Lawyer for West Seattle man goes public with video of client biting police officer, then being hit by him

We’ve received a few calls asking what TV crews are doing at Westwood Village. Here’s what we’ve learned about the story, which you will likely see in various citywide media tonight: It involves the video above, made public by the lawyer representing a West Seattle man who was hit at Westwood Village two years ago by a police officer he had bitten. The video is from the dashboard camera of the officer’s patrol car.

It happened on December 29, 2010, outside the Marshall’s store, where police had stopped to check out an unoccupied car left at curbside with the engine running. Ahead, a statement and other documents that lawyer James Egan provided, plus a report with SPD’s comment:

First, Egan’s statement, in its entirety:

On December 29, 2010, 20 year old Isaac Ocak (pr. “O-jack”) of Turkish descent was parked outside a private shopping center and ran in to return a Christmas gift. He left his car running but it was locked (he had a separate door key). He returned to find officers around it, and he explained he just ran in to return something. He apologized for doing this. Officers detained him on the hood of a patrol car for an excessive time after they’d already established he had a non-suspicious reason to park there and had no weapons on him. Although the officers said it was “wrong” to have left it running there, it is neither a crime nor a traffic infraction to do this at a private mall. Mr. Ocak complied with a demand to put his hands on the patrol car and continued doing so long after any potential threat to officers was negated.

The encounter went from strangely counting Mr. Ocak’s house keys to repeatedly ordering his hands to remain on the hood, to violent when after nearly 8 minutes of car hood detention four Seattle police officers grabbed him, thrust him down to the hood, and put a handcuff on one arm, all where there was no probable cause to believe a crime was being committed. Then after determining that Ocak’s hands were under control, the most reckless, aggressive officer of the bunch (Officer Larry Longley) grabbed and pulled the client’s head and mouth with his left hand and started wailing on his face with a right fist, claiming he was being bitten. Officer Longley endangered himself for unclear reasons, justifying retaliatory strikes to Mr. Ocak’s face.

Mr. Ocak’s was booked in jail for two days, released, charged with “assault” for biting the officer’s left pinkie, where the officer put his hand into Mr. Ocak’s mouth to wrench his head back right before a set of fist strikes. This assault charge was dismissed finally by prosecutors who watched the video.

To me, this video illustrates pure unnecessary escalation of what is not a crime or an infraction at all, but is a routine civilian encounter. Once the “suspicious vehicle” was determined not to be so suspicious, the officers should have let Mr. Ocak go at most with a warning or a trespass admonishment issued by the strip mall security, since this was not a public roadway. To me the encounter raises the specter of biased policing. The officer who hit my client is quite clearly being a bully, and appears keen on doing some damage to Isaac Ocak in one way or another, and ultimately succeeds. Any injury the officer received to his finger was a consequence of his own aggressive recklessness.

This afternoon, SPD called the use of force in the incident “reasonable and necessary,” according to a report in the Seattle Weekly. We have an as-yet-unanswered request out for SPD comment, but missed the briefing from which the Weekly’s comments were derived; Egan had not initially included WSB in the media release of the video – we contacted him after finding out it involved a West Seattle incident, too late to get to the briefing. Meantime, Egan also provided a copy of the police report from the incident – here’s its text:

On 12/29/2010 officers observed a suspicious unoccupied vehicle WA LIC #007ZWN parked in front of the business at this location with the engine running and driver’s window slightly open. As officers were conducting an investigation of the vehicle, a male later identified as S/Ocak, Isaac returned and was contacted by Ofc Longley. Ocak was immediately argumentative and confrontational with Ofc Longley about why officers were investigating his vehicle. Ocak was directed to place his hands on the patrol car hood, in order to frisk him for weapons. Ocak was non-compliant and had to be physically directed to place his hands on the vehicle. Ocak several times pulled his hands from the vehicle and refused to immediately comply with orders to leave his hands on the vehicle.

Ocak continued to argue and approximately 6 times pulled his hands from the car, repositioned his feet to a bladed stance and increased the volume of his yelling. Ocak pulled his hands away and stood straight up. Ocak was physically escorted back onto the hood in an effort to gain control of him. As multiple officers were attempting to gain control of Ocak, Ocak bit the left pinky finger of Ofc Longley, resulting in a laceration on both sides of the finger, each one approximately inch long. Ocak was ultimately taken into custody for Investigation of Assault. Ocak was advised of his Miranda Advisement to which he sarcastically replied, “No” that he did not understand. SFD Medics responded to the scene for injuries Ocak sustained. Ocak refused all medical treatment from SFD and told the SFD Captain “I refuse treatment, get the fuck away from me.” Sgt Baily responded to the scene and screened the incident an arrest in person. Ocak was transported to the SW Pct for processing. Ocak was transported and booked into KCJ for Investigation of Assault. **Request additional charge of SMC 69.50.401.E Possession of Marijuana

Officer Larry Longley also gave a statement about his use of force at the time; here’s our cut-and-paste of the text from that document (which Egan also provided):

On 12-29-10 I was working a two-officer uniformed patrol as unit 2F03 in a fully marked patrol vehicle. At about 1525 hours while on routine patrol at the West Wood Village located at 2600 SW Barton St we happened upon a Turquoise 1995 Chevrolet Impala 4 door bearing Washington license 007ZWN parked unoccupied, with the lights on and the engine running in front of the Marshall’s store.

After checking the vehicle through DOL for stolen and learning it was not stolen, I walked up to the driver door and looked inside. The driver door window was open about 3-4 inches and I could smell a moderate odor of marijuana coming from inside the car. After a few seconds a younger male (later identified as S/Ocak, Isaac (-) 05-11-92) wearing jeans and a T-shirt walked up to me and said the car was his. I •aiew from checking the vehicle license plate earlier that the vehicle belonged to a woman named —- and not to S/Ocak. When I tried to tell S/Ocak why 1was looking at his car he immediately raised his voice and became argumentative. I made several attempts calm him down and explain myself but he continued to stay agitated and would cut me off mid-sentence. At this point my video was not running and I could sense that this situation could possibly escalate. Based on his demeanor and his inability to follow simple commands, I ordered him to walk to my patrol car so I could check his name and verify he had a legal right to have the vehicle. At first (he) refused to comply and told me that his ID was inside his vehicle. He asked if he could get it and I told him no, because I did not know if he had any weapons in the car and he may attempt to flee in the running vehicle. I told him two more times to walk to my car and he eventually, reluctantly did.

Once at the car, I told him to put his hands on the hood and not to remove them. He had a large set keys in his right hand and he set them down on the hood when he originally put his hands on the car. I then saw Ofc Thompson conduct a Terry Frisk for weapons and I moved he keys out of his reach. I then activated our vehicle camera, told him we were audio and video recording our contact and he continued to verbally challenge our reason for stop and started to remove his right hand from the hood. He was told multiple times (about 8-10) during the contact not to take his hands off of the hood. At one point while 1was looking at his keys and questioninghim about why he had multiple house keys on one ring, he lifted his hands off of the car again. I ordered him this time to not take his hands of the car again While continuing my interview, he became very agitated, raised his voice and stated, “Don’t be so rude, why are you so rude?” He then raised his hands off of the hood again and I saw Ofc. Luckie escort him back onto the car hood.

