A Seattle police officer has been placed on leave pending administrative and criminal investigations into a 2010 use of force incident.
The incident occurred in November 2010, when officers assigned to the Patrol Operations Bureau were involved in an altercation after responding to a report of a disturbance at a Georgetown restaurant.
The case was recently brought to the attention of SPD leadership after a review of in-car video by the City Attorney’s Office. After learning of the incident, Chief O’Toole immediately notified the Office of Professional Accountability and consulted with Federal and County law enforcement authorities. The Seattle Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are partnering on the criminal investigation. The entire incident is under review.
This incident preceded the USDOJ investigation of the SPD and the execution of the Consent Decree. The Seattle Police Department continues to work closely with the Department of Justice and the Federal Monitor on police reform with particular focus on force review, de-escalation, accountability systems, supervision, crisis intervention and bias-free policing.
Under the department’s current policies—implemented in collaboration with the DOJ in January 2014—supervisors, commanders, the Force Investigation Team and Office of Professional Accountability review all force used by officers.