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The Seattle police officer being criticized for punching a 17-year-old girl in the face ought to be commended based on video taken by a bystander.

Prior to that skirmish (and off-camera) he had confronted someone for jaywalking. The confrontation had escalated by the time the camera was turned on, but the footage shows a cop doing what needed to be done – but nothing more – to take control of a bad situation.

Now critics are saying he punched a girl for jaywalking. Wrong. He punched a girl who was hitting him.

The cop was white and the girl was black and it occurred on Martin Luther King Junior Way South, so naturally Matt Lauer and the Today Show invited the Rev. Al Sharpton to come on camera and throw a torch on the tinderbox. Sharpton was “outraged” and said the cop over-reacted and should have just “grabbed her” instead of punching.

Sure, the cop threw a pretty good right to the girl’s jaw, but just one. Then he went for a basic arm hold. And while he’s doing this, the girl’s friend is grabbing him from behind — something that puts the cop in a vulnerable position because somebody can grab his gun. Theoretically, he could have clubbed or Tazed both of them. Instead he risked harm to his own fist.

That last sentence wasn’t even a joke — I know a cop who chose to punch a violent bad guy with his fist one night rather than to shoot him. That was 25 years ago and the cop still has problems with his hand because of a shattered knuckle.

He says now it would have been much easier to shoot the guy — but he’s glad he didn’t.

C’mon, everybody knows you can’t hit a cop. That’s a fight you can’t win physically; but you can win in other ways.

A Dallas DART cop once ticketed me for jaywalking. The guy was a jerk and I wanted to tell him to go to hell. Instead  I contested the ticket in a Dallas court system that’s designed to make you pay. Eight years later I got my day in court. Here’s what happened.

Postscript: My long fight against the jaywalking ticket so inspired consumer watchdog reporter Dave Lieber that he included a chapter on me in his book “Watchdog Nation.”

By the way, this Seattle Times story says police there have received many complaints about jaywalking stops that have escalated into violence, and some are calling for better training for police. Part of the problem is, people don’t view jaywalking as a crime so they get indignant and combative when confronted by a cop.

Maybe police — and jaywalkers — should read last week’s cover story about nonviolent communication.

32 COMMENTS

  1. It is hard not to profile–loud, profane, swinging–the officer should be getting an award. I believe attacking a police officer is a felony. As a citizen, in addition to being an employee of a Police Department, he should be able to sue the whole group, including the person taking the video. He was set up. Isn’t it convenient that there is always someone handy to take pictures. Someone should ascertain whether the picture taker knew the obnoxious girls. Betcha!

  2. The cops have become thug-like in this country. Everyone wants to make this a black and white subject and it isn’t. Whether this girl was out of line or now…he punched a 17 year old female. she happened to be black and he happened to be white…she also happened to be 17 and he happened to be a full grown man. I have been bullied by cops and a lot of pople I know have…and I’m not a criminal nor do I put my hands on the cops…..but they get off acting like they own the world. They are no longer public servants but menaces I fear more than the general public.

  3. It looks pretty cut and dry, don’t fight with a police officer. I really doubt he was able to determine her age by looking at her that is why we have ID cards, woa what a thought. Who cares what race their were it wouldn’t matter if they were pink with purple polka dots. I agree with NMRK, if the officer felt threatend then atleast he didn’t shoot at her or pull his gun. For all he knew the one girl could have grabbed his LOADED pistol and killed an innocent bystander on accident. It does not matter what color you are, what gender, what age… You break the law you pay the price. Sorry Wendy you off base about this and if you have had to deal with police you should have known the girls were in the wrong, does not look like the police officer was starting the bullying just protecting himself as well as others. Good job for taking a safer way out than using your gun.

  4. I don’t think… “excuse me maam, how old are you?” would have come to the assaulted police officers mind before he decked her. Had he delayed, he might have been decked. Would the public feel better if she was…say….18? If 17 is old enough to assault why isn’t it old to be assaulted?

  5. if u think this was racial u r an idiot. i hate cops but that dumb bitch was out of line and got dome rocked for it ha i woulda clubbed her if i was in his shoes, his life coulda been in danger two dumb blakk chix tr5ien to fight with a cop

  6. OK,

    Forget race if she was white, Asian, brown,black, you can never jump in and push a cop, if he’s in the process of arresting someone and you jump in, you could get shot !
    she’s lucky he wasn’t L.A.P.D. he would have driven her into an alley, called a couple female cops, and she would have gotten f***ed up!! you people in cali know what I’m taking about !!!

  7. Yes it’s racial because 2 people of difference races were involved. Whether the punch was instigated from racist intent is debatable. Race and sex are involved, to deny such is just plain idiotic. What extent those roles played is what’s being debated. And a 17 year old looks much younger than a full grown adult, you don’t need to look at a birth certificate to know that. Just like you can tell a senior citizen from a middle aged person, you can tell who’s a teen, too. Sure they resisted for committing a minor crime (no rapes or murders happen in Seattle, no drug wars, no burglaries?) but saying she deserves to get punched in the face shows the inhumanity an bigotry of anyone who says so.

  8. Katie,
    Bigotry? For saying that she deserved to get hit in the face after attacking the cop? What alternate reality do you live in? What ever happened to taking the ticket to court and making the officer prove his case? PS, FYI, it’s not racial unless the actions were based upon the persons race not merely because they were present.

