Tag Archives: OPA

Breaking News, Local

OPA opens investigation into Inauguration Day protest arrest

Protesters in Portland and Seattle broke windows, sprayed graffiti, and engaged with police officers on Inauguration Day leading to arrests in both cities. Malcontent News has learned that the Office of Police Accountability (OPA) is investigating police officer conduct for one of the arrests.

On Wednesday, January 20, a smaller group of protesters splintered off from a peaceful group and broke windows at a Chase bank, a courthouse, and a Starbucks location in historic Pike Place Market. Seattle police took a person into custody, and during the arrest, a police officer was observed and photographed with their knee on the neck of the suspect.

Video coverage of January 20, 2021 arrest now under opa investigation

Additionally, during the arrest, an officer energized a taser, holding it close to the face of the suspect. The taser was not used on the suspect, and Seattle police defended the action as a de-escalation technique. In an interview with Brandi Cruze on Fox Q13 today, Chief Adrian Diaz indicated that the individual was facing a misdemeanor charge, although did not state the specifics.

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”20″ gal_title=”Inauguration Day Protests”]

The OPA reached out to Malcontent News indicating an investigation has been opened up over the conduct of officers during the arrest and requesting additional video content if it was available. The available video and photographs of the arrest are fully published, and that was indicated to the OPA.

The opening of this investigation is in addition to five officers being investigated for their involvement during January 6, 2021, insurrection, and SPOG president Mike Solan under investigation for his Twitter behavior.

BIPOC, Editorial, Five Facts, Health and Lifestyle, LGBTQIA, Local, National

Malcontentment Happy Hour: January 21, 2021

Video

Our live webcast from the Seattle Anarchist Jurisdiction

The show from January 21 2021, featured David Obelcz and our co-host Jennifer Smith.

  • Seattle inauguration protests highlight questionable tactics by protesters and police
  • Keystone XL Pipeline is canceled by the Biden Administration on day one
  • COVID Five Fast Facts
  • Officer Eric Whitehead and his strange trip to the ER
  • Abusive Head Trauma – the legacy of Shaken Baby Syndrome, the questionable science behind it, and the targeting of the poor, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA community for abuse allegations
  • Insurrection update
BIPOC, Local

Seattle Police Department off to a bad 2021 start

Video

From Malcontentment Happy Hour, January 18, 2021

Seattle Police Department hit by multiple OPA investigation findings, suspensions, and new investigations at the start of 2021

The Seattle Police Department has been rocked by multiple findings of misconduct, use of force violations, and ongoing investigations in the first two weeks of January:

  • Mike Solan, Seattle Police Officer Guild (SPOG) president is facing calls for his resignation due to tweets he shared
  • Two police officers suspended with pay and under investigation for any potential role they may have had in the Washington D.C. insurrection
  • The Seattle Office of Police Accountability (OPA) found that a police officer improperly used a blast ball on 6/7/20, permanently disabling a woman
  • The Seattle Office of Police Accountability (OPA) found that a police officer improperly used a CS gas canister (teargas), throwing it into a group of peaceful protesters inside Cal Anderson Park, the event was shown live on the news and caught on police body camera
  • The Seattle Office of Police Accountability (OPA) found that a police officer improperly used a blast ball, throwing it where he could not see where it would land, striking a resting man with it
  • The Seattle Office of Police Accountability (OPA) found that a controversial tweet by the Seattle Police Department calling two broken candles explosives was “inaccurate”
  • An unnamed officer hired in July 2017 was fired for referring to an African American suspect as Kunta Kinte to his coworkers who complained about their conduct
  • Officer Eric Whitehead is under OPA investigation for an incident in a Seattle area emergency room
  • Officer Mika Harmon is under OPA investigation for her conduct caught on body camera on 8/21/20, per Seattle Times
BIPOC, Editorial, Five Facts, Health and Lifestyle, Local, National, Weather

Malcontentment Happy Hour: January 18, 2021

Video

Our live webcast from the Seattle Anarchist Jurisdiction

The show from January 18, 2021, featured David Obelcz and our co-host Jennifer Smith.

