It's never a good idea to assault a cop, when he's already struggling to get the situation under control.

I loathe cops who use unnecessary force, but here the cop didn't really have a choice.

Yeah the only time cops do fucked up shit is when you give them a hard time. No "punch black faces" tag though?

wow... That's the only possible explanation ? He didn't have any other choice ?

remember that german cop that disarmed a sword wielding madman with a fucking broom?

This cop is some combination of poorly trained, coward, and overcompensating weakling.

Mothership, what the fuck are you blathering on about?!?

Well... if the cop was ANNOYED then, sure, it's ok to arrest them for whatever made up crap.

If you will read my comment carefully, dancing and adham, you will find that I am addressing the reasons that led to the scuffle in the first place, not the cold-cocking itself. The girl resists arrest (a crime, a stupid, stupid crime), and the cop freaks and knocks her friend the fuck out when she steps in. These facts are not in dispute. My point is that you don't just get arrested for jaywalking unless you give a cop a really, really good reason to do so, like cursing, spitting, or assaulting him when he's trying to write you a ticket. We don't see what happened beforehand, and my guess is that it wasn't pretty.

While your scenario is entirely possible, I'd like to know why isn't it also entirely possible for a cop to be a power mad, sandistic, racist prick? He's obviously dumb enough to punch a young girl in the face in broad daylight and in front of many witnesses (one of whom, had a camera, and with cell phones nowadays, who doesn't?). So, how come is it so implausible to also assume that someone so astoundingly dumb COULD also be violent and racist? Or at the very least, simply a violent, impulsive fuck who responds disproportionately to some swearing and a light shove from a young girl.

"really, really good reason"= being black

If she was being arrested for jaywalking then she must not have done anything too bad to the cop beforehand, because then he'd have something real to arrest her for, right?

It's never a smart idea to resist a cop, but secretly I wish more people would step in if they see a cop doing something this fucked up. If a few bullshit arrests turned into mini-riots maybe the cops would check themselves. I'm totally talking out of my ass and know this will never happen (in America) in a million years though.

Jaywalking is code for 'you look nice, let's fuck around with you for a bit then let you go'. When a Seattle cop stopped me for jaywalking I played nice, knew my rights, was polite and got let off with a warning. These girls didn't do that, I am guessing.

You are under absolutely no obligation to "be nice" to a policeman who is arbitrarily exercising his authority (you spineless fucking bootlick). You're a bigger pissant coward than this cop.

Ahahah toughguy spotted

Ahem, this 'spineless fucking bootlick' didn't get his face fucked up, his ass arrested, or anything else for that matter. These girls did get fucked up and arrested, and everything I have experienced and seen here lead me to believe that the cop is probably a jerk and was probably also justified here. Until then spare me this 'fuck the police' shit where any violent police action = police brutality, cause I ain't havin' it.

Mothership, you have no idea what you're talking about. I live in Seattle, and citations (not just warnings) for jaywalking are extremely common.

My city has many cool things about it. Our bizarre obsession with jaywalking is not one of them.

You have no obligation to be nice to someone exercising their authority unjustly. This girl got her "face fucked up" because unlike you she doesn't see a shitty public servant abusing his authority--an authority built on the implicit trust a community should have in its law enforcement officers SPECIFICALLY NOT TO DO THIS SORT OF THING--and passively submits to him.

As a result, her face got fucked up and arrested AND the shit cop got on TV and the Internet as being such an obvious shithead that they had to roll out the Police Guild spokesperson to try to do some sort of damage control. Even if he never gets put on trial or even officially censured, his record is indelibly marked as being an asshole and an embarrassment to the department. This girl's willingness to stand up to a cop has quite possibly (hopefully) led to him being exposed as someone who can't be trusted to deal with citizens.

In short, because this girl isn't afraid to take a punch for her best friend, the overall behavior of the Seattle PD will be, however slightly, improved. You and others like you who don't object or complain about police bullying have only made the situation worse.

