Officers prioritized 'socializing' at Starbucks over DV call in progress

Front entrance of the Starbucks on Elliott Ave W. (Google Maps)

Seattle Police Sergeant Rene Miller was suspended for allowing her officers to wait over 40 minutes at a Starbucks while a domestic violence victim was calling for help, according to a report released last Friday. Her subordinate, Robert Paine-Stoke was reprimanded for failing to respond and a lack of professionalism. 

On June 4, 2023, at 4:58 a.m., Paine-Stoke responded to a domestic disturbance with other officers. The officers talked with the victim, who told them that her intoxicated ex-boyfriend had grabbed and pushed her, but she had no injuries. 

Paine-Stoke found her ex-boyfriend sleeping in his car nearby. The ex told him that his vehicle had an interlock, and he was sleeping until he was sober enough to drive. Paine-Stoke warned him not to return and cleared the call.

At 5:36 a.m., the victim called 911 because her ex-boyfriend had returned. GPS showed that Paine-Stoke started traveling toward the caller’s address but turned around and proceeded to the Starbucks on Elliot Ave W, where he met Sgt. Miller and other members of the squad. They stayed at the Starbucks for the next 40 minutes for, as Miller described, “a social situation.”

SPD call notes.

While the officers were ordering food and talking, the victim called repeatedly. Her ex-boyfriend was knocking, twisting the doorknob, and hitting the door loud enough for the call taker to hear it. She took cover in her kitchen.

At 6:21 a.m., 49 minutes after the first call about the ex returning, Paine-Stoke left the Starbucks and responded to the call with another officer. They found the ex-boyfriend again and gave him a final warning that he would be arrested if he reentered the building.

When questioned by the Office of Police Accountability, Miller said she didn’t think the follow-up calls warranted an immediate response based on the description of the first call. She finally ordered Paine-Stoke to respond “because [she] did not want to hear about it anymore.” Paine-Stoke also said that the subsequent calls “[didn’t] suggest that the [ex-boyfriend] engaged in criminal behavior.” 

While Paine-Stokes did not find a crime was committed during the initial call, OPA argued that the boyfriend’s return amounted to criminal trespass at minimum. Explaining its findings, OPA wrote: “Ultimately, even if [Miller] did not consider [the victim’s] calls a high priority, it was higher than socializing at Starbucks—particularly when domestic disputes quickly escalate into volatile or deadly situations.”

In 2023, Miller made $258,017. In addition to this case, Miller has been reprimanded three times since 2019—twice for unprofessionalism and once for failing to provide medical aid to an injured protester. Paine-Stoke is currently facing another OPA investigation and made $227,784 in 2023.