At first I believed S/Ocak was going to comply and then I heard Ofc. Luckie order him to keep his hands on the car. At that point S/Ocak raised his body off of the car and I grabbed his right hand and assisted in forcing him to the hood of the car. While holding him to the car with the assistance of Officers Thompson, Ziemer and Luckie, I was able to get my handcuffs on his right hand. He continued to struggle with us and I ordered him to relax. He refused to comply and we continued to get his left hand into cuffs. He then kicked me in my left leg with his right foot and continued to struggle.
As we tried to get the left cuff on him again I kept control of his right hand with my right hand and took control to his head with my left hand. I held it to the car while officers attempted to cuff him again.

At some point his head slipped up from my grip and he was able to raise it up. While attempting to regain control of his head, I reached around to his face and attempted to extend his head up in order to stop his movement. When I did my left pinky finger got under his nose and he lifted his head enough to get it into his mouth. When he did, he bit so forcefully that he broke the skin on both sides of my finger through my SPD issued Maxiflex G-Tek gloves. I immediately delivered two closed fist strikes to the right side of his face while simultaneously stating, “Don’t you bite me you son of a bitch.” My strikes had the desired effect and he relinquished his bite. I then heard Ofc. Thompson yell to take him to the ground As we tried to get him to the ground he stated, “I’m not going on the ground.” Once on the ground, I took control of his head again and held it to ground until we were successful in getting the handcuff on his left hand. We then held him there until we could be sure the area around us was safe. He continued to struggle with us and we gave him several orders to stop resisting. He said he was complying but physically continued to struggle. While I was continuing to hold him, I could see there was blood dripping all over his back. I was unsure if the blood was his or mine until Ofc. Thompson took over control of his head and I pulled off my glove. When I did, I saw my finger was bleeding profusely and I had two cuts about % inch in size on the outside and inside of it.

After Sgt. Baily arrived at the scene and screened the arrest, SFD attempted to treat S/Ocak but he was verbally assaultive to them and denied medical treatment.

While enroute to the SW Precinct I advised him of his Miranda Warning and he said he did not understand, during a search of his person, incident to his arrest, a small amount of narcotics fell out of his right pant leg. He continued to be argumentative the entire time he was in our holding facility and placed in the rear of the patrol car and taken to KCJ.

According to KING 5, Egan has filed a complaint with the city seeking damages on Ocak’s behalf. If we get more information on SPD’s response, we’ll add to this story.

ADDED: The SPD statement quoted in citywide media was added to the SPD Blotter site tonight. You can read it here.

118 Replies to "Lawyer for West Seattle man goes public with video of client biting police officer, then being hit by him"

  • bridge to somewhere January 4, 2013 (6:37 pm)

    Bite a cop’s finger enough to cause blood to drip, get hit in the face until you cease. Sounds about right to me. You don’t bite cops. Sorry dude.

  • wow January 4, 2013 (7:12 pm)

    Cop: “Caught on video you retard”
    He should be fired for saying that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Korm66 January 4, 2013 (7:14 pm)

    If Someone assaults an officer, they can expect the officer to use force. If someone were to bite me, I would punch them too.

  • C January 4, 2013 (7:17 pm)

    They should’ve left him alone once the discovered the car wasn’t stolen.. Or they should’ve given him a parking ticket.. They harassed him and tried to make it look his fault..

  • NC January 4, 2013 (7:19 pm)

    This is a recorded example of how SPD are nothing but bullies! The cop had no right to even ask about the keys and be sarcastic about the number, tossing them to his buddy.

  • DW January 4, 2013 (7:23 pm)

    If you’re dumb enough to bite a cop you deserve what you get.

    And cops need to be able to do their job. All this “oversight” and complaining makes our city less safe. Let’s face it – after all the cop killings in recent year, if I were a cop, I would not take chances either.

  • k January 4, 2013 (7:25 pm)

    dont put your hands cupped in his mouth then!
    growing up with isaac you’d know he’s a defensive person and thats just his kind of demeanor.

    hope he wins, it was blown out of proportion esp calling him a “retard” and “knucklehead”. spd is just bullies and think they can do whatever they want.

  • grr January 4, 2013 (7:34 pm)

    good lord.. what the hell did the stupid moron expect?? Bite a cop? The guy with the GUN? I feel sorry for the cop. That asshat thug should have got a nightstick upside his head.

  • Looks reasonable to me. January 4, 2013 (7:34 pm)

    I watched the video. I think the police were models of patience and courtesy while they tried to interview the gentleman and see what was going on.
    .
    If a policeman tells you to keep your hands on the hood of the car, then that’s what you are expected to do. And if you are unwilling or unable to keep your hands on the hood, then, sure, you’ll be handcuffed.
    .
    The man was behaving very strangely – agitated, argumentative, leaving a car running, it’s not his car – and while none of that is criminal, I don’t think it makes sense for the police to just hand the keys back and say “have nice day” without attempting to assess whether the gentleman is fit to drive and authorized to use the car, etc.
    .

  • Sick of SPD January 4, 2013 (7:42 pm)

    I am sick to my stomach, can the SPD please get it together?

  • Dave January 4, 2013 (7:54 pm)

    Seattle PD, no wonder the Justice Department is watching you. It was obvious you were looking for a fight.

  • Marcus M January 4, 2013 (7:55 pm)

    It makes me ill how subservient to authority these commenters are

  • D January 4, 2013 (8:14 pm)

    Oh my God. These guys are such bullies. The kid did absolutely nothing wrong. For all those who think the cop was justified for punching him in the face after he bit him, Ocak never should have been in that position to start with. The cops never had probable cause to do anything. He left the car running to run in and return a gift, for Christ’s sake. And punching a guy in the face twice who’s handcuffed with four cops on him? Gross. Please let me know how I can donate to help pay Ocak’s legal fees.

  • Kat January 4, 2013 (8:22 pm)

    If he had been a white dude driving a Lexus with an Admiral address, they would have let him go with a reminder to park in one if the free spaces.

  • Here January 4, 2013 (8:30 pm)

    SPD was right. This guy was a moron.

  • West Seattle Hipster January 4, 2013 (8:31 pm)

    Come on Kat, don’t play the card.

  • evergreen January 4, 2013 (8:44 pm)

    Abuse of power, clearly. They had no reason to tell this guy to put his hands on his car and treat him like a criminal. They profiled him.

  • SJoy January 4, 2013 (8:51 pm)

    I just don’t even know where to begin with this. I have always given the cops the benefit of the doubt. They have a tough and dangerous job. But this really bothers me.

    In the beginning Isaac was polite (yes sir etc..), however they held him for a really long time and antagonized him. They were fishing. I thought that he became agitated and argumentative for good reason. They detained him for absolutely no reason, they didn’t even ticket him for his car? He did nothing wrong.

    And for leaving his car running, I know several people who have the remote control turn-on for their car and leave their car running when they go in some place really quick. I do not see anything suspicious about that. According to the police report, the officer knew it wasn’t stolen before Isaac even came out of the store. And if you note in the video the car belongs to his sister. I see nothing wrong with that. I have driven my brothers car before. I’m not really sure why it was suspicious in the beginning – oh that’s right it’s called PROFILING. Heard of it before??? If I, a middle aged white woman in her brothers jeep was to do that, they might tell me not to do it again or ticket me. They would not detain me, and they probably wouldn’t even give a second thought to the car not being in my name.

    Yes, Isaac should have kept his hands on the car but if you notice, he talks with his hands. At no point was he agressive with the officers at all – until they slammed him against the car. As for him biting the officer – well probably not your best move but hey, if someone had their hand in my mouth in that circumstance – I would probably bite them too… just saying.

    So in the end, all charges were dropped when they saw the video so evidently the prosecuters thought about the same thing.

