Police Story of the Day [2 of 2]: Seattle city attorney backs cop in 'brutality' case [VIDEO]
26 replies, posted
[I]Video taken to appeals court, where city will argue officer was using minimal force: one slap and two bops[/I]
[quote]​Some viewers of the videotaped 2008 arrest of businessman Jon Kita might think Seattle Police officer Kevin Oshikawa-Clay was using unnecessary tactics in subduing the smaller, compliant suspect under Seattle's I-5 freeway. A federal judge has already found the dash-cam video "tends to indicate" the officer used excessive force and the case should go to civil trial over Kita's damage claims.
But the Seattle City Attorney's office sees the vid much differently, and has decided to take the digital recording--around which the fate of the case swirls--to the federal Appeals Court in San Francisco. After analyzing each hand-to-head strike, the city is arguing that, contrary to the judge's view, when Oshikawa-Clay banged Kita's head on the police-car hood and then took him to the ground and struck him twice more, the officer was using minimal force: one slap and two bops.
City attorneys, in their appeals brief filed with the 9th Circuit Court two weeks ago, call the use of force a "distraction technique . . . a brief slap and two left-handed fist 'bops' to the head." And that's permitted:
A single open-hand distraction strike to the head and two strikes with the fatty part of the fist, all delivered with Officer Oshikawa-Clay's non-dominant hand, are objectively minimal uses of force consistent with proper training protocol.
At least two of the officer's supervisors who reviewed the video praised Oshikawa-Clay's actions, describing his "quick reaction, sound decision-making ability, and restraint" as "praiseworthy."
The city, which wants the case thrown out, takes exception to the findings of U.S. District Court Judge John Coughenour, who also viewed the video and in April concluded that "At one point, [Oshikawa-Clay] struck [Kita] forcefully on the back of his head. This fact cannot be ignored. It tends to indicate that Defendant used excessive force while arresting Plaintiff," and a jury should be allowed to decide the issue.
The city is also arguing that while Kita today claims he was injured in the incident, he did not complain of any problems when arrested that July day for domestic violence, having allegedly assaulted a woman he shoved to the ground as the officer passed by.
Even if force was excessive, case law requires that Oshikawa-Clay be "given leeway to be wrong" in his perception that Kita truly was resisting and a threat to the officer, the city maintains.
Kita, 49, who is seeking unspecified monetary damages, has said he's not surprised at the department's denial he was the victim of excessive force. He earlier filed documents showing that in the last three-and-a-half years, all of almost 400 police-brutality allegations filed with SPD were rejected by the department. Kita claims the SPD has a "local custom" of allowing abuses by police.
The appeals court has given no indication when it will rule on the city's appeal.[/quote]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t0CRjAyIrY[/media]
[url=http://www.policeone.com/legal/articles/4536623-Video-Seattle-city-attorney-backs-cop-in-brutality-case/]Source[/url]
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I think the judge got this right.
This is a pretty clear case of the officer doing the right thing. The article mentions it but he did exactly what he was trained to do and simply restrained the man.
[editline]19th October 2011[/editline]
in b4 Zeke.
I'm wondering why the guy getting arrested had two pairs of glasses. When he gets put onto the police car you can see him sneak a second pair of glasses out of whatever he's holding.
As much as I hate police brutality, this isn't that bad. Cops go through a lot of shit and when they tell you to do something just do it, they are doing their jobs, not trying to ruin your life. So it's understandable why this probably happened, having a bad day and then someone not doing what you tell them will piss you off.
Sounds reasonable to me.
Why the hell did he have to smash his head into the hood and smack him around while he was on the ground? Jesus Christ.
[QUOTE=Quark:;32864227]Why the hell did he have to smash his head into the hood and smack him around while he was on the ground? Jesus Christ.[/QUOTE]
That's in line with the training they receive when dealing with uncooperative suspects. He was not injured whatsoever, and made no complaints at the time about police brutality.
