The Divest Digest #1 Jan. 6, 2023
The Divest Digest #1 Jan. 6, 2023
DivestSPD Feature
SPD had a problematic officer training K9 recruits until command realized its mistake.
Local
CM Alex Pedersen is Done
D4 Councilmember Alex Pedersen announced this week he wouldn’t seek a second term. It’s potentially a big L for SPD, as Pedersen was one of the department’s most consistent allies on the city council. Council President Debra Juarez, another reliable pro-cop vote, and Public Safety Chair Lisa Herbold will not seek a second term, either.
Pedersen narrowly edged out socialist police abolitionist Shaun Scott by just 3 points in his first election, so his grasp on the seat was always tentative. A few contenders for the position are being floated, but the only one to formally announced their candidacy thus far is grad student Matthew Mitnick. Mitnick is a member of the Seattle Democratic Socialists of America and the Seattle Human Rights Commission. He has been pushing to gain amicus curiae amicus status for the SHRC on SPD’s consent decree. WA State rep Gerry Pollett is also rumored to be considering a run.
Despite Fanfare, SPD Bust Nabs Few ‘Prolific Shoplifters’
Earlier this week, SPD was mocked online when it posted pics of its haul from a downtown anti-shoplifting operation. The department blotter featured images of small amounts of food, snacks, toilet paper, pens, and personal items taken from Bartell Drugs. SPD hyped up its meager bust by saying it had busted “prolific shoplifters.”
However, a follow-up by Publicola found that only three of the 11 people SPD detained or arrested arguably met those criteria. Two of those had previously been found incompetent to stand trial due to mental illness, and a third also had mental health issues. This is another example of how police PR uses terms like “career criminal,” “serial offender,” and “high utilizer” to obscure the actual function of police and courts: criminalizing poverty and mental illness. A previous investigation by the Stranger found the majority of City Attorney Ann Davison’s so-called high utilizers were Trueblood class members who were categorically exempt from prosecution.
WA State
GOP Hopes to Roll Back the Clock on Drug Policy, Police Pursuits
Conservatives are champing at the bit to push through a law and order agenda in the state legislature this year. A core goal is to make simple fentanyl possession a Class C felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The state court previously struck down felony drug possession laws in the 2021 Blake decision, but Senate Republicans aim to craft new legislation that can pass the constitutional test. Fortunately, they almost certainly lack the votes to pass the bill as written.
Another proposed senate bill would restore police discretion to engage in high-risk pursuits for non-violent crimes, amending previous language that limits chases to violent felonies and cases where the person poses a serious, imminent risk. Data show that fatalities and serious injuries from police pursuits have dropped 80 percent since the law was enacted, yet there has been substantial pushback from some mayors, chiefs, and sheriffs. There is a parallel ballot initiative called I-1474 sponsored by the right-wing astroturf group Let’s Go Washington. Founded by hedge fund manager and Washington Policy Center donor Brian Heywood, the group collected 400,000 signatures to overturn the police pursuit law.
National
NY Cop Who Beat Teen Girl Had Lawsuit, Long Rap Sheet
NYPD officer Nicholas Scalzo is on unpaid suspension pending an investigation after a shocking viral video showed him punching a 14-year-old Black girl while trying to break up a fight. The New York Daily News reported that Scalzo was previously a central defendant in a police brutality lawsuit the city settled for $29,000 in 2017.
The suit stems from a 2013 incident when Scalzo and several other officers violently busted up a Black family’s memorial birthday party for two family members who had passed away. The suit alleged the officers unnecessarily escalated what started as a simple stop for an open container. Disciplinary records show Scalzo had six complaints from 2009-2013, four of which involved Black complainants and one Hispanic. Only one was “substantiated,” whereas most were dismissed due to a lack of cooperation by the alleged victim. Scalzo’s lack of complaints post-2013 is suspect. It’s common practice for police departments to move problem officers off the street and warehouse them in desk jobs.
LAPD Kills Two in First Three Days of 2023
In 2022, Los Angeles and Houston shared the dubious distinction of being the homes of the deadliest cops in the nation. Both cities recorded 16 for the year, with Las Vegas trailing close behind. However, LAPD seems intent on being No. 1 with a bullet this year. LAPD gunned down two people in the first three days of the new year.
LAPD fatally shot a 40-year-old father of six named Takar Smith on Monday. Smith’s wife contacted the police after he was behaving erratically. Smith was on medication for schizophrenia. The following day the police shot a man wielding what police described as a “sharp metal object.” It turned out to be a part of a scooter (pictured above).
2022: The Deadliest Year on Record for Police Violence
Police killed nearly 1,200 people in 2022, according to the Mapping Police Violence project. It was the deadliest year for police since activists began tracking data on police killings. There were only 12 days in 2022 when police didn’t kill someone.
Here are some highlights from the data:
Only One-Third of Killings Were Responses to Violent Crimes
One in 10 was killed during a welfare check
8 percent were killed during a traffic stop
Nearly one in five was killed during a stop for a non-violent offense
11 percent involved no alleged offense
1 in 3 Was Killed While Fleeing
Black and Indigenous People Still Far More Likely to be Killed by Police