    And what is up about the keys – they were completely antonizing him the cop stated “how many keys do you need for a house”. At that point Isaac stated that he would not answer any more questions, and that’s where they got forceful.

  • Unbelievable January 4, 2013 (8:54 pm)

    I can’t believe that people are defending this police action. Sure the kid lifted his hands off the car. Would they have even been there if his complexion had been lighter or he had been a middle aged woman returning something? I think not.
    Who cares how many keys he has on his key ring? I have 9. Should I be belittled for it?
    Write the ticket, check out the license and move on.
    What real crimes were being perpetrated while all these patrol cars wasting their time at the strip mall?

  • LFauntleroy January 4, 2013 (9:02 pm)

    SPD calling a suspect a “retard” is so completely disgraceful. No excuse for that!

  • Mn January 4, 2013 (9:32 pm)

    SPD doing their job
    Lack of respect and total entitlement by the perpetrator
    Who in their right mind thinks its ok to Behave like this

  • MrB January 4, 2013 (9:34 pm)

    Dumb and Dumber, both parties.

  • Anne January 4, 2013 (9:38 pm)

    This guy was ” flagged” SPD was doing their job .

  • dsa January 4, 2013 (9:40 pm)

    The narrative explains why it went down the way it did.

  • S January 4, 2013 (9:45 pm)

    I support law enforcement and live just blocks away and I am a recent crime victim but this is apalling. The officer telegraphs his punch with his face and body posture before he even puts his hand on the kids face. The officers start provoking the kid escalating the interaction well before it gets physical. I know it is complex and dangerous out there but I also don’t understand why an ER nurse or a high school wrestler can take a guy down with less violence and shame than three oficers each twice the size of their suspect.

  • SageK January 4, 2013 (9:46 pm)

    Exactly my thoughts SJoy.

    Perhaps these officers need some cultural sensitivity training. Lots of people from other cultures speak with their hands / gesticulate while talking just as Issac was. That is not aggressive.

    The cop could have said something like “I understand that you are emphasizing your words with your hands. But I really need you to keep them on the hood of the car right now.” It’s respectful and still gets his request across.

    Don’t know if anyone noticed but in the beginning when the cop kept getting angry at him for taking his hands off the car, it was really only one hand and he was using it for gesturing.

    That officer escalated that situation, when it could have been resolved peacefully. I think he needs some more training.

    Also sad that no one would stay as a witness for Issac. What if this was a case of intense brutality?

  • Looks reasonable to me January 4, 2013 (9:50 pm)

    Certainly there can be serious problems with bias in policing. I am not one to minimize that issue.
    .
    But don’t you think the police would take a close look at the sobriety of a middle-age white woman who had left her car running in the through-lane at a mall? Of course they would.

  • SaraS January 4, 2013 (9:55 pm)

    Before ANYONE comments, they need to watch this video as I just did. It was extremely disturbing.

    Why were they antagonizing him?? Why? He was extremely polite, calling them “sir” and explaining his situation. They kept asking him stupid questions, which he wanted to use his hands to express himself for – that’s a habit, not a sign of deliquency.
    Then they slammed his body on the top of the car, choked him, pushed his head down without cause. The one cop shoved his hands in his mouth and I did not see a “bite”. Then all of a sudden he’s being punched, taken to the side (out of view!!) and you can hear him being punched repeatedly.

    I hope he wins his case. I have absolutely no faith in the SPD.

  • Ian January 4, 2013 (10:32 pm)

    I am ashamed at all of you defending the officer here. None of you have ever studied law to any extent, that is clear. Isaac did not commit a crime nor is he in the wrong. The city will be paying for this – a lot for this. This was a completely unreasonable seizure not supported by any probable cause.

  • WsEd January 4, 2013 (10:33 pm)

    I am no fan of abuse of power. However this guy chose to escalate the situation himself. First if you have narcotics on you. Maybe you want to draw as little attention to yourself as possible by say parking like a normal person. Even if he didn’t bite the cop he wasn’t exactly cooperative. Yet another point not mentioned is that the police know certain individuals by sight and know that something is probably fishy. I am not defending profiling, but there is a reason it is such a powerful tool and we all do it even if we’re not cops. Outward presentation is a powerful medium and wife beater combined with a late model chevy says (EDUCATED UPSTANDING PROFESSIONAL CITIZEN NOT). There are a few bad cops, and there are also a few bad doctors, lawyers, accountants and probably more than a few bad politicians.

    A word of wisdom. When you deal with the police you never ever ever operate from a position of power unless you are a prosecutor. If you are an idiot and choose to escalate a situation you are gonna see the consequence.

    All I am saying is that I learned to turn the lights on in my car at a traffic stop so the officer can see my hands. Cops are on the edge all the time, if you give them a reason they will go over it. Again I am not defending bad cops but a little common sense goes a long way.

  • Megan January 4, 2013 (10:45 pm)

    I also watched the video in its entirety. I am a supporter of law enforcement and have found most Seattle Police Dept officers to be very nice.

    That all said, this is a disgrace. There was absolutely zero reason that this kid needed to detained on the hood of a police car for leaving his car running outside of a store. Mr. Ocak was very respectful when this all began and it was the officer who took it to a different level.

    Why in the world did the officer need to know about Mr. Ocak’s keys, this had nothing to do with him parking not in a parking spot and leaving the car running.

    This whole video makes me very sad and disgusted that the SPD has done nothing to discipline this officer. They clearly know this whole thing is a joke if they dropped the assault against an officer charge.

  • D January 4, 2013 (11:00 pm)

    Thank you, WsEd. You just convinced me to donate my entire tax refund to the ACLU. You people terrify me.

  • WsEd January 4, 2013 (11:00 pm)

    SageK,

    Things that definitely don’t go together. Oil and water, sand and bedsheets, cops and sensitivity training.

    Oh officer you are hurting my feelings by being culturally insensitive. Go to Italy our better yet Isreal and see if you can get the police there to agree to sensitivity training. It’s not about culture, it’s about power. In every encounter one party always has more power. Negotiating from a position of weakness is a fools game and this boy was a fool.

  • Robert January 4, 2013 (11:02 pm)

    I watched 3 minutes. I didn’t even get to the bite. This is complete harrassment.

  • junction resident January 4, 2013 (11:20 pm)

    It seems like every week there are reports of SPD officers behaving like thugs and abusing citizens. It is appalling how many people are defending them in this incident. The video clearly shows them provoking the guy and escalating the situation. They should all be fired if not criminally charged.

  • earth first ed January 4, 2013 (11:29 pm)

    Serves him right for not parking in a space like the rest of us!

  • WsEd January 4, 2013 (11:51 pm)

    D,

    No problem. Maybe you can have the money earmarked for a much more disturbing trend. The militarization of local police. Started in the Bush years and it isn’t stopping anytime soon. Everyone is so concerned about the sensitivity of the police, meanwhile these distractions allows a much larger power grab. Slight of hand.

  • StaceyD January 5, 2013 (12:11 am)

    The police officers were clearly trying to agitate this guy – he did nothing illegal. They held him until his anxiety gave way to a behavior that was enough for them to restrain him. Come on – 4 officers for a running car??

    I agree – if this was a white guy in a Lexus he would have been let go.

    SPD behavior continues to be aggressive and racist.

    It is sad.

  • Joe January 5, 2013 (12:48 am)

    Officer Larry Longley probably wishes the audio hadn’t worked; it completely, irrefutably contradicts his “reasonable” explanation of his actions. Those actions – reinforced by his speech – indicate he’s not mature enough for the demanding job of police officer.