[QUOTE=Quark:;32864227]Why the hell did he have to smash his head into the hood and smack him around while he was on the ground? Jesus Christ.[/QUOTE]
He was trying to get whatever the guy was holding out of his hand, a smack to the back of the head would make you flinch and loosen your hands, when he was on the ground he hit his arm it seems
The guy is refusing to let the officer cuff him. When the officer tries to grab his arm he pulls it back in.
When a cop is going to arrest you he is not going to fuck around, if you refuse to do what he says hes going to force you to do it which is going to hurt a lot more.
He's resisting the officers arrest and the officer hits him with the soft part of his (90% chance) non-dominant hand twice. It looks violent, but it's really not that agressive.
[QUOTE=areolop;32863964][I]Video taken to appeals court, where city will argue officer was using minimal force: one slap and two bops[/I][/QUOTE]
Two bops and a slap sounds very official.
[QUOTE=Quark:;32864227]Why the hell did he have to smash his head into the hood and smack him around while he was on the ground? Jesus Christ.[/QUOTE]
Nevermind I guess I looked away when that hit to the back of the head happened.
Still think it wasn't that bad.
He wasn't allowing him to cuff him as you could see by him keeping his arm straight.
"You see, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, Officer Oshikawa-Clay was not using excessive force. In fact, he was just demonstrating to Jon Kita how much fun it is to play with one of Oshikawa-Clay's favorite childhood toys, the [url=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Bop_it.jpg]Bop-It[/url]. Available now at your nearest Walmart, Target, or Toys R Us."
I think slamming his head into the hood of the car was too much, but the two hits to his back / shoulder / arm / whatever didn't really seem that bad.
Plus, Kita was being arrested for domestic violence, so he may or may not be an asshole.
Not that that exempts the officer from using excessive force.
[del]Although it totally should.[/del]
This just doesn't seem right to me.....he puts the guy on his hood and asks for his hands so the guy straightened out his hands and moved them away from himself....smashing his head into the hood for that was really excessive and not needed. Also throwing him into the ground was un needed for what? saying that his hands are right there?
[QUOTE=Raidyr;32864018]This is a pretty clear case of the officer doing the right thing. The article mentions it but he did exactly what he was trained to do and simply restrained the man.
[editline]19th October 2011[/editline]
in b4 Zeke.[/QUOTE]
Yes but this looks like something you would do with someone who is being uncooperative, it looks like here he was cooperating fine.
This is what i get from watching this video over again personally unless someone could convince me otherwise, it just seems like it was not needed force.
[QUOTE=bobsynergy;32865851]This just doesn't seem right to me.....he puts the guy on his hood and asks for his hands so the guy straightened out his hands and moved them away from himself....smashing his head into the hood for that was really excessive and not needed. Also throwing him into the ground was un needed for what? saying that his hands are right there?
Yes but this looks like something you would do with someone who is being uncooperative, it looks like here he was cooperating fine.
This is what i get from watching this video over again personally unless someone could convince me otherwise, it just seems like it was not needed force.[/QUOTE]
The officer tried to grab his arm and he pulled away...
[QUOTE=Raidyr;32864660]That's in line with the training they receive when dealing with uncooperative suspects. He was not injured whatsoever, and made no complaints at the time about police brutality.[/QUOTE]
I can't think of a reason the cop couldn't have been a bit more patient instead of hitting him every other time. The suspect seemed pretty dim witted to be honest.
[QUOTE=darkrei9n;32866025]The officer tried to grab his arm and he pulled away...[/QUOTE]
Where?
-He wanted his hands and was only holding one arm at first
-The officer now holds both of his arms but keeps yelling at the guy for his hands and the guy is not resisting at all
-Moving his hand farther away from him (something I would of done in the situation as well as the officer wasn't grabbing his hands when he wasn't moving so I would suspect moving them to another spot is what the officer wanted)
But then the officer just smashes his head into the hood? like what the fuck.
He wasn't trying to grab his arm as the officer was holding both, and he didn't pull away as the officer was just standing there, holding both his arms yelling at him for his hands when the officer could of easily grabbed his other hand or pulled his arm.
Even if you can somehow say the officer wasn't sure if he was trying to pull something....he smashed his head in AFTER the guy moved his hand other farther from himself and you could clearly see he had nothing and it was far enough away from him.
