiring of this police chief. There will be open houses, and public forums and all kinds of things like that. People will feel like they’ve been heard. A police chief will be hired, and everything will stay the same. Good for business as a criminal defense attorney. Bad for everyone else.
