Though i have no problems with the officer trying to restrain/arrest the women, IMO the punch was the wrong response to the situation. Clearly it was an act of frustration and retaliatory. The women were clearing resisting arrest by pushing and generally being uncooperative, however they were not presenting any real danger to the officer. By punching the suspect, he not only increased the probability of violence from the suspects, but more dangerously of inciting the crowd to violence. I agree with Lil pun, that he should have called for back up once he determined he was going to arrest multiple suspects, that were not only resisting but beligerent as well as dealing with an unruly crowd. Most curious however is what is not recorded... how did a jwalking citation to the suspects friend lead to an arrest? Was the officer arresting the women after she protested the ticket or was he arresting them for jaywalking? What caused the decision to arrest, which of course leads to the situation on camera, is what i want to know.
I think the cop might have handled it better, but I don't think he was out of line with responding with some kind of force to that woman. She was physically interfering with an arrest and did assault him. Punching her in the face was a bit excessive. This probably wouldn't have gotten that much attention if Seattle cops hadn't had so many recent incidents with excessive violence. Between that and the 5 cops executed in cold blood the past year, relations between Seattle residents and the cops are pretty low. That stuns me to see in such a laid back, libertarian part of the country.
I feel the same way. Being surrounded by individuals and then having someone get physical on him like that. Potentially dangerous situation.
This is the way the cop should have handled it imo. It took way too long to subdue her, and this would have gotten her quiet very quick. <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vgN8SpG5UlY&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vgN8SpG5UlY&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>
From some article I read, he was citing a man for jaywalking, when this group of 4 jaywalked in front of him. He ordered them to come back so he can give them a citation. But one chick decided to just walk off. So, he was trying to detain her when the other chick went to push him. That's all the police version, but I don't see a reason to disbelieve it. I feel sorry for the girls. The 17-year old is a ward of the state and it sounds like they've had trouble with law enforcement before. They don't seem to be destined for a life of ease and influence, to say the least.
I've watched the video a few times to the point of the punch and I think the cop is justified in some sort of reaction but the punch was excessive. The cop is clearly being assaulted and at one point the woman in pink appears to possibly be reaching towards the cop's belt. That would be a very clear warning sign. That said though when the cop punches the woman he has seperated himself from her pauses, pushes her and then takes a full swing. At that point that appears to be retaliation on his part rather than trying to defend himself or control the situation. This is a borderline case to me and he probably could've handled it better and not used a closed fist but it seems clear to me he was under threat. For the rest of the video though he does the right thing by restraining the woman to cuff her, although he probably could've done a better job there, but doesn't appear to be inflicting any intentional harm.
the punch was a bit excessive....but the lady was asking for it...she not only kept the officer from making the arrest, but pushed him back as well, which i'm sure is what triggered the punch....... The only thing i hate about some of these situations is that the cops don't seem vocal enough to me. I think officers should be talking the whole time, directing people, warning them etc. In this case i think he should immediately ordered the people recording to not stand or follow him directly from behind. In this case none seemed like a threat, but you never know, one could have snapped at any time and would have been out of his sight. Warning the woman she would get tazed or punched the moment she started cauing trouble may have helped. I'm sure she would not have done it if she knew he'd hit her, notice how her attitude made a 360 after the punch. And im not sure what the police policy is when it comes to arrests, but why didnt he get more agressive with either, possibly taking them to the ground? Because of the crowd? I'm sure ive seen plenty cops take men to the floor under similar situations. Is the procedure diff for females? Should it be?
The punch MAY be excessive but the situation definitely warranted physical restraint and he clearly felt forced into acting like that. Jaywalking or whatever the initial charge was, is totally irrelevant. She should have taken her citation and left. Her actions and uncontrolled behavior is the reason why the situation escalated. I'll rarely side with a cop, but I don't see much of a problem here.
The officer was in a lose-lose situation. Once she put her hands on him, the proper response was some type of force to subdue her. Whether he took her to the ground, hit her, kicked her, tased her, pistol whipped her ...whatever, an argument could have been made that he could have handled it "better". This would have made news because a bystander put it on the Internet.
The cop should be embarassed he let it go on for so long. He should have taken her to the ground or tasered her.
Reach back like a pimp and slap the hoe! Anyway, the punch was a little much imo. I defend cops a lot, but come, a punch to the face? I agree with an earlier poster in here, if my wife gets mad at me and pushes me and I punch her in the face I could go to jail. How often do you see a cop punch a suspect? Aren't they supposed to be trained in other forms of restraint?
