Bad Apple Baseball Cards: Henry Feldmann
Henry Feldmann rose through the ranks, from violent bike cop making illegal arrests to incompetent sergeant brushing off excess force complaints and ordering unlawful searches.
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Henry Feldmann made his bones tooling around Aurora Ave. on a bicycle, harassing and humiliating homeless people. He showed an early knack for excessive force and illegal arrests, so the Seattle Police Department decided he had middle-management potential written all over him.
With his promotion to sergeant, Feldmann is now charged with supervising and miseducating a new generation of officers, turning a blind eye to violent tendencies and actively encouraging unconstitutional policing.
2017: Shoulder-Checked a Protester, Escalated Crowd
Seattle police were assisting University of Washington police during a demonstration in Red Square on Jan. 30, 2017
SPD officers lined up to block protesters from entering a building, and there was a struggle between one of the officers and a protester.
Though things appeared to be calming down, Feldmann lowered his shoulder and charged the protester, causing him to stumble. This angered the crowd.
Feldmann didn’t report the use of force, which was arguably Type II, and could have resulted in injury.
Feldmann was suspended.
2017: Kneed a Restrained Man Who Posed No Threat
Several officers stopped a group of youth suspected of carjacking on Aurora Ave.
One ran and was hit by a car. Then, he got up and fled. He hopped the fence of a business and was caught by its employees.
Surveillance video showed he was not trying to flee. He was lying still until officers arrived.
Feldmann arrived on a bike and immediately used force, holding the youth down with his knees, while other officers were attempting to cuff him.
Though the video showed that the arrestee did not attempt to push or strike any officers, Feldmann hit him with knee strikes.
Feldman was issued an oral reprimand, the lowest discipline.
2017: Unlawfully Arrested a Homeless Man
Feldmann and his partner questioned a homeless man with a blue bag on Aurora Ave.
They claimed that they saw another person with the same bag earlier and believed that he had stolen it.
He said it belonged to his girlfriend, who had a medical emergency and left it with him for safekeeping.
Though they could not disprove his story, they arrested him anyway and tacked on a false reporting charge even though he gave them his real name.
Feldmann was given a written reprimand.
2019: Mocked a Woman’s Mental Health
A woman came up to Feldmann and his partner while they were drinking coffee and chastised them about harassing the homeless and people with disabilities.
Feldmann was rude to her and insinuated that she had a mental illness, asking her if she was “hearing things” and in “need of mental health [services]”
The Office of Police Accountability noted that while the interaction was frustrating, the officers had the option to disengage at any time.
Furthermore, Feldmann had recently been made a sergeant and had an obligation to model more appropriate behavior.
Feldmann was given a training referral.
2022: Didn’t Investigate Escalation, Force Complaint
Officers under Feldmann’s command were dispatched to a DV call.
When they arrived, officers immediately went hands-on with the subject.
After struggling with the man briefly, an officer used a Taser on him.
The man’s girlfriend complained to Feldmann that the officers didn’t give him time to respond to commands and used excessive force.
Feldmann did not follow up or refer the complaint for OPA investigation.
Feldmann was given a written reprimand.
2023: Unlawfully Searched an Apartment
Two officers under Feldmann’s command responded to a DV call in an apartment building.
They encountered a man in the hallway and stopped him. The man fled and escaped.
The officers entered the apartment to search for a victim but did not find one.
Feldmann arrived and ordered them back into the apartment to search for evidence.
The OPA found that his warrantless entry of the apartment was unlawful.
It didn’t fall under any of the exceptions for community caretaking because the officers had already swept the apartment.