Last fall, Seattle Police Sergeant Nathan Patterson threw an unlicensed street vendor down and punched him while another officer tasered him, but Patterson faced no consequences for those actions. However, he was suspended for antagonizing and threatening people who gathered to watch the arrest, according to documents and video obtained by DivestSPD.
On Sept. 29, Officer Felicia Lebron approached a man selling a handful of items on the street in Little Saigon. Lebron, a member of SPD’s homelessness policing unit, asked if he had a permit and attempted to identify him. He grabbed his things and began walking away.
Lebron followed him, telling him that he was being detained. Patterson arrived and grabbed him from behind. Before this, neither officer had issued a clear order to stop or informed him he was under arrest.
The man pushed Patterson away, while Patterson tried to hold onto his shirt. They spun around until Patterson threw him to the ground. Patterson punched the man once and kneed him in the side. He and Lebron struggled to get the man handcuffed, and a third officer, Kortney North, arrived and tasered him.
As Patterson finished cuffing the man, a few people gathered on the sidewalk, and some of them began yelling. He turned around and screamed, “You want some of this!?! Back up!”
In North’s bodycamera footage, no one can be seen approaching Patterson or attempting to interfere. The closest person is roughly 10 to 15 feet away. By this point, around five other officers had arrived and were handling the small crowd, so there was no reason for him to interact with bystanders at all.
Patterson left the arrestee handcuffed on the ground and followed a man who had heckled him. He yelled, “Be quiet! Mind your business!”
A few moments later, someone yelled that the man they arrested was “just walking,” and Patterson shot back, “No! Not just walking. You know the deal…You know we don’t do work unless we’ve got probable cause.”
Then, to no one in particular, Patterson screamed: “Shaking up that ecosystem, as they say in the biz!” It was unclear which “biz” Patterson was referring to.
The Office of Police Accountability has not issued its final report on the incident, but according to records we’ve obtained, the agency sustained findings for these comments and recommended a suspension of three to five days.
In his brief tenure, Interim Chief Andre Sayles has yet to issue any discipline, but his predecessor, Shon Barnes, previously disciplined Patterson far below the range that the OPA suggested for beating a homeless veteran in South Seattle.
The OPA recommended a 10- to 15-day suspension and a demotion, which would’ve been appropriate, considering Patterson’s long history of sustained police brutality cases and lawsuits.
Patterson was featured in our first run of DivestSPD baseball cards. They’re still available for purchase through the link below:
Instead, former Chief Barnes gave him a one-day suspension and a “disciplinary transfer” to the West Precinct, where he now commands five officers in King Sector, covering the CID, Pioneer Square, and the southern part of the downtown commercial district.
That’s arguably a promotion — or at least a greater amount of responsibility than he had in the South Precinct.
The OPA did not sustain excess force or de-escalation allegations against Patterson, even though it had grounds. For starters, Patterson immediately escalated by closing the distance and going hands-on without using commands or at least attempting to gain voluntary compliance.
There was no exigency at the time. The man posed no imminent threat to public safety. His most severe crime was misdemeanor obstruction. The officers had no reason not to use time—a key component of de-escalation — and continue to trail him until other officers arrived, reducing the likelihood of force. He could not run without dropping everything in his hands, which he seemed fairly determined not to do.
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The strikes to his abdomen were disproportionate to the offense and level of resistance. What’s more, they were unnecessary and ineffective. In the end, Patterson sent a man to the hospital for selling a handful of lightbulbs on the street.
All of this is unfortunately normal under OPA Director Bonnie Glenn. Glenn has issued findings in 84 use of force cases. To date, she’s only sustained a single force allegation.
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