Seattle police have had a difficult time within the media the past 12 months, and the latest “cop punches woman” incident does not help matters. Back in November 2009, Deputy Paul Schene was videotaped beating then 15-year-old Malika Calhoun when she was in her jail cell. Schene’s actions prompted a civil rights investigation. Now Seattle Police Officer Ian P. Walsh, 39, has become the subject of a “cop punches woman” viral video. What started as a routine jaywalking stop outside Seattle’s Franklin High School easily escalated into a situation that required that Walsh restrain 17-year-old Angel Rosenthal. Rosenthal resisted and Officer Walsh reacted. Yet as numerous media sources indicate, the justification of Walsh’s response – a punch to Rosenthal’s face – has come into question.
Source for this article: Seattle cop punches woman after jaywalking stop
Cop punches woman, Seattle Police get the black eye
The jaywalking stop that preceded the “cop punches woman” event didn’t even involve Angel Rosenthal. Officer Ian Walsh had stopped some 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 – reportedly committed their own act of jaywalking right in from of Officer Walsh while he was addressing the young male. Walsh then clearly instructed the females to step over to his automobile, and at that time, according to police officials, the girls became “verbally antagonistic.”
Once Levias began to walk away, Walsh approached so he could physically escort her back to the scene. Once Levias attempted to escape and started 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,” reports the New York Daily News. Video footage that came from the scene shows that as Officer Walsh attempted to restrain Rosenthal, she screamed and pushed as tempers flared. "Cop punches woman" started an urgent headline. Both Levias and Rosenthal were taken into custody. They may need cash now for bail and legal representation.
Teens ordered not to struggle
Officer Ian Walsh’s instructions not to struggle failed to defuse the emotional responses of Levias and Rosenthal, who reportedly both have criminal records. Deputy Chief Nick Metz told Seattle’s King 5 News that while there are “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 could be completed by the Office of Professional Accountability, as outlined by the Sky Valley Chronicle. Sadly, 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 really just seems to be a waste of costly man hours for largely! perfunctory investigations, as outlined by the ACLU’s estimation.
Walsh 'did nothing wrong' as outlined by Rich O'Neill
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 just a little too long to engage in force” in his attempts to defuse what video footage proves to be a growing issue. Following the police finish the investigation, a lot more news could be available.
A lot more info on this topic
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
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