The Divest Digest #2 Jan. 13, 2023
The Divest Digest #2 Jan. 13, 2023
Local
Seattle Cop Fired for DV Assault at Officer’s Farewell Party
SPD officer Rosa Lopez-Ojeda was terminated in December for assaulting her romantic partner, also a Seattle police officer, at a 2020 going-away party for an officer who was transferring. Several SPD officers, including the party’s host, witnessed Lopez-Ojeda assault the other officer while black-out drunk. Lopez-Ojeda has been on leave for most of her career while awaiting the outcome of the investigation. Despite the overwhelming evidence, Snohomish County dismissed all charges.
SPOG VP’s Weird Rant About Antifa and DSA Earns Him a Reprimand
SPOG Vice-President Daniel Auderer, an SPD officer with a long and violent rap sheet, was reprimanded for including a bizarre tangent about protesters in a police report on an unrelated DUI stop, according to a report released by the Office of Police Accountability on Friday. The stop took place on May 29, 2021, the date of a protest commemorating the anniversary of the George Floyd uprising.
Crisis Sergeant Who Threatened to ‘Skull Fuck’ Immigrants is Now a Practicing Therapist
SPD Sergeant Corey Williams made headlines early in his career when he was caught on camera telling two immigrant men from Yakima that his badge was the “only thing preventing [him] from skullfucking [them] and dragging [them] down the street.” Now, he’s working as a therapist specializing in “first responders” and “Christian therapy.” While Williams talks a lot about confronting and dealing with emotions, two of his favorite books are by “Killology” police trainer Dave Grossman, who teaches cops to turn off their feelings and kill without hesitation, according to his Tumblr blog.
Chief Diaz Sworn In, Gets Cozy With Rightwing Anti-Homeless Alliance
It’s official. Chief Adrian Diaz was formally sworn in as Seattle’s Chief of Police this week following a two-year stint as interim chief. Like his predecessor Carmen Best, Diaz comes from the community relations side of SPD leadership. However, some of the communities Diaz has been having relations with raise eyebrows.
Shortly before his swearing-in, Diaz attended a conference of a regional alliance of conservative anti-homeless groups, including We Heart Seattle and the fundamentalist Discovery Institute. Diaz’s attendance at the event is troubling, as the “solutions” pushed by these dark money-funded astroturf groups consist primarily of criminalization and forced treatment. These groups see drug treatment as a magic bullet for homelessness even though only one-third of King County homeless have substance abuse issues, and only one-tenth cite addiction as the reason they’re on the streets.
Guest speakers included such darlings of the conservative anti-homeless movement as San Fransicko author Michael Shellenberger and “recovery consultant” Thomas Wolf. David Preston of the anti-homeless hate group Safe Seattle was also in attendance.
SnoCo Deputy Charged with Felony for Stealing from Home Depot He was Guarding
Former Snohomish County Sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller is facing felony charges for routinely pilfering goods from the Home Depot, where he worked off-duty as a security guard last year. Security footage shows Zeller in uniform filling up orange buckets with various items and walking out of the store without paying. Thus far, Home Depot has produced evidence that Zeller stole at least $850 worth of goods last year, but he is believed to have stolen more.
National
LAPD Releases Videos of Its Latest Killings
LAPD released bodyworn video of three killings in the opening days of 2023, including two shootings and the death of a 31-year-old teacher after officers tased him repeatedly. The latter case has drawn national attention. Keenan Anderson attempted to flag down officers for help after a collision. They ordered him to sit. He was initially compliant but later ran off. Multiple officers held Anderson down, and one fired his Taser directly into Anderson’s chest for a total of 35 seconds. Tasers can trigger ventricular fibrillation, causing cardiac arrest. Police Tasers have killed an average of about 50 people annually since 2000, roughly a third of whom are Black.
San Francisco Gallery Owner Who Hosed Homeless Woman Issues Non-Apology, Gets Police Protection
Collier Gwin is facing justified outrage after the video of him casually dousing a homeless woman with a hose went viral. Local San Francisco media is all too eager to paint this dirtbag as sympathetic. He went on TV news to give a half-hearted mea culpa, saying he felt “awful,” but he added that he “put a tremendous amount of effort into helping this woman.” By help, he meant that he called the cops on her twice a day for two weeks to have her forcibly removed. SFPD has parked a cruiser outside his gallery for protection.
Death Sentences Still Trending Downward, Now at a 50-Year Low
Some good news. According to a new report, the use of the death penalty is continuing to decline. There were only 20 death sentences issued in 2022, and the 18 executions carried out last year were fewer than in any non-pandemic year since 1991 and 82 percent below the peak execution year of 1999.
Former Chicago Cop Gets Probation For Drunkenly Shooting at Unarmed Man Off-Duty
Former Chicago police officer Joseph Cabrera was sentenced to two years of probation after pleading guilty to firing at an unarmed man while drunk off duty. Cabrera didn’t hit the man he shot at, but he was charged with several serious felonies, including attempted murder and obstruction of justice. If he stays out of trouble, he’ll avoid prison, but Cabrera will no longer be eligible to work as an officer.
Louisiana Deputy Gets a Century in Prison for Shocking Sex Crimes Against Children
Former Livingstone Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Dennis Perkins will spend 100 years in state prison for a spree of depraved sex crimes against children abetted by his wife, including 150 counts of crimes that include second-degree rape, two counts of producing pornography of children under 13, video voyeurism, and two counts sexual battery against a child. He was also convicted of “mingling of harmful substances” for an incident in which he put semen in a batch of cupcakes that his wife, a teacher, knowingly served to her junior high students.