FILE: Seattle police officers stand near the intersection of 5th and Pine Streets on Friday, November 24, 2017, during a Black Lives Matter rally in Seattle. Credit: KUOW Photo/Megan Farmer
Seattle police accountability office investigating actions of officers in D.C. during Capitol Building attack Jan 10, 2021
The head of Seattleâs Office of Police Accountability says the agency s investigation will focus on the words and actions of at least two Seattle police officers, who allegedly attended last weekâs pro-Trump rally that devolved into an insurrection at the Capitol Building.
Andrew Myerberg said his office will evaluate whether the officers engaged in any activities that would violate SPD policies against undermining public trust and confidence in the department.
Efforts to remove Donald Trump from the White House gathered pace on Saturday, as Democrats announced that at least 180 members of Congress would co-sponsor an article of impeachment they intend to introduce in the House of Representatives on Monday. The show of force by the president’s opponents comes amid continuing revulsion at Trump’s incitement of Wednesday’s deadly US Capitol riot and his attempts to overturn electoral defeat by Joe Biden..
Police use pain to make people obey. But critics say dog bites go too far.
Updated on Dec 14, 2020;
Published on Dec 14, 2020
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Editor s Note
This investigation is published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system, USA Today, IndyStar and the Invisible Institute.
In the cell phone video, a man lies sprawled in a parking lot. Two passersby and a state trooper hold him to the ground. A police officer comes into view, dragging a dog on its hind legs.
“You’re gonna get bit!” the officer shouts at the man on the pavement. It’s after 8 p.m. but still daylight outside a busy grocery store.
The officer, holding the dog’s collar with both hands, guides its mouth toward the man’s right leg, and the animal sinks its teeth into flesh. The man screams in pain.
This scene unfolded during a traffic stop July 7 in Yakima, a city of about 94,000 in the arid farmlands in the south-central part of Washington state. As the bystander-shot video spread online and sparked questions from the community, Yakima police explained to local media that they were using the dog for “pain compliance.”
“Just because force doesn’t look good doesn’t mean it’s wrong,” Yakima Police Chief Matthew Murray said recently to The Marshall Project. “At the end of the day this worked.”