Video shows officer hitting girl after she shoves him

A Seattle police officer punched a teenage girl in the face after she shoved him during a confrontation Monday afternoon that was captured by a witness on video.

KING 5 News purchased the video and aired a brief clip at the top of its 10 p.m. news broadcast on KONG TV and later, at the top of its 11 p.m. report on KING.

The video shows an unnamed officer trying to control the hands of a 19-year-old woman. A 17-year-old girl appears to try and break his grip. The 17-year-old then pushes the officer away. The officer responds by punching her in the face.

Seattle police spokesman Sean Whitcomb said he had not seen the video late Monday but the officer's report made clear he was trying to gain control of a potentially explosive situation. It developed after the officer saw the two teenagers jaywalking, police said.

A large crowd had gathered in the 3100 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way South and "I do know we had verbally hostile people at the scene, and at least two people who were being physical," Whitcomb said. "Every officer will handle a situation differently depending on what they see and what they perceive."

Whitcomb said punching is part of the repertoire of techniques officers are taught to use when a situation gets unruly. Police said the officer in this case believed one teenager was "attempting to physically effect the first subject's escape."

The two young women were both arrested — one on charges of obstructing an officer, the other on investigation of assault on an officer, according to police.

The arrests come seven weeks after a high-profile incident in which two officers were caught on video kicking and stomping a prone robbery suspect. One officer kicked the man while he was lying on the sidewalk and shouted, "I'm going to beat the [expletive] Mexican piss out of you, homey. You feel me?" Officers later let the man go after they realized he was the wrong person.

Police said Monday's incident began about 3:10 p.m. when the officer was driving north along Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The officer saw an 18-year-old man jaywalk across the busy street about 15 feet from a pedestrian overpass.

After the officer stopped the man, he saw four women jaywalk at the same location and ordered them to come over to his patrol car, police reports say. At that point, the women became verbally antagonistic, and one turned and began walking away, police said.

When the officer approached her and began escorting her back to his car, the report says, she tensed and pulled away, ignoring his order to put her hands on the patrol car. By then, a crowd had gathered.

Police said the officer then began trying to handcuff her.

A 2-minute, 46-second version of the video posted on KING 5's website appears to begin at this point, and shows the younger woman approach the officer.

After the officer punches her, a witness in the crowd can be heard exclaiming "Are you serious? Are you serious?" Another man in the crowd finally pulls the 17-year-old away from the officer.

The officer continues to wrestle with the 19-year-old for a few minutes before finally handcuffing her and placing her in his car. He also later arrested the woman he had punched.

Whitcomb said no one was seriously hurt, and he didn't see anything in the officer's report that would suggest he handled the situation inappropriately.

"Officers are confronted with different situations all the time," Whitcomb said.

Craig Welch: 206-464-2093 or cwelch@seattletimes.com