"everything I have experienced and seen here lead me to believe that the cop is probably a jerk and was probably also justified here." Ha ha ha, tell us more of your "experiences" Mothership. Are there any other authority figures who have carte blanche to hit you (if you're "lucky") if you annoy them?

Anax, 'your city' is also mine, so spare me; I am very hip to SPD's procedure.

Athodyd, there is a big difference between police bullying and basic harassment. One calls for standing up to, the other for putting up with and getting on. I been through both, have you?

We seem, you and I, to come at this particular example from different perspectives. In your view, this is a prime example where righteous teens fight the man and expose the wicked machine within. In an alternate view, this is a couple of foolish children who misbehaved when another foolish police officer decided to exert some authority. Either way, everybody loses. I'm tired.

For you.

I wonder what Cap'n McPunchy would have said if it was the daughter of Senator. Probably the same thing, because justice is blind.

Can you tell I typed this earlier and just clipped and pasted it from a different site?

I'm not a police officer, but I am fairly certain that punching young girls in the face is not police procedure.

The proper way is to pepper spray them. Generously.

would you prefer he tazer or sprayed her in the face?

Honestly I'd take an average punch to the face than either of those much more painful options that police can legally use against someone assaulting them.

I'd take the punch over tazer or mace any day. They all look like jerks. It's not illegal where I live to jaywalk, I'm sure if I leave town I'm gonna get a ticket.

Hey Solro, just because a shove (a shove that looked more than anything like an attempt to separate the officer and her friend) is in the most nigglingly anal legal terms a form of assault (by which I mean unwanted physical conduct) should not make it okay for an officer to ELECTROCUTE YOU or BLIND YOU WITH CHEMICALS.

In fact, it shouldn't even really be okay for the officer to punch you, given that his sworn duty is to protect you from actual non-shoving criminals!

I know this may be tough for you to grasp given that you come from a culture where hostage situations are dealt with by massed artillery strikes, but it's not really okay that police officers can do all sorts of violent (but nonlethal!) things to you with the expectation that their union, the media, and a significant percentage of the public will let them off the hook (at least if you're black and/or object to their treatment of you).

Ok or not, your laws allow it you dumb dipshit.

Bitch all you want about how it's not nice.

seriously this place is amusingly horrible enough without really clumsy trolls on it

the full video is here
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=332124

That doesn't justify your rating, especially since there is no fucking context in the video you just linked. This video requires the information that it was for a J-walking ticket to be in anyway worthy for this site.

there's no gun

The gun is at -1:16 in the video I linked.

Konversekid, no additional context is needed. It is obvious the girl is not cooperating, it escelates to an arrest, and finally the cop is defending his gun. That is all the context you need and it is all in the full video.

I see a guy holding something. If it's a gun, why didn't the officer react to it? Why didn't he let go of the girl and draw his weapon on the dude? Do you think cops are cool with someone holding a pistol right behind them? If the cop didn't see it, you can hardly say it factored into his aggressiveness. If he did, and it did, why isn't PD mentioning that in their official statements? "The officer was in mortal danger" would be a pretty good argument against brutality. Sorry Sam, I don't buy it.

after watching the full video, while there's a fair bit of OHHH I HURT ARE YOU GETTING THIS GUYS HOW MUCH I HURT going on, that doesn't fucking excuse the cop from essentially picking the worst possible option after a second of deliberation.

also a gun are you fucking serious

That is a cell phone camera you fucking munchkin.

I hope you are not a cop or an operator of heavy machinery.

If there's a law in that city (which reports say there is) against jaywalking, yes it's perfectly legal for a cop to pull someone aside for breaking a law.

Yup there's a law. And our cops regularly issue citations about it.

I know it's a law. I simply stating for officers to choose their battles. It just seems a lot of drama over nothing on both sides of this confrontation.

the cop wasn't lazy enough?

just shut up

So cops should walk away if someone is being a big enough dick while breaking a law?

Fuck you.

A "cop lets parked car not get ticket video" would be kind of boring wouldnt it?

man, you are shocking. mercy, before I faint.