  • Dr. Martin Luther King Day 2021 – his words continue to be taken out of context more than 50 years after his death
  • Seattle Police Department is off to a very bad start in January
  • Five Fast Facts about COVID -19 – our COVID update
  • Insurrection update
  • Will it snow next week?
Breaking News, Health and Lifestyle, Local

SPD officer under OPA investigation for emergency room incident

Update: An earlier version of the story indicated the incident happened on January 16, 2021 – the incident was on January 15, 2021.

[SEATTLE] – (MN) A Seattle police officer identified as Eric Whitehead is under Office of Police Accountability (OPA) investigation over their refusal to wear a mask at an area Hospital on Friday, January 15, 2021. Officer Whitehead was at the hospital to get a statement from an assault victim and refused to wear a mask. According to a nurse in the emergency department, the officer “blatantly refused” to put a mask on despite COVID positive patients nearby and standing in a “high traffic” hallway.

On Sunday, the Seattle Police Blotter posted the following statement.

“It has been brought to our attention through social media that an officer was seen not wearing a mask. All our officers and civilian employees have previously been directed to follow CDC and City of Seattle mask guidelines for their safety and the safety of our community.”

“The behavior outlined in last night’s post is unacceptable and not what we expect of our Department members. We know the profound impacts that COVID has created for our community. We will hold our personnel accountable for actions that violate policy and the trust of the community we serve.”

“The department has been in contact with OPA since last night and the OPA is now investigating.”

The staff at the unnamed hospital gave the officer masks multiple times, that he repeatedly threw away despite ongoing PPE shortages. The nurse escalated to the Charge Nurse after the officer became belligerent, and was “condescending” with her. The Charge Nurse then notified the Nursing Supervisor, and the officer finally put on a mask.

The compliance was short-lived, with officer Whitehead stating that he would take the mask off when he went into the patient room, potentially exposing the victim of assault to COVID. Despite a larger police presence, the staff noted that no other officers interceded on the behalf of the hospital, to ask Whitehead to put on a mask.

Although no hospital was identified in the investigation, Harborview has come under fire from the rank and file of Seattle Police through the group Safe Seattle. On November 21, 2020, an anonymous source complained about the “vibe,” in a Facebook post. “It used to be friendly. Now it’s either like we are invisible and they can’t see us at all… or they will stare at us. We used to have conversations and joke around with HMC folks, but the vibe has changed. Jail staff have noticed it, too, when they have to do hospital watches. Sure, it’s not all the staff to be clear, but the vibe has definitely tensed up.”

In another post, anonymous Seattle police officers complained that free snacks were no longer available for them in the emergency department. After a COVID-19 outbreak in the medical center sickened 13 and killed at least one, hospital administration identified that lax mask policy in break rooms while eating food likely contributed to the infections. As a result, UWM banned all food, including single-serving packages from all areas of the hospital except the cafeteria for anyone who is not a patient.

Safe Seattle has come under fire for the veracity of their posts, including starting a false rumor that there was a murder including a severed head in one of the homeless encampments of Seattle in the fall of 2019. In that incident, a man died of natural causes and wasn’t found for months after his death. As part of natural decomposition, the head detached from the body within the tent. The body was not found in a homeless encampment, but a wooded spot in Beacon Hill.

In a post this evening, David Preston of Safe Seattle attacked the nurse and her complaint, calling her a “snitch.” Later he erroneously posted that the complainant had been identified and had shut down their social media accounts.

The first 17 days of 2021 have been brutal for the Seattle Police Department and its conduct. Two officers are suspended with pay under investigation for the potential role they may have played in the January 6 insurrection after pictures emerged with them in the Capitol. An officer was fired for using a racial pejorative and three more could face reprimand after the OPA concluded they used excessive force against protesters this past summer. SPOG president, Mike Solan, is facing calls for his resignation from the entire city council for tweets he made supporting conspiracy theories about the January 6 insurrection.

Local

Pressure builds for SPOG president Mike Solan to resign

Seattle Police Officer’s Guild president Mike Solan is facing backlash for a series of tweets blaming Antifa for the insurrection in Washington D.C. on Wednesday. On January 7, 2021, Mike Solan retweeted an Andy Ngo tweet about John Sullivan, an agent provocateur from Salt Lake City.

Sullivan was arrested in Provo for organizing a Black Lives Matter rally that turned violent. Sullivan has widely been discredited as a double-agent out to disrupt the Black Lives Matter movement months before the Washington, D.C. insurrection. The accusation that Sullivan was behind the violence, amplified by right-wing voices such as Andy Ngo, have been discredited.

