Seattle Cops Sorry About Arresting
70-Year-Old Black Vet for No Reason
Gabrielle
Bluestone
This
week, the Seattle Police Department issued an apology to a 70-year-old black
veteran who was arrested last summer when a female officer apparently falsely
accused him of threatening her with a golf club.
William
Wingate, a 69-year-old Seattle man who regularly used his golf club as a cane,
was standing on a street corner last summer when Officer Cynthia Whitlatch
pulled up next to him.
In
a exchange captured on her police cruiser's dash cam, Whitlatch accused Wingate
of threatening her with his club, repeatedly warning him, "You're being
audio and videotaped."
But
as the police department conceded, there's no evidence at all—much less a
recording—showing that Wingate threatened Whitlatch in any way. Via a Seattle
Police Department press release:
The
City Attorney's Office and SPD took a second look at this case and recommended
that it be dismissed.
Deputy
Chief Best personally met with the man, returned his golf club, and offered an
apology for his arrest.
Video
of the man's arrest was just released to a media outlet as a result of a public
disclosure request. It is being published on the SPD Blotter in the interest of
fostering better police transparency.
Wingate
had actually ended up pleading guilty to the misdemeanor charge of unlawful use
of a weapon in exchange for two years of probation, which were dismissed early.
Not
dismissed, however, was Whitlatch, the arresting officer.
The
officer who made the arrest received counseling from her supervisor, a course
of action that the department believes to be an appropriate resolution.
WE NEED TO CHANGE THE
COPS, NOT ENCOURAGE THEIR AWFUL BEHAVIOR
Boycott the following
companies for hosting the Fairfax 2015 World Police & Fire Games
Apple Federal Credit Union,
LMI,
Noblis,
B.F. Saul Company,
Galls LLC,
Sage Communications,
Macerich,
Glory Days Grill,
Reston Limousine,
City of Fairfax, Karin’s Florist,
NOVA Media Services,
Clyde’s Restaurant Group,
Level3 Communications,
Verizon
Globe, Dewberry,
IMC, ESPN 980,
Serco,
Loudoun County,
Grant Thornton,
Prince William Convention and Visitors Bureau and
Booz Allen Hamilton.
Want to change the murderous arrogance and indifference of the
Fairfax County Police? Then fire the
people who hire the cops and watch how quickly things change. Start with tossing Gerry Hyland out of
office. He basically works for the cop’s best interest and not yours.
Bottom line, if politicians don’t fear that you can harm their
careers, then you don’t exist. They don’t see you, they don’t hear you. You
don’t matter.
Register to vote, form a political action committee. Run a
candidate. Take back your government.
Desk duty for cop who arrested black man with
golf club
After
a morning meeting with Mayor Ed Murray, Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole
agreed to a conduct a broad review of the department’s handling of the matter
and placed Officer Cynthia Whitlatch on desk duty pending full reviews of her
conduct.
By
Steve Miletich and Christine Clarridge
Alan
Berner / The Seattle Times
William Wingate, who
was arrested and jailed for carrying a golf club on a Capitol Hill street,
leaves a Seattle law-firm office. The attorney at left is Vonda Sargent.
Facing
mounting outrage, Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole announced Thursday the
removal from street duty of a white patrol officer
who made racially charged comments on Facebook within two months of arresting a
70-year-old black man for carrying a golf club.
After
a morning meeting with Mayor Ed Murray, O’Toole agreed to conduct a broad
review of the department’s handling of the matters and placed Officer Cynthia
Whitlatch on desk duty pending full reviews of her conduct.
Both
moves occurred as the NAACP called for Whitlatch’s firing.
On
a Facebook post last summer attributed to Whitlatch, the officer was critical
of “black peoples (sic) paranoia” in assuming whites are “out to get them, ”
and cited the Ferguson, Mo., riots that followed the fatal shooting of a young
African-American man by a white officer Aug. 9.
O’Toole
said she learned only Wednesday of the post and became concerned that it
closely followed the golf-club incident July 9.
“This
is serious stuff, and we’re going to address it head-on,” O’Toole said in an
interview on what has become her most challenging internal crisis since she
became chief in June.
She
said her department will continue to face challenges as it works to meet
federally mandated reforms to curb excessive force and biased policing but
declared the “vast majority” of officers understand the need for change.
Whitlatch,
47, joined the department in 1997, working primarily as a patrol officer.
In
a statement released Thursday afternoon, O’Toole said, “I was shocked and
disappointed to read her comments. We are working to reform the Seattle Police
Department, and behavior of this nature seriously undermines our efforts.”
O’Toole
said that, along with a comprehensive review she ordered Wednesday of cases
involving Whitlatch, the department’s Office of Professional Accountability
(OPA) would conduct a separate internal investigation of Whitlatch that could
lead to discipline.