Plus added to that he throws and hits him on the floor for no reason after smashing his head in....I would completely understand if the guy wasn't cooperating at all and kept pushing away and being generally violent but he didn't do that once.
So it looks like the officer is in the wrong here.
[QUOTE=mac338;32864915]Two bops and a slap sounds very official.[/QUOTE]
Similar techniques look even more violent. When someone is resisting arrest and fighting he is focused on pulling his arm. I was trained if such a thing happens i can do a leg strike, and i put all my weight in to my strikes. I knocked a person off their feet once doing a leg strike. Anyway, if you do it good enough to knock their one of the feet in the air and the no longer focus on fighting arrest because they're trying to stay on their feet and balanced. Then the cops can gain control of the arms.
Its all about manipulating the body, you don't do damage to the body by using such techniques. I had to get striked and hit many times in order to get certified to use such techniques and I'm perfectly ok. I was hit in the neck, head, cheeks, i've had almost every pressure point that is effective used against me and I even was used as a "Demonstration" and was taken down by two patrol officers (I was fighting the whole time like a maniac.) It looks very violent but in reality it isn't and does not leave any damage. Yes it can be painful, but you will survive.
I personally didn't see anything wrong in this video, the guy was not putting his hands behind his back. We don't fight fair and taking a person to the ground is the best way to end any type of resistance. Officers are ground fighters and all techniques are used for control, not harm.
You guys are drama queens, he didn't smash his head in to the hood. He did the distraction technique and it is a natural reaction for the body to go to the opposite way, he barely even hit the fucking hood. This use of force wasn't even close to brutality and if you guys think it is I'm sorry, you guys are just big sissy's or like to look for things to bitch about because you don't like authoritative figures.
[QUOTE=MR-X;32866788]Similar techniques look even more violent. When someone is resisting arrest and fighting he is focused on pulling his arm. I was trained if such a thing happens i can do a leg strike, and i put all my weight in to my strikes. I knocked a person off their feet once doing a leg strike. Anyway, if you do it good enough to knock their one of the feet in the air and the no longer focus on fighting arrest because they're trying to stay on their feet and balanced. Then the cops can gain control of the arms.
Its all about manipulating the body, you don't do damage to the body by using such techniques. I had to get striked and hit many times in order to get certified to use such techniques and I'm perfectly ok. I was hit in the neck, head, cheeks, i've had almost every pressure point that is effective used against me and I even was used as a "Demonstration" and was taken down by two patrol officers (I was fighting the whole time like a maniac.) It looks very violent but in reality it isn't and does not leave any damage. Yes it can be painful, but you will survive.
I personally didn't see anything wrong in this video, the guy was not putting his hands behind his back. We don't fight fair and taking a person to the ground is the best way to end any type of resistance. Officers are ground fighters and all techniques are used for control, not harm.
You guys are drama queens, he didn't smash his head in to the hood. He did the distraction technique and it is a natural reaction for the body to go to the opposite way, he barely even hit the fucking hood. This use of force wasn't even close to brutality and if you guys think it is I'm sorry, you guys are just big sissy's or like to look for things to bitch about because you don't like authoritative figures.[/QUOTE]
What? because I think it was too much that means I don't like authoritative figures? I never said it was brutality as like you said it is easily far from it.
To me this was just unnecessary though as he was cooperating and not resisting and not being violent, if he was doing any of the above sure then it is completely justified but he wasn't. The officer had both of his arms and the guy wasn't resisting or being violent so the officer had complete control so the extra wasn't necessary really.
Also he used the "distraction technique" when he was moving his arms away from under his body and in the open towards the officer, basically what the officer wanted so the officer was yelling at him when the guy wasn't listening to him but then did that technique when he was trying to cooperate?
But like you said it isn't even close to brutality but if as you said the techniques are not painful (even they do look very painful) then there is nothing wrong with this.
Thanks for clearing up on what exactly he did with his head.
The one strategy I've learned in avoiding "distraction techniques" is when I am told to get out of the car or get up or whatever, I stand up with my palms open and finger spread, with my arms arms straight at about 30 degrees outwards from my body.