Solan’s tweet received a swift reaction from former candidate for Seattle City Attorney Scott Lindsay. In a tweet, Lindsay stated, “As someone who has fought for police reform and defended Seattle Police against defunding, I have a duty to call out when the head of their union spreads misinformation about the Capitol attack. 

[Mike Solan] should apologize or resign. SPD officers deserve better.”

Former Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best echoed Lindsay’s sentiment in another tweet on the same day.

“Wholly agree with Scott Linsay! BLM was not the cause of yesterday’s insurrection. We have to tell the truth.”

On Friday night, Mayor Jenny Durkan’s office released a statement also calling for Solan to delete his tweet and apologize or resign.

“The SPOG President’s statement is wrong, immoral, and a lie. The violent and seditious actions we all witnessed were done by anti-government mobs, inspired and directed by President Trump and his legion of enablers. His statements do a huge disservice to the hundreds of police officers who work daily to serve the public and the rule of law, believe in equality, and were disgusted by Wednesday’s events.

His statements do not reflect the values of the City of Seattle but instead echo the failed lies of a failed presidency. In fact, every officer at the Seattle Police Department has an obligation to not “post-speech that negatively impacts the Department’s ability to serve the public.

As we expect this incident to be investigated by OPA, Solan should retract his statements and apologize or resign.”

In another blow to the department’s credibility on Friday, Chief Adrian Diaz revealed that two Seattle police officers traveled to Washington, D.C. for the “Stop the Steal” rally. The officers, reported to be husband and wife, have been placed on paid administrative leave. The Office of Police Accountability has opened an investigation into that incident. Chief Diaz stated if they were directly involved in the “insurrection,” they will face termination.

Calls for Solan’s resignation accelerated on Saturday. MLK Labor, which represents 100,000 workers in King County, issued a tweet calling for his resignation.

Adding to the condemnations, the Washington Fraternal Order of Police (WAFOP) issued a statement stating they do not support Solan’s position and accused him of bias. “We do not support the comments made by Seattle Police Officers Guild President Mike Solan regarding the capitol rioting, because such comments undermine our efforts to rebuild the trust needed between law enforcement and our communities. We believe that when peace officers allow their personal biases to influence their perceptions of events and behavior, it severely compromises our ability to fulfill our duty to protect and serve.”

Compounding the situation was an ill-timed interview with the far right-wing political group led by Randy Pepple, Shift Washington. In his interview, where Solan calls for neutrality he goes on to say, ” Also, one aspect to highlight is that law enforcement across the nation continue to be threatened with DOJ consent decrees and that typically happens when the Democrat party gets control in D.C.”

Solan is already under OPA investigation for his behavior on Twitter. In September of 2020, he taunted a journalist for losing their press pass while documenting a protest outside of SPOG headquarters in Seattle. After that protest, the department was found to have used excessive force against Black Lives Matter protesters by a federal judge. On December 7, 2020, the court concluded that officers had two use of force violations. The OPA is also reviewing documentation around the accusation of Molotov cocktails found after the same protest. Bodycam video released by the department in September and November raised questions on the incendiary devices’ authenticity.

Solan has also been a frequent guest on Fox News, appearing on the Tucker Carlson Show multiple times. Carlson has come under fire for repeatedly repeating disproven conspiracy theories about Black Lives Matter, Antifa, and the 2020 election results. 

As for Sullivan, he was identified in the Capitol during the insurrection on January 6. In a video released by the Washington Post on Friday, Sullivan was recorded telling police officers to leave their post. After the officers go, domestic terrorists smash the windows on the doors leading to the House chamber. Despite multiple warnings of armed officers on the other side, Ashli Babbitt jumps through the breach and is shot by an officer. Babbitt was among four domestic terrorists who died on Wednesday.

In an extensive interview, Sullivan stated he was “supportive” of Black Lives Matter but wants to hear from all sides. He describes his participation in the incident outside of the House chambers in detail. Video taken during the ransacking of the Capitol doesn’t fully support his story. Sullivan has not been identified as a person of interest or suspect by federal authorities at this time.

Over 80 people have been arrested for their involvement in the insurrection, with dozens more identified by the FBI. Over 50 police officers were injured, and one killed after being struck in the head with a fire extinguisher.