No charges for SPD cop who broke woman's eye socket during arrest


SEATTLE -- A Seattle police officer who broke a woman's eye socket during an arrest this summer won't face criminal charges, King County Prosecutors said Friday.
Officer Adley Shepherd had responded to a call on June 22 that a woman was threatening a family member at a Seattle home.
Shepherd arrived to find the woman was drunk and argumentative and when he began to arrest her for suspicion of domestic violence, she began to resist, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors say Shepherd acted "professionally and with restraint" until he was kicked in the head by the woman as he was putting her in his patrol car. Shepherd immediately responded with a punch to the woman's head that broke her eye socket.
The case was investigated by the Washington State Patrol and passed on to King County prosecutors for review of a potential assault charge. But prosecutors determined while Shepherd may have had other options than punching the woman in the head, their investigation concluded they would be unable to prove Shepherd's use of force was criminal.
The case has now been referred to the Seattle Police Department for any internal penalties. Shepherd has been on administrative leave for the past six months.
"The Seattle Police Officers Guild hopes that Officer Shepherd will be returned to full duty as soon as possible, and that SPD will review its Force Investigation Team procedures to review whether the system is working in the best interest of all involved," Seattle Police Officers' Guild President Det. Ron Smith said in a statement released to the media.
Smith said the guild believes Shepherd used reasonable and necessary force to stop the suspect's assault.
"It is our opinion that had the suspect heeded the officers’ commands, the resulting incident in question would not have occurred," he said.
On Friday night, the Seattle Police Department released video of the incident.