    He was clearly antagonistic toward Mr. Ocak: “I don’t have to be nice to you”. Maybe not, but I doubt seriously whether disrespectful, sarcastic, or condescending are part of department protocol. And you were all of those to someone who had committed no crime.

    “How many keys do you need for a house?” “Well, why don’t we see if Miss Ivanov or whatever her name is knows where her car is?”

    Imagine this, Longley, your appearance – I’m using my judgment here – is that of a bully. I’ve got a proposal for you: I and four of my buddies will physically pile on you if you try to stand up straight, cuff you, punch you in the face, and scream at you to “relax” while we do it. I’m not being sarcastic or condescending, Langley or whatever your name is, but straightforward, just like you. Sort of.

    Whatever Mr. Ocak’s personal problems, his excitability, or his ‘refusal’ to follow ‘commands’, Langley deserves at best, to lose his job. He’s not trustworthy as one whose SOLE JOB is to use his intelligence to protect the public in a way that engenders a greater respect for law and order.

    Longley: adolescent, abusive, small-minded thug. More concisely, to quote his calm rhetoric used on Mr. Ocak: “What the hell is wrong with you?”

    The SPD needs to get morally deficient types like Longley, if that’s his real name, off their team.

  • H January 5, 2013 (12:56 am)

    They said the car wasn’t registered to him and it smelled like drugs, it wasn’t just that he left it running as the reason for being detained. Some commenters are conveniently overlooking some details.

    And I can’t believe that one commenter that said if you knew Isaac you’d know he was just a defensive person. Oh well they should understand that then and let him be. Sorry personality differences don’t make a difference, you don’t get a free card to do whatever. Everybody knows if you don’t want to get into it with police you don’t act defensive, whether you like them or not. You comply and go on your merry way. Or they will be suspicious and maybe there’s good reason.

  • eaglawatch January 5, 2013 (1:29 am)

    That is absolutely disgusting. I can’t believe that creeps like those cops can do things like that to a fellow human being and get away with. I’m appalled, depressed and ashamed. Horrible, horrible, horrible. Calling him a retard was a nice touch. Bully’s, fools, ugly humans. What else is there to say.

  • Thaddeus P. Rockford IV January 5, 2013 (2:46 am)

    The SPD today are out of control. These 4+ officers assaulted this man – and the “biting” is a gross exaggeration: The police officer jammed his finger into the man’s mouth. Seattle Police Officers are held to no standards. None.

    This is an outright assault. Another assault, committed by the ‘good old boys in blue’, under the guise of the blue wall. I am getting so sick and tired of watching video, after video, after video of our police officers assault, murder and abuse us.

    Why are we held to higher standards than our elected officials, and our public servants? Why do they get to murder us, and assault us, with no consequence?

    I’m beginning to hate our police officers here.

  • Dee January 5, 2013 (3:30 am)

    Hey cops have a tough job dealing with disrespectful punks like this day in and day out. This was a typical punk who thinks rules don’t apply to him. He can park wherever he wants to, and disrespect authority and that is why a minor incident escalated. The notion that if he were a white kid ifrom North Admiral then this wouldn’t have happened is bunk. His attitude and potty mouth did him in. Sorry no money damages for him and his lawyer. Hope Isaac learned something about life.

  • mike January 5, 2013 (3:38 am)

    Spd cannot continue to behave like this and expect the public to respect them. In addition to the injury to this victim and our civic reputation is added the insult of seeing our tax dollars flying out the door into the pockets of lawyers and victims of SPD abuse of authority. What ever you think of this fellow, he will win his case against our city and walk away with a chunk of our tax dollars because this officer did a very poor job. To see that the officer was not fired for gross incompetence baffles me. It tells me that the SPD supports behavior like this and that should frighten and shame all of us. I am a middle aged white guy and i fear our police.

  • DollarTreeNut January 5, 2013 (3:39 am)

    i really dont think its a great idea to have this video up with him giving his adress and phone number on it with out censoring it.. but i guess it was released by his lawyer so whatevs.. doesnt seem smart to me though..

  • EdSane January 5, 2013 (5:24 am)

    After watching the video I am surprised that the OPA did not act prior to now. Every time force is used it is reviewed by a Supervisor. Even without a complaint from the subject, the supervisor who signed off on the report should have forwarded this. Now to the meat of things. The initial detention by the Police was lawful. However, as noted in the police report. The Officers quickly determined the subjects identity (and no known warrants) and his vehicle was not stolen (how he came about acquiring his vehicle doesn’t matter). As defined by a Terry Stop, we’ve determined the subjects identity and no apparent crime has been committed. At this time the continued detention (i.e. place your hands on the hood) is no longer lawful. The continued detention and later assault by the police are clear and blatant violations of the subjects civil rights. Sadly, he will probably settle rather then hold the Police Dept. completely accountable for their actions.

  • EdSane January 5, 2013 (5:30 am)

    For those who are speaking in regards to the running car and “marijuana odor”. The report doesn’t seem to indicate that any illicit drugs were recovered from the car. Beyond that those are both minor offenses. Not even an arrestable offense. When an Officer stops you their authority is to determine your identity and confirm no crime is currently being committed. Which they very quickly determined in this case.

  • Cory T January 5, 2013 (6:31 am)

    I’m all for more of this – work these punks over.

  • The Farm January 5, 2013 (7:58 am)

    So the main thing that was established here is that because the mall is private, I can park my car conveniently in front of the store, leave it running so it stays nice and warm and go into shop or return items! The only problem being that now everyone knows that!

  • Lisa January 5, 2013 (8:05 am)

    Interesting how strongly divided opinions are here.

    Makes you realize how polarized our society is.

  • cookieb January 5, 2013 (8:47 am)

    Thats what you get for biting a cop. I would have hit him to if he bit me.

  • JoAnne January 5, 2013 (8:55 am)

    West Seattle is pretty nearly ruined with crime and gangs.
    .

    The reason is clear from the posts above–the new residents support any thug or disgusting criminal who comes along, while constantly criticizing the police. Thus our defense against thugs and bullies is ever more eroded.
    .
    Thanks for coming here and wrecking our peaceful law-abiding community.

  • Bob January 5, 2013 (9:13 am)

    Having been at this scene and watched the entire thing escalate, and then treating the injured individuals, I would have to say that the SPD officers treated this gentleman with the upmost respect and demeanor until he started trying to spin a story to get out of the trouble he knew he was in. The vehicle was not registered to him (not a crime), he could not tell the SPD whom it belonged to. He gave multiple home addresses and had multiple “house” keys (He is a known house prowler). On a very busy day at Westwood, this gentleman thought he was above the law and parked a running vehicle directly in front of Marshall’s (a frequently burgled store front, people pull up, run in and grab products and run out to their running vehicle, parked right in front of the store, illegally blocking traffic). So, for those of you who think all he was doing was exchanging a gift, think long and hard why someone needs to park in front of a busy storefront, blocking any and all emergency access, leave his unregistered, “borrowed” car running out front and then go inside shopping. The SPD officers at the very beginning of this incident were trying to get the facts straight as to the car and it’s owner. If this gentleman would have been forthright and honest with the SPD officers, none of this would have happened, they wanted to release him with a warning to not park illegally like he had done. Also, for those of you who think no crime was committed, check his parking job, his paraphernalia (I’m talking house prowl stuff, not MaryJ (SPD didn’t care about that originally), and then check your unrelated comments about how upset you are at the amount of crime and house prowls there are in WS and why isn’t SPD doing anything about it. They did.