OPA
Director Pierce Murphy said Thursday evening the investigation will focus on
the golf-club matter, which he first heard of Wednesday when it was publicly
disclosed. The OPA previously determined the Facebook post involved off-duty
conduct and referred it for supervisory counseling.
O’Toole
also agreed to Murray’s directive to conduct a “management investigation” of
all the circumstances and decisions related to Whitlatch’s actions.
In
a statement Thursday, Murray said the city must do more to carry out reforms to
restore public trust.
“While
I support the Chief’s decision yesterday to call for a more comprehensive
review of the overall conduct and performance of the officer involved —
considering there were two incidents with this officer in the same summer —
there appear to be lapses in our protocols,” Murray said.
Hours
before O’Toole’s announcement, William Wingate, the Seattle man who was arrested
and jailed in July for carrying a golf club on a Capitol Hill street, said he
didn’t immediately obey Whitlatch’s commands to drop the club because he was
frightened.
“I
was scared,” Wingate said during a news conference in the Seattle office of his
attorney. “I didn’t know what she was going to do.”
Wingate
said he believed he was targeted by Whitlatch because he is black and described
the officer as “out of control” during the encounter.
Wingate’s
attorney, Susan Mindenbergs, filed a claim — a precursor to a lawsuit — against
the city in November. The claim, which seeks at least $750,000 in damages, says
Wingate’s civil rights were violated and his only crime was “walking in Seattle
while black.”
Wingate
was on his daily walk, using the golf club as a cane, when Whitlatch claimed he
swung it in a threatening manner while she was driving her patrol car.
Patrol-car video and a police report indicate she circled the block,
pulled up alongside Wingate and repeatedly ordered him to drop the golf club.
On the video, Wingate denies any wrongdoing, refuses to drop the club and tells
the officer to call somebody — presumably a supervisor or another officer.
Police
said the patrol-car video doesn’t substantiate Whitlatch’s claim that Wingate
waved his club. However, dashboard cameras are pointed forward and do not
capture images from alongside patrol cars, police said.
Wingate
was booked into the King County Jail for obstruction and harassment. He pleaded
guilty to unlawful use of a weapon, a misdemeanor, under an agreement in which
the case would be dismissed after two years if he complied with all conditions
ordered by the judge.
After
questions were raised about the arrest, the Seattle City Attorney’s Office had
the charge dismissed. Seattle police apologized to Wingate for the arrest.
To
some, the incident mirrored issues raised by the U.S. Justice Department when
it found in 2011 that the Police Department had engaged in a pattern of
excessive force and displayed troubling evidence of biased policing. It also concluded
that Seattle officers “escalate situations and use unnecessary or excessive
force when arresting individuals for minor offenses.”
The
finding led to a landmark settlement in 2012 in which the city agreed to make
broad reforms.
Whitlatch
was one of 100 officers who filed an unsuccessful lawsuit last year to block
new use-of-force policies.
O’Toole,
in her statement, said, “I was hired because of my track record for reform and
my commitment to bias-free policing. I knew this would be a difficult job, but
days like this make me even more determined.”
Pledging
to work with the city’s elected leaders, federal officials and the community,
O’Toole added: “Together we will address our challenges head-on, we will
accomplish our goals, and we will be stronger in the end.”
Gerald
Hankerson, president of the Seattle King County NAACP, said at a news
conference Thursday that Wingate’s case bolstered the organization’s
decades-long claim that Seattle police operate on bias.
Outrage
expressed by African Americans in Seattle has been overwhelming since stories
on Wingate’s arrest made national news Wednesday, he said.
“Termination
is the only thing that we accept,” he said of Whitlatch. “She doesn’t deserve
to wear that badge.”
“We
do not accept the apology,” he said. “We do not want someone like that walking
around.”
Hankerson
said it’s especially disheartening because the arrest followed the federally
initiated reforms.
“Don’t
say ‘training,’ don’t say ‘reform’ …,” he said. “The question is what is SPD
going to do about it?”
Wingate,
a former King County Metro bus driver, described himself as “pro-police” in the
past, although his view has changed since the encounter.
During
the news conference he held up a cane he said he obtained after the golf club
was taken away.
“I’m
just a regular, blue-collar guy,” he said. “I’m a working man, and I’m still
working.”
WE NEED TO CHANGE THE
COPS, NOT ENCOURAGE THEIR AWFUL BEHAVIOR
Boycott the following
companies for hosting the Fairfax 2015 World Police & Fire Games
Apple Federal Credit Union,
LMI,
Noblis,
B.F. Saul Company,
Galls LLC,
Sage Communications,
Macerich,
Glory Days Grill,
Reston Limousine,
City of Fairfax, Karin’s Florist,
NOVA Media Services,
Clyde’s Restaurant Group,
Level3 Communications,
Verizon
Globe, Dewberry,
IMC, ESPN 980,
Serco,
Loudoun County,
Grant Thornton,
Prince William Convention and Visitors Bureau and
Booz Allen Hamilton.