  9. The cop punched the girl cause he lost control, violence was his instinct if his hand was beside his hip he probably would have shot her, it was just more convenient to hit her. If this was a group of 4 white males in a rich area do you think he would chase after them for jaw walking then beat them. Feel sorry for his wife, if she ever walks away mid argument, DUCK

  10. well, putting your hands on a police officer can be a felony…..definately one if you did what these girls did. Me, a white male, would have got the crap kicked out of me for pushing a cop. A punch in the face is not a life ending thing. hopefully at 17 she learns a valuable lesson……she could have been shot. The officer did his job. Take a punch and learn….we all do sooner or later.

  11. I continue to wonder–WHY is a video camera always present in this kind of case? Coincidence or was the policeman setup. Hard to believe that the jaywalkers did not know a policeman was present. Hard to believe that the camera person was just wandering by.

    Hope this is investigated by the police. Then, I hope the policeman’s wife files suit because now she will be harassed.

  12. First off I am a black male. The force that the officer used under the circumstances was justified. Police are here to uphold and ENFORCE the law for your safety and the safety of those around you. The first thing you have to do is step back and ask yourself, “What would I have done if I were that police officer and I had only a few seconds to react to immediately diffuse this situation before it got out of control?” He had 2 people fighting with him, and a weapon to protect with bystanders within close proximity. Do this before you go spouting off racial dicrimination! racial discrimination. There was nothing racially discriminating about the incident. The NAACP, media, and legislators stepped in and turned it into a discriminating issue, and they should be both ashamed and held 100% accountable for their misleading accusations. The officer tried to talk first, the women wouldn’t stop to listen, and one decided to push and fight with the officer. When an officer has to tell you something, you shut your @$%! mouth, bite your tongue, or whatever you have to do, and you listen up. You may not want to hear what he has to tell you, but guaranteed, 9 times out of 10, it is for your own good and the safety of others around you. But hey, if you want to go around like some delinquent and fight with authority like the police, you deserve to get your face popped. You better be glad he/she don’t pop you with their gun instead.

  13. If this was not a white male punching a well deserving mouthy black woman it would not have made the news. I think he should have knocked her out like she needed to be. Lets face it the WWM (White Working Males) that run the country have the least amount of rights. Lets go back 100 years, when times were good!!!

  14. I wonder what white people would say if they seen a big black officer punch a 17 year old white girl in the face. We deffinetely need to segregate.

  15. This police officer is the worst. No police officer should be caught in a situation like this with two women. A police officer should be trained in diffusing situation. How could you let a j-walking incident escalate to such heights. i know the stero-type that all black women are loud mouth, angry people, but we really dont know what stage this was in in context to the entire confrontation. Regardless..stop the pedestrian…write your ticket…..if the pedestrian gets hostile….call for back-up……draw your weapon…gun….pepper spray….taser whichever . A good police officer can handle a croud of 5-8 adult males by himself…how can you not handle 2 women.

  16. BS, diffusing??? how do you diffuse two degenerates who have no respect for any authority…she clearly shoved the cop, so when was he supposed to ask for ID…unfortunately the cop was by himself. Race is not the issue, so don’t even turn it in to that…the question I’d like to ask is, where is there father? These ghetto a** people (ghetto can be any race!) people walk the streets like they own it, probably impeding traffic. I see them all the time in Chicago. Duffusion only works if the recipient is willing to accept it

  17. Sorry tony…I disagree, Y soy Latino (and I am Latino). Does it happen without reason?…yes…Was this instance without reason?….NO…since when is being latino, black, white trash an excuse to disobey the law. Too many kids get into trouble cause they lack a daddy or a momma who provides the proper discipline at an early stage in their life. Thats why we have beautiful upstanding citizens like these ladies!

  18. That cop showed some real guts not decking those crazy females earlier than he did. They were completely out of control. A big thanks for Nothing goes out to the guys in the background who were watching and video taping, instead of trying to settle the situation down. Those women should be locked up and off the streets because they are just crazy and don’t understand the meaning of discipline or respecting authority. I throw my support in for the officer who should be given a bonus for having to put up with such garabage on a day to day basis.

  19. I’m sure that punk ass cop feels good now. He sucker punched a 17 yr old girl wow what a man. Now ask yourself this. If a white girl was out shopping on RODEO DR and was harassed for jay-walking and got upset with that same policeman and shoved him, would he have punched her with all his strength as he did the black girl. He still has the right to do so but would he have done it….. I think not. So he could not find any other way huh… But whats funny is the little punk ass cop landed a solid blow and couldn’t even knock a 17 yr old girl off her feet….

  20. if you think this has anything to do with race. you are a complete idiot! Leave it to miniority leaders to twist something around. I love it cause they are trying to make it seem like these girls were the victims. Not letting them take responsibility for their own actions, lets just blame it on the racist cop! God what is wrong with people STOP PLAYING THE RACE CARD!!! EVERYONE IS SICK OF IT!!! if you keep playing the race card, in the near future no one will care even if its something important. its like the ethnic that cried wolf! Black, white, asian, mexican we all know not to shove a cop or act like these girls. Its Common Knowledge!!!!

  21. “He punched a girl that was hitting him.”

    Thank you! All this lazy writing where “reporters” state that he punched a girl for jaywalking is not only unprofessional it’s a lie.

    The cop did exactly what he needed to do. He made an effective strike against someone that was battering him. It stopped her from further interfering with his arrest and most of all it stopped her from attacking him any more.

    I applaud the officer.

  22. Police Academy Dropout: A white, or black, or asian girl on Rodeo drive wouldn’t be acting like a crazed animal. These ghetto-lisious morons think it’s OK to go ape sh*t on a cop and Jessie “Hymietown” Jackson will come to their defense like he did with Tawana Brawley. Don’t cause no problems, won’t be no problems.

  23. There are police officers, and there are pigs. This piece of junk is clearly the latter- but it’s never too late for a forced career change. The world still needs ditch-diggers.

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