Police, city whacked for excessive force

Seattle City Attorney Tom Carr is going to make himself dizzy with all the spinning on a federal jury's $269,000 award to a young community volunteer wrongly arrested by a police officer.

The jury's award to Romelle Bradford, named in 2003 King County and Washington state youth of the year, was a smart and decisive whack against excessive force by police. The 22-year-old was working as a chaperone at the Boys & Girls Club nearly two years ago when police were called to break up an unruly crowd. Despite wearing a red "staff" T-shirt and an ID badge around his neck, Bradford was singled out by a rookie cop who knocked him to the ground, handcuffed and arrested him. Charges of resisting arrest and obstructing justice were later dropped.

Civil-rights and community leaders have long complained about excessive police force. In Seattle, as elsewhere, cases often involve allegations of excessive force by white police officers against African Americans.

Carr mysteriously sees a silver lining. He notes the verdict is the first in 10 years, speaking to "the excellent job done by our police force." One almost needs hip waders at this point.

The city has settled several claims for substantial amounts in recent months, points out Seattle Times reporter Mike Carter. The history of claims against the Seattle Police Department shows large claims and some as small as a $25,000 award in 2004 to a SeaTac teenager zapped with a Taser four times in the back of the neck during a traffic stop.

Rather than beg the city's credulity with an unconvincing spin job, Carr and city officials ought to turn their attention to prevention. Remedial training is critical. So is strong oversight, particularly in cases of obstructing-justice charges quickly dropped days later. Bradford's attorney, Lembhard Howell, suspects such charges are often filed to cover police who fear they've used too much force.

The police are charged with protecting citizens; excessive force and use of improper procedures by them cannot be tolerated. How big is the problem? Who knows? Complaints against the department tend to be solved by writing a check. Money, it seems, is the one stick the city respects.