  • ss January 5, 2013 (9:49 am)

    Hmm..interesting but sad all around. I wonder if it still would have been suspicious to the cops if it was a LEXUS,BMW..etc parked? What if the driver of the car came out in a suit and tie? I’m curious to know if they would have handled the situation the same? I sure hope so. :(

  • ss January 5, 2013 (9:53 am)

    The more I think about it, this whole situation could have been avoided if he just found a parking spot. Simple.

  • BigD January 5, 2013 (10:01 am)

    Police are citizens as well. They just are more likely to be shot than you or I.

    The kid was foolish. Not finding a parking space. Car smelling of pot. Leaving the motor running. Car not registered to him. And then he bites the officer.

    I’m totally OK with how the SPD dealt with this. The kid got a few cuts, and got roughed up. Not an inequitable price to pay for his foolishness.

    It’s unfortunate yes, but that’s how I want my officers to roll.

  • MB January 5, 2013 (10:05 am)

    Way over board SPD. You were looking for trouble. You couldve let him off with a warning, nothing came up on him, his car wasnt stolen, you just wanted to fight. Bet if this was a white 40 yr old in a not so “thuggish” car you wouldve let them pass. Says above, this is violation to NO law. People let there cars run all the time with the doors locked. Remote start. So its only violation was parking in the wrong spot. So disappointed with the way the SPD handles business from time to time. Exact reason my husband will be applying to other countys, Id be embarrassed to have him apart of yours.

  • Me January 5, 2013 (10:08 am)

    SS – what an utterly useless comment. That may be true, but one does not excuse the other. He didn’t deserve to be treated that way.
    That’s like saying Treyvon Martin could have avoided being killed if he just put his hood down, or the Columbine kids could’ve avoided that whole thing if they’d been nice to the shooters.

    p.s. Everyone should watch the video – it’s less than 10 minutes for the “action”, not 42 minutes as it appears when you pull it up.

  • Ian January 5, 2013 (10:12 am)

    JoAnne, I guess I will end my life-long residence here in WS and forget going to Law School because clearly I am totally behind thug criminals that only do wrong in their lives. Look at the facts of the case, Ocak did nothing wrong. There weren’t any no parking signs, he did not pose a threat to anyone, leaving his car running in not a crime, he didn’t rip off the store; he ran in quickly to return something. I can’t believe you, or anyone, don’t see that the officer is in the wrong here. Go read the 4th Amend. and some Supreme Court cases that deal with this. If not, I am sorry you feel that way JoAnne. I will continue to abide the law, live in WS, and be on the side of those that are innocent.

  • melanie January 5, 2013 (10:43 am)

    That guy did nothing wrong, except park his car in the wrong spot, i’ve been guilty of that myself. Im amazed, total bullies

  • WestsideManor January 5, 2013 (10:44 am)

    I’m a fan generally of the SPD, but the cops were on a fishing expedition here, I don’t see the suspect acting dangerous or inflammatory at all until the one officer forces his face into the trunk and puts his hand near his mouth during the headlock. SPD is going to lose in court on this one. Most people have a reflex reaction to bite /close their mouth when an object is placed in it. The SPD better get the checkbook ready.

  • WestsideManor January 5, 2013 (10:59 am)

    From the DOJ’s March 2011 report, I think we see what they were talking about in this video:
    “… the investigation raised serious concerns that some of SPD’s policies and practices, particularly those related to pedestrian encounters, could result in unlawful discriminatory policing. These practices undermine SPD’s ability to build trust among segments of Seattle’s diverse communities.”

  • Comment January 5, 2013 (11:04 am)

    The only thing more disturbing then the cop in this vid are the comments supporting the cop. The cop was a frickin bully who was looking for any reason to punch the kid. I hope Egan wins and that cop loses his job and becomes a custodian.

  • AIDM January 5, 2013 (11:44 am)

    EdSane is right on… I was planning to express the same sentiment.

    The crux of this lies in the legality of the Terry Stop. EdSane is right that once the officers determined that a crime was not being committed and that no crime was going to imminently be committed, they had no legal basis for giving Isaak orders. At this point they are actually committing assault by touching him at all.

    But it goes further that this! If you pick through the legal precedent for the Terry Stop and Terry Frisk in the state of Washington you will see that the entire Terry Stop was unlawful as it was based on a “hunch” and not based on easily articulated evidence that a crime is in progress or is about to be committed.

    So this really has nothing to do with whether or not Isaak was too excited or how he behaved. He was being illegally detained and assaulted by the SPD and they will certainly loose this civil case. The stink of it is that we the tax payers will pay for these officer’s actions and he likely won’t even be fired due to union protection.

  • Laura January 5, 2013 (11:49 am)

    Not sure punching him in the face was needed, but a human response to getting bit. As for stopping him and verifying his story – thank you officers. I don’t see a need to keep a car running outside of Marshall’s. Its thoughtless of the rest of us, at the least, and suspicious.

  • D January 5, 2013 (12:03 pm)

    Seriously, Comment. I’m totally disturbed by the comments supporting the cops. This is how good lives get ruined. The only laws that were broken here were broken by the cops. I’m also troubled at how easily people can distinguish themselves from Isaac. I wish people were more aware of their rights because, seriously, support for this type of behavior is exactly how we lose them.

  • wetone January 5, 2013 (12:03 pm)

    And you wonder why crime in Seattle is going up and this place is turning into a cesspool of idiots and non productive criminals. From the comments I have read here most you people make me laugh. There was nothing wrong to stop and check why the car was parked and running by a store entrance, as in a grab an dash or robbery set-up.
    Kid is a punk. If our King Co. court systems weren’t so easy on people like this we wouldn’t have these issues. If the system was tougher maybe then these losers and non-productive people would have more respect for the laws and our Cops. Cops will never be able to do their job if idiots like this can treat them so and you people think the way you do. Cops just like any human should be able to treat others as there being treated in these type of cases. Bite me game is on. Just don’t complain if your house gets broken into or your robbed walking down the street or your car ends up missing. Cops can’t do their job because of the way alot of you people think and act.

  • SJoy January 5, 2013 (12:21 pm)

    BOB – really???? I cannot believe the lies that you posted here. Isaac should sue you for slander.

    First and foremost – nobody is saying his parking job was great – yeah he leaned a lesson – don’t park there… We also all learned – you cannot leave your car running. News to me but whatever… And we should all be careful of how many keys we have on our key chain.

    Isaac NEVER gave different addresses. Nor did he not say who the car belonged to. The two comments you made are blatant lies
    “He is a known house prowler”
    “his paraphernalia (I’m talking house prowl”

    BOB – you should be ashamed of yourself for stating such lies…

  • eaglawatch January 5, 2013 (12:28 pm)

    It’s interesting that some of the people defending this depressing behavior by SPD are citing a dramatic increase in crime as justification for it, despite the fact that we’re living in the safest time in the history of mankind.

    But even if the Barbarians are at the gates (they aren’t), don’t you think that four cops might find a better way to spend their time than harassing and bullying some young guy who left his car running on private property? And that now we’re all going to have to pony up because these slackers and sadists were off on their own lark instead of doing the job we hired them to do?

  • Marty January 5, 2013 (12:51 pm)

    If the Gestapo stops you, you must submit to everything and anything they demand. You have no rights once you are considered suspicious. Submit to power and brutality. That’s the message of this video.

  • Ryan c January 5, 2013 (1:24 pm)

    Isaac is a good dude. He frequents my restaurant and has always shown upmost respect to all patrons inside and out. The whole situation should have been handled differently.