Want to change the murderous arrogance and indifference of the
Fairfax County Police? Then fire the
people who hire the cops and watch how quickly things change. Start with tossing Gerry Hyland out of
office. He basically works for the cop’s best interest and not yours.
Bottom line, if politicians don’t fear that you can harm their
careers, then you don’t exist. They don’t see you, they don’t hear you. You
don’t matter.
Register to vote, form a political action committee. Run a
candidate. Take back your government.
SPD reviewing officer who posted troubling
comments, arrested man with golf club
Dawn
Mason
By
David Ham and Linzi Sheldon
SEATTLE
—
Seattle
Police Department Chief Kathleen O’Toole has ordered a review into the conduct
of Officer Cynthia Whitlatch, who the department confirmed posted questionable
comments on Facebook and arrested an elderly veteran who was using his golf
club as a cane.
The
video of that arrest was released Wednesday, although the actual arrest
occurred in July.
"You
swung that golf club at me when I turned the corner at 11th and Pike,”
Whitlatch said to him.
But
the 20-minute dashcam clip doesn't show Wingate swinging the club at Whitlatch.
The video starts with Whitlatch yelling at Wingate for at least three minutes
to put down his golf club.
"You
just swung that golf club at me!”
Whitlatch said in the video.
“I
didn't swing no golf club,” Wingate responded.
Wingate
was arrested and booked into jail. He does not have a criminal history.
“I
was scared,” Wingate said. “I didn’t know what was going to happen to me. I
knew one thing—I was being framed.”
KIRO
7 confirmed Whitlatch also posted comments on Facebook responding to a post about
riots in Ferguson.
She
called it “chronic black racism” and said, “I am tired of black peoples [sic]
paranoia that white people are out to get them."
When
Facebook user Brian Davis reacted, she calls him “another black racist.”
KIRO
7 asked Wingate if he believes his arrest was racial profiling.
“I
don’t know,” he said. “I know one thing. I’m a black man walking down the
street doing nothing and I got stopped and went to jail by a white police
officer.”
Whitlatch
is also one of the officers who filed a federal lawsuit against the city's use
of force policies.
Despite
SPD apologizing for his arrest and the charges being dismissed, Wingate said he
fears police and will not return to the same block.
“They
could do something else to me,” he said.
Council
member Bruce Harrell said there's no reason why Wingate should have been
arrested in the first place.
"He's
an outstanding gentleman, so it seems a little bizarre that such a reasonable
person with no criminal history would swing wildly a club at an officer,"
Harrell said. "That doesn’t make common sense.”
Seattle
police said Whitlatch is a veteran officer and has not had any previous
disciplinary issues.
"The
officer who made the arrest received counseling from her supervisor, a course
of action that the department believes to be an appropriate resolution,"
the SPD said in a statement.
SPD
said a complaint has been filed with the Office of Professional Accountability
over the incident.
However,
Wingate filed a claim with the City of Seattle. He's asking for damages of more
than $750,000.
His
claim says, in part: "Mr. Wingate's physicians and family members and
friend will attest to the emotional distress caused by the racial profiling,
arrest, and incarceration of this man, whose only crime was 'walking in Seattle
while black.'"
SPD
said there was no racial bias in the incident.
Spokesperson
Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said the department could have handled the incident with
Wingate much better.
“He
should feel confident walking with a golf club in hand anywhere near the East
Precinct,” Whitcomb said. “He should absolutely not be concerned.”
He
said the chief’s review will reveal whether Whitlatch has improved her behavior
or whether there have been more red flags.
KIRO
7 reached out to the Seattle Police Officers’ Guild but did not hear back.
WE NEED TO CHANGE THE
COPS, NOT ENCOURAGE THEIR AWFUL BEHAVIOR
Boycott the following
companies for hosting the Fairfax 2015 World Police & Fire Games
Apple Federal Credit Union,
LMI,
Noblis,
B.F. Saul Company,
Galls LLC,
Sage Communications,
Macerich,
Glory Days Grill,
Reston Limousine,
City of Fairfax, Karin’s Florist,
NOVA Media Services,
Clyde’s Restaurant Group,
Level3 Communications,
Verizon
Globe, Dewberry,
IMC, ESPN 980,
Serco,
Loudoun County,
Grant Thornton,
Prince William Convention and Visitors Bureau and
Booz Allen Hamilton.
Want to change the murderous arrogance and indifference of the
Fairfax County Police? Then fire the
people who hire the cops and watch how quickly things change. Start with tossing Gerry Hyland out of
office. He basically works for the cop’s best interest and not yours.
Bottom line, if politicians don’t fear that you can harm their
careers, then you don’t exist. They don’t see you, they don’t hear you. You
don’t matter.
Register to vote, form a political action committee. Run a
candidate. Take back your government.