It looks stupid, but it puts the officer at ease as long as you keep your hands open and way from your body.
The guy closed his hands several times, and made movements as if he were grabbing. The one BIG fuck-up he made was sticking his hand in his pocket - That really set the tone for the entire arrest because he probably scared the shit out of the officer. He was also juggling several items he should have left in the car which could have either contained a weapon or been used as one.
I don't know why we don't offer some mandatory education on what to do when being arrested/detained. A lot of people simply don't understand what a threat they can make by simply allowing a nervous habit like putting their off-hand in their pocket.
Holy shit. People are making a big deal over this? His head bangs against the hood a little and he gets slapped a couple times. I was expecting the cop to be punching and kicking someone, not a little roughing up.
What a bunch of pussies.
Christ, he sticks his hand in his pocket. That would have certainly put me on edge if I was the cop.
[QUOTE=FreakyMe;32867592]The one strategy I've learned in avoiding "distraction techniques" is when I am told to get out of the car or get up or whatever, I stand up with my palms open and finger spread, with my arms arms straight at about 30 degrees outwards from my body.
It looks stupid, but it puts the officer at ease as long as you keep your hands open and way from your body.
The guy closed his hands several times, and made movements as if he were grabbing. The one BIG fuck-up he made was sticking his hand in his pocket - That really set the tone for the entire arrest because he probably scared the shit out of the officer. He was also juggling several items he should have left in the car which could have either contained a weapon or been used as one.
I don't know why we don't offer some mandatory education on what to do when being arrested/detained. A lot of people simply don't understand what a threat they can make by simply allowing a nervous habit like putting their off-hand in their pocket.[/QUOTE]
Don't know why people don't remember to do this when asked to step out of a vehicle, as many movies and cop shows as people have probably seen..
I'd have to say the officer is in the wrong here.
The guy is compliant, but the officer is impatient.
[QUOTE=FordLord;32868152]I'd have to say the officer is in the wrong here.
The guy is compliant, but the officer is impatient.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=FreakyMe;32867592]The guy closed his hands several times, and made movements as if he were grabbing. [B][I][U]The one BIG fuck-up he made was sticking his hand in his pocket[/U][/I][/B] - That really set the tone for the entire arrest because he probably [U]scared the shit out of the officer[/U]. He was also juggling several items he should have left in the car which could have either contained a weapon or been used as one.
I don't know why we don't offer some mandatory education on what to do when being arrested/detained. A lot of people simply don't understand what a threat they can make by simply allowing a nervous habit like putting their off-hand in their pocket.[/QUOTE]
I don't think you understand what a pocket can hold.
Compliant is you get out of your car with your hands empty - he did not
Compliant is doing everything the officer says the instant the officer tells you to - he struggled and mumbled
Compliant is NOT MAKING YOURSELF A THREAT TO THE OFFICER - He shoves his hand in his pocket while stumbling towards the officer
He could not have made himself more of a threat short of shouting threats or drawing a weapon.
[editline]19th October 2011[/editline]
I've met an ex-cop who can't do her job anymore because a drunk teenage girl stabbed her in the face with her keys repeatedly, completely destroying her left eye and facial tissue before the officer was even able to resist.
Hand to hand combat is nothing like it is in your video games - it's ugly, unpredictable, and potentially deadly.
The video is suspicious though. It cuts in and the guy is walking around from behind the vehicle and both the front doors are open? Something is missing here, I really doubt the cop was angry for no reason, more like the guy was messing with things in his vehicle and ignoring the cop. Good cop or bad cop, they won't put up with shit like that.
[QUOTE=FreakyMe;32868183]I don't think you understand what a pocket can contain.
Compliant is you get out of your car with your hands empty - he did not
Compliant is doing everything the officer says the instant the officer tells you to - he struggled and mumbled
Compliant is NOT MAKING YOURSELF A THREAT TO THE OFFICER - He shoves his hand in his pocket while stumbling towards the officer[/QUOTE]
Rule one: Hands are [B]always[/B] in sight.
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