  • Biteme January 5, 2013 (3:20 pm)

    @ wetone – Did you even watch the vid or look at the facts of the case before getting up on your soap box and spewing out such an ill-informed comment ?

    Troll along now..

  • Sonoma January 5, 2013 (3:26 pm)

    I am usually very sympathetic toward cops, considering what a tough job they have. However, their behavior here is blatant bullying and harassment. I can’t speak for Isaac’s character, but he is polite and cooperative here. Of course, he shouldn’t have wrapped his mouth around the cop, but believe me, cops can exasperate people to the point where people just lose control – it’s a pure gut reaction.
    Isaac was most likely thinking, “Why won’t these guys stop bugging me? I cooperated, I was reasonable.” And finally, when they shove him down, he snaps. Much as I respect our police officers, I can’t say I blame him!

  • WsEd January 5, 2013 (3:39 pm)

    Has anybody even considered the fact that a car parked by the door of a busy store at holiday time is always going to be investigated. Anybody remember the Oklahoma City bombing. I made a similar mistake in 2002 and the police let me know about it. I didn’t smell like pot and was sober and guess what after about 10 minutes they let me go. They were quite terse and initially I was mad as hell about my “personal” rights until a colleague pointed out that the 200 or so people in the store have a right to live safely and after 2001 I should have known better. Smacking a guy in the face to get him to release your bitten finger hardly qualifies as brutality. The people in this hyper educated lilly white town don’t want to admit that unsavory things happen to ensure our lifestyle. Or did we all quit buying chinese sweatshop products as well. The difference is you never saw the eight year old sewing your $100 jeans but this cop is on video.

  • Tony January 5, 2013 (3:47 pm)

    It appears that there is quite a bit of ‘blaming the victim’ going on here. Or is Issac not a victim in the eyes of the site’s editors until he wins his case in court ? He most certainly isn’t the villain that a number of commenters are trying in vain to portray.

  • Craig January 5, 2013 (4:37 pm)

    Ah, my hand bro! What happened to that cocky attitude you had a minute ago? Good job SPD.

  • Peach January 5, 2013 (4:57 pm)

    I have 12 keys! Uhhhhh does that make me a robber? Car key, club key, front door to condo, front door to unit, storage key, mail key, parents front and back door key, 2 cabin keys, locker key and work front door key.

  • Nick January 5, 2013 (5:30 pm)

    @WsEd – WOW…nail on the head.

  • Doctor Yes January 5, 2013 (5:50 pm)

    Note to cops:

    Stick your hand in a person’s mouth while beating him. Expect to get your pinkie bit.

    Next time, stick your hand in the mouth of a person with no teeth. LOL

  • Marcia January 5, 2013 (5:52 pm)

    OMG! A quick check of the Seattle Municipal Court and Washington Courts websites show that this isn’t the first time our innocent victim has had encounters with the man. Not blaming the victim in any way, of course.

  • detaildevil January 5, 2013 (6:20 pm)

    This is a complete police power trip. What was the threat here that would drive policemen to shove him into the hood? He didn’t have any weapons. They knew who he was. He had no where to go. There were three or four of them. Police shouldn’t escalate something just because they can. The police are the professionals in this situation. They serve the public. They should be reducing the level of anxiety, not driving it higher due to some perception of disrespect on the part of the citizen. It’s not the police’s job to teach a citizen how to behave. For all of you defending the police’s action here: this will not keep you safer. It will cause a loss of respect for the police. It certainly has for me.

  • detaildevil January 5, 2013 (6:40 pm)

    Here’s a quote from the officer’s statement regarding the bite: “When he did, he bit so forcefully that he broke the skin on both sides of my finger through my SPD issued Maxiflex G-Tek gloves. I immediately delivered two closed fist strikes to the right side of his face while simultaneously stating, “Don’t you bite me you son of a bitch.” My strikes had the desired effect and he relinquished his bite.”
    “My strikes had the desired effect…” I think he punched the kid to “teach him a lesson”? Any sub-second bite was long over while the punching continued. The police statement exaggerates the threat and attempts to justify TOTALLY UNNECESSARY force. Again, WHAT THREAT did Ocak pose to three or four armed police officers?

  • linda08 January 5, 2013 (7:32 pm)

    wow I know this guy-totally unnecessary!I have witnessed the police do this to another kid who is 18 years old and he has a case against Seattle Police-honestly these men, these police officers are scaring me into not ever wanting to call police. Very immature, very very strange behavior for police officers-I am ashamed these men are Seattle Police. Hopefully they are brought to justice. Sad Sad video….brings me to tears.

  • Westwood509 January 5, 2013 (9:18 pm)

    I support SPD and their actions at this incident

    People loose site at how safe our city is. That safety comes from the police that protect us. If we continue to criticize and attack the work they do then they will stop doing it. In the end the citizens will suffer.

    Please support the officers that take care of us, and our families

  • Kristin Ladwig January 5, 2013 (9:47 pm)

    I just want to say that I have known Isaac and his entire family for 16 years. He, his sisters, brothers, mother and father are GOOD, hardworking people. This video makes me want to throw up. Isaac is absolutely correct when he says “you guys are bullies.” Assaulting him physically and verbally (“retard”, really?) when these are the people we are supposed to call for “help” no thanks. Seattle police department needs to figure it out. Get their shit together. Go back to the drawing board and train REAL people to serve and protect. This video and whole situation disgusts me. I hope he wins his lawsuit and more cases like this are investigated.

  • pattijo January 5, 2013 (10:25 pm)

    Police are in a no win situation. People call 911 because there is an unoccupied, running vehicle illegally parked. That is no “fishing expedition”, it’s called doing their job. Even if they were “fishing”, isn’t that what we want them to do? Stop and find out what is going on when something just doesn’t look right? Isn’t that how crime is PREVENTED. He bites the officer hard enough to draw blood. Now HE wants money for it?? Disgusting.

  • sigh January 5, 2013 (11:08 pm)

    What the public routinely misses in these video incidents is when an officer is assaulted he is allowed to fight back. Those strikes are part of training. Maybe WSB needs to go to the SPD street skills training to show what they are learning and educate the public on the 1000 different scenarios they could possibly face when dealing with suspects. They are trained to do that to protect their own safety. The other problem here is that he was resisting arrest by not complying by not allowing them to put him in handcuffs. Whether the public thinks its right or wrong they decided to arrest him and he when they did he resisted. That allows them to use the tactics they use to arrest him. Most of the videos look like hell because the suspects freak out and resist. The public seems to want officers to just ease up and let people go. Police work is ugly that is why we pay them to do what they do. Cameras make everyone an armchair quarterback but unfortunately its often at the last 4 seconds of the 4th quarter. Don’t worry the way this city goes he will get paid its all good. But in the meantime lets just keep reading every other story about another stolen car and another burglary. Fun!

  • NC January 5, 2013 (11:13 pm)

    I was telling my 18 year old daughter about this video and how angry and upset it made me and she asked me why I was so surprised that SPD behaved this way. It’s sad that our younger generation can see the blatant racism and bullish behavior of our police. She is a college student now, graduated from Chief Sealth IB program. From the mouths of babes!

  • DTK January 5, 2013 (11:23 pm)

    What is wrong with you people? This is the real world and in the real world you don’t act like a punk to the cops and expect them to pat you on the head and give you a cookie. Resisting and assault on a peace officer is a crime. Wake up!

