Seattle police have had an very difficult time in the media the past 12 months, and the latest “cop punches woman” incident doesn’t help matters. Back in November 2009, Deputy Paul Schene was videotaped beating then 15-year-old Malika Calhoun. Schene’s actions prompted a civil rights investigation. Now Seattle Police Officer Ian P. Walsh, 39, has been seen in a “cop punches woman” viral video. What began as a routine jaywalking stop that happened right outside Seattle’s Franklin High School quickly escalated into a situation that required that Walsh restrain 17-year-old Angel Rosenthal. Officer Walsh reacted to significant resistance. Yet as many media sources have indicated recently, the justification of Walsh’s response – a punch to Rosenthal’s face – has come into question.
Seattle Police gets the black eye as cop punches woman
The jaywalking stop that preceded the “cop punches woman” event didn’t involve Angel Rosenthal in it at all. Officer Ian Walsh had stopped an unnamed 18-year-old male for jaywalking across Martin Luther King Jr. Way South. Rosenthal and her friend, 19-year-old Marilyn Ellen Levias – as well as two other young women that were with them – reportedly committed their own act of jaywalking right in from of Officer Walsh when he was addressing the young male. Walsh instructed the females to step over to his vehicle for a moment, and at that time, as outlined by police officials, the girls became “verbally antagonistic.”
Walsh approached to physically escort Levias to the scene as she began to walk away. Once Levias attempted to escape and began screaming, Walsh attempted to restrain and handcuff her. At this point, Angel Rosenthal interceded, “causing the officer to believe she was attempting to physically affect the first subject’s escape,” as it was reported by the New York Daily News. Video footage from the scene shows that as Officer Walsh attempted to restrain Rosenthal, she screamed and pushed as tempers flared. In no time, the media had its “cop punches woman” headline. Rosenthal and Levias were taken into custody. They may need money now for bail and legal representation.
The teens had been ordered not to struggle
Officer Ian Walsh’s instructions not to struggle still did not defuse the emotional responses of Levias and Rosenthal, who reportedly both have criminal records. Deputy Chief Nick Metz explained to Seattle’s King 5 News that when you will find some “concerns about the tactics the officer used,” the full context leading up to the “cop punches woman” incident must be taken into account in any investigation of Walsh’s adherence to police procedure. Currently, Seattle Police are withholding judgment on Ian Walsh’s actions until a full investigation can be completed by the Office of Professional Accountability, reports the Sky Valley Chronicle. Unfortunately, as the ACLU Washington State branch site suggests, this supposedly independent investigatory committee “lacks teeth” (it is headed by a civilian auditor, but nevertheless a branch of the Seattle Police Department) and has been largely a waste of costly man hours for largely perfunctory investigations, as outlined by the ACLU’s estimation.
Walsh ‘did nothing wrong’ according to Rich O’Neill
The guy who’s the Seattle Police union president, Rich O’Neill, told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that not only did Officer Ian Walsh not commit wrongdoing, but “he maybe waited a little too long to engage in force” in his tries to defuse what video footage proves to be a growing dilemma. More news can be accessible following the investigation is complete.
Read more on this topic here
New York Daily News
nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/06/16/2010-06-16_seattle_cop_punches_woman_in_face_over_routine_jaywalking_stop.html
Sky Valley Chronicle
skyvalleychronicle.com/FEATURE-NEWS/SEATTLE-POLICE-TO-REVIEW-TRAINING-PROCEDURES-IN-LIGHT-OF-RECENT-PUNCH-VIDEO
ACLU Washington
new.aclu-wa.org/news/seattle-report-independent-office-police-accountability