  • Concerned WSlite January 6, 2013 (12:08 am)

    This is why we need higher authority to police the police. Thank god the Justice Dept is around to investigate and put pressure on local police. This is another instance when I applaud government intervention. These examples of police mistreatment is why conservatives want less government, because then legal criminals (police), wouldnt be allowed to run rough shod on citizens.

  • Concerned WSlite January 6, 2013 (12:16 am)

    They simply could have issued a warning, and he could have been in his way. He didnt need to be handcuffed in the first place. And excessive force was in action before the officer’s finger was bit. Asking a citizen about all the keys on his keyring is excessive. SPD knows this man from his criminal past and in my opinion wanted to instill fear to let him know who the boss is. SPD in West Seattle for years has tried to intimidate teenagers and young adults. Fear breeds Hate, not Respect!

  • Adem Tepedelen January 6, 2013 (1:00 am)

    Total police power trip. It’s all about “comply” no matter what the circumstance. Take some responsibility for a change, SPD.

  • Thomas January 6, 2013 (1:28 am)

    Whoa DTK, everyone has a right to their freedoms as long as they’re not breaking the law. That’s why they’re rights. No police officer ever, ever, ever has the right to act out against someone because of attitude, especially acting out with physical force. This is why there currently are federal monitors on the SPD.

  • DTK January 6, 2013 (4:43 am)

    Thomas –

    An attitude is an expression of favor or disfavor toward a person, place, thing, or event

    An assault is carried out by a threat of bodily harm coupled with an apparent, present ability to cause the harm.

    Attitude is not what got junior a reality check. He knew exactly what he was doing by challenging the cops and he was appropriately put in his place. The biggest crime here is the probable payoff that punk kid and ambulance chaser will receive from me and you.

  • West Seattle Hipster January 6, 2013 (9:41 am)

    Mr. Ocak indeed has been far from a model citizen, a quick check of online records show he has been arrested in the past for theft and assault. While I feel both sides made poor choices during the incident at Westwood Village, I think that Mr. Ocak’s history warranted the police to detain him.

    http://dw.courts.wa.gov/
    http://web1.seattle.gov/courts/cpi/
    Ocak, Isaac
    Defendant King County District I05571757 12-17-2007
    2 Ocak, Isaac
    Defendant King County District 210043436 12-30-2010
    3 Ocak, Isaac
    Defendant King County District 1Z0047429 02-20-2011
    4 Ocak, Isaac
    Defendant Pierce Co District 1Z0308677 05-03-2011
    5 Ocak, Isaac
    Juvenile Respondent King Co Superior Ct 09-8-01545-9 Available 05-05-2009
    6 Ocak, Isaac
    Juvenile Respondent King Co Superior Ct 08-8-02303-8 05-16-2008
    7 Ocak, Isaac
    Juvenile Respondent King Co Superior Ct 06-8-04738-1 11-02-2006
    8 Ocak, Isaac
    Juvenile Respondent King Co Superior Ct 04-8-04184-0 10-19-2004
    9 Ocak, Isaac
    Defendant Pierce Co District 1Z0320889 05-02-2011
    10 Ocak, Isaac
    Defendant Seattle Municipal Ct 578214 05-04-2012

  • Bob January 6, 2013 (12:26 pm)

    SJoy,
    Read below and do a little fact checking before you jump on me and claim that I am blatantly lying. As far as suing me for slander, if it is fact, it is not slander. I should sue you for slander for calling me a blatant liar.

    http://dw.courts.wa.gov/
    http://web1.seattle.gov/courts/cpi/
    Ocak, Isaac
    Defendant King County District I05571757 12-17-2007
    2 Ocak, Isaac
    Defendant King County District 210043436 12-30-2010
    3 Ocak, Isaac
    Defendant King County District 1Z0047429 02-20-2011
    4 Ocak, Isaac
    Defendant Pierce Co District 1Z0308677 05-03-2011
    5 Ocak, Isaac
    Juvenile Respondent King Co Superior Ct 09-8-01545-9 Available 05-05-2009
    6 Ocak, Isaac
    Juvenile Respondent King Co Superior Ct 08-8-02303-8 05-16-2008
    7 Ocak, Isaac
    Juvenile Respondent King Co Superior Ct 06-8-04738-1 11-02-2006
    8 Ocak, Isaac
    Juvenile Respondent King Co Superior Ct 04-8-04184-0 10-19-2004
    9 Ocak, Isaac
    Defendant Pierce Co District 1Z0320889 05-02-2011
    10 Ocak, Isaac
    Defendant Seattle Municipal Ct 578214 05-04-2012

  • wscommuter January 6, 2013 (2:32 pm)

    Sad how ignorant so many posters are here – and mostly I speak of those supporting SPD here.

    I am a former King County prosecutor. Did the police have the right to contact this individual about his idling car? Yes. This is a legitimate exercise of police power. Did the individual cooperate and provide ID, etc.? Yes, he did. At this point, no crime or even a reasonable suspicion of crime occurred.

    The police had no information that anything criminal was occurring – only that a civil infraction (parking illegally) had occurred. All of you defending SPD – please ask yourself – why should a private citizen end up pinned on the police car by three to four officers when that citizen knows he’s done nothing wrong – and the officers have no different information?

    Did the officer have the right to punch this person when he got bitten after he stupidly put his hand near the this person’s mouth? Yes he did. However, I have zero – 0 – zero sympathy for the officer getting bitten. He verbally abused this person, escalated the situation in a completely unnecessary way, and clearly was acting more on testosterone than good judgment. The police are supposed to not give in to such weakness. This was a failure of police work.

    The proof, of course, is that the prosecutor’s office wisely chose not to file Assault 3 (assault on a police officer) because any reasonable person will see that this outcome was easily avoidable if the police had chosen to do a better job. It is sad that they didn’t.

    I find the comments by some who call this person a “punk” or suggesting that this person is a gang member really a sad reflection on our community.

  • semac January 6, 2013 (3:47 pm)

    This situation coud’ve been easily resolved. But this was a pure example of the SPD exercising their authority to an unnecessary degree (trying to find additional reasons to bust this young man) which seems to serve as the catalyst across the nation for minor situations becoming aggressive and violent. The SPD definitely should’ve handled this differently, I can see if this guy stole something from a store and was trying to escape but that wasn’t the case in this situation, he made a simple mistake which, is not really classified as a crime or even traffic violation. This was simply a mall security responsibility. I wonder how this situation would’ve played out if it was a 20 year old white female coming out of the store and back to the car she left idle. I wonder if the Seattle Police Department would’ve treated her like Isaac. I doubt it.

  • Thankful for SPD January 6, 2013 (3:55 pm)

    I am thankful the SW Precinct officers are willing to be proactive and hassle known career criminals. If you are a career criminal then in my eyes your dirt in this society and deserve whatever karma delivers to your door.

    A commenter on this board said that their friend is a “defensive” person. No, he is a professional “defendant” he is the bane of and a drain on this society and the good citizens in it.

    I want my officers to let these criminals know they are being watched. The way I see it the officers did their job, contact dirt, shake their tree and see what falls out.

    Some people on this board try to use the soccer mom defense as in “if it was a woman in a Lexus they would not have done any of that” Your right but a soccer mom would have found a parking spot not in the lane of travel. How many times have I driven around and around looking for a spot to park. It would be easy to do what this criminal did and just park wherever I want and turn on my 4 ways. But I’m not special, why should I park wherever I want? I don’t and good citizens don’t.

    Thank you officers, keep up the good work!

  • Tim January 6, 2013 (6:49 pm)

    I cant believe how foolish the majority of posters are on here. No wonder America is where it is at; we’ve went from being a free nation where until you commit a “CRIME” you are left alone by cops to a nation where insane Americans think that the Police have a right to beat a person for having too many keys on his keychain.

    Seattle is one of the worse police departments in the country and is currently under federal investigation for rights violations. Anyone that actually thinks the officer was justified is not worthy of American freedom.

    I dont believe the officer was bitten. This is a common police tactic. Grab someone by the mouth and claim you are bitten in order to justify a beating. Cops will also pat down aggressively in the groin area to prompt a reflex response, again ‘justifying’ a beat down.

    This dude was “arrested” the second he was not free to go, and unless he committed a “crime” he was arrestd unlawfully.

  • Me January 7, 2013 (12:46 am)

    I want to see the hospital report where the officer went in to get his “injured finger” looked at.
    He stuck it in this person’s mouth just so he could punch him. Any idiot can see that.
    Also, if anyone here believes that the cop really smelled pot in his car and didn’t investigate it, then you need a few life lessons. They just put that crap in the police report (details which can be neither proven nor disproven at this point) to make the victim look bad. And yes, I said victim.
    Even more disturbing is that they took him out of view from the camera and he continued screaming and asking for witnesses. Bullies, jerks, douchebags.

  • Cheers fan January 7, 2013 (12:51 am)

    How are we suppose to teach non violence and respect when are law enforcement shows punching someone in the face and racial profiling are okay things to do? Makes no sense, SPD is really turning into the LAPD.

  • stylinred January 7, 2013 (2:09 am)

    both parties are to blame; the police for being bullies and the civilian for resisting

    seattle or that is washington state police have had a lot of bad press in recent years this isn’t going to help it

  • anonyme January 7, 2013 (7:16 am)

    This was a calculated assault. The first cop interrogated the guy from behind, so his natural inclination would be turn around – thereby removing one hand from the hood of the car. This was no accident, and was used as one flimsy excuse for violence. It’s also disturbing that the cops dragged the guy out of range of the dash cam to escalate the attack. What’s truly outrageous is that the police department unfailingly justifies these actions.

  • WSratsinacage January 7, 2013 (9:30 am)

    The same lawyer is also representing a guy who got punched in the eye after spitting in a cops face.
    .
    Less and less of a law enforcement fan but .. Don’t want to get punched? Don’t spit in a cops face or bite him/her.
    .
    I also hate when people park like that! It is selfish and dangerous.

  • T-Rex January 7, 2013 (9:39 am)

    I am with Bob on this one….

    Now he is looking to make a quick buck. How American.

  • wsmom January 7, 2013 (12:15 pm)

    This cop and those involved should be fired. This could be anyones child, He should have been asked to move and given a ticket. Not harrased and assualted repeatedly. I’m dissapointed in all the people whom you could see walking by and those who did nothing for this poor kid.

    He deserves every dime is he is going to get, He will win. The video shows it all. If this isn’t a bully and harradment I don’t know what is.

    I know several seattle police officers, I know they would never be ok with this behavior. For the most part we have good cops but there are several rotten ones as well.

    I don’t want cops like that out on the streets looking for kids to take there aggression out on.

  • T-Rex January 7, 2013 (3:30 pm)

    With his record, I highly doubt he will get anything except more attention from the Seattle PD.

    When a cop tells you to do something, DO IT. No questions asked. And yes sir and no sir no longer mean a young adult is showing respect. I am sure he does not normally say that to his elders. Loud screaming is common practice with some people to give witnesses the impression they are being hurt.

    I would make the assumption here that all the people who are commenting about bad police behavior have been involved in that experience?

    Just saying….

  • Brin January 7, 2013 (10:34 pm)

    T-Rex. Yup – any time a cop tells you to do something DO IT. And that’s why we have Hitlers, Stalins, Pol Pots, Idi Amins, Saddams, the list is depressingly long. It’s because sheep like you do whatever the despots tell you to do, and then scream bloody murder when they come for you. But by then it’s too late. Not thanks, Pal, I’ll never stop questioning the abuse of power, and keep a close eye on people like you at the same time.

  • Sara January 8, 2013 (12:04 am)

    I noticed a lot of the defendant court dates for Isaac were in 2010/2011. Guessing these are the appearances he had to make in which he was prosecuted for assault in biting this man’s finger.. in which it was DISMISSED.

  • Westside January 8, 2013 (9:49 am)

    Smart thinking Sara… People are so dumb!!! Anybody who is against Isaac is somebody who knows him personally and they’ve been waiting on a chance to trash on him their whole lives. Enjoy it people! Soon you will all go back to hiding in your house and spying out the window.

  • Eric January 8, 2013 (10:18 am)

    This kid’s got a history of school lunch fights who cares?! A person can’t be prejudged all their life because of stupid childhood events..

  • D January 8, 2013 (10:57 am)

    “I would make the assumption here that all the people who are commenting about bad police behavior have been involved in that experience?”

    Yikes. This attitude is so disturbing.

  • All for nothing January 8, 2013 (1:58 pm)

    Funny how the posting is “lawyer-for-west-seattle-man-goes-public-with-video-of-client-BITING-police-officer-then-being-hit-by-him” but video clearly shoes the cop stuck his hand in his mouth felt teeth then hit the kid. Failure by the s.w. precinct next time find someone w no teeth to take your aggression out on

  • WSB January 8, 2013 (4:55 pm)

    Just FYI, we do not allow multiple comments under different names from the same IP. You don’t have to use your real name here, but you do have to stick with one name per thread. Thanks.

  • Boone January 8, 2013 (10:06 pm)

    I am AMAZED at the number of people judging this situation without thinking about it first.

    Officers arrive and see a car idling outside a business. Said business is often robbed, with suspects fleeing into idling vehicles.
    ISAAC does not have contact information for the cars owner, (who is not him).
    ISAAC has TON of keys, which is typical of burglars and car thieves.

    While police are questioning him under (VERY) reasonable suspicion, he continually tried to reach for his keys, which are often used as a make shift weapon, while becoming more and more upset and agitated.
    For the officers safety they “take him to the ground” which is pinning the suspect in order to put cuffs on him.

    Was this man innocent? Yes, he did not steal a car, nor from the business.
    Did he act in the way of most career criminals, and resist arrest after reaching for a weapon? Yes.

    Being a cop means making decisions on the fly and above all, keeping yourself safe. Police work is dirty and awful.

    If they had let him go and it was a stolen car, we’d be commenting about how they don’t do enough.

    Before you cry “bullies” consider the actual situation. It’s really easy to say you would do different when you’re comfortably at your desk, but until you’ve had multiple people try to attack you with keys, sticks, and anything else around, you have NO CLUE how dangerous routine stops like this can be. Police work is extremely stressful, the expectation they should be all smiles and rainbows when dealing with suspicious persons is ludicrous, and frankly- unsafe.

    Next time you’re being robbed, raped, stabbed, or followed by someone shady, remember its a cop putting their safety on the line to help YOU. A cop is the one being deposed and SUED because he thought he was HELPING.

    People are so backwards now, it makes me truly sad.

  • JoAnne January 15, 2013 (8:43 am)

    I wish the people who went to law school would have some common sense just once in a while.
    .
    All our judges and public defenders are lax, and Seattle now has a national reputation for being soft on criminals, so they run here from all different parts of the country.
    .
    It’s a safe haven because our entire legal system has a hug-a-thug mentality and ZERO compassion for victims.

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