Re: “SPD illegally searched trunk after driver says he was stopped due to race, judge rules” [Aug. 7, Local News]:
The report on yet another instance of Seattle police officers pulling guns on a Black driver for a minor traffic infraction raises a number of troubling questions.
The officer misread the driver’s license plate. Is reading comprehension a qualification for Seattle police? Are they offered training in how to read seven-character text? This is not the first time we’ve heard about erroneous reports of a car license.
Why does the police chief decline to develop a policy on how to conduct “high-risk vehicle stops”?
Is the Seattle Police Department really ready to drive unsupervised — by the federal courts? This incident is yet one more example showing that court oversight should not be terminated.
Why does the city attorney’s office continue to defend police violations of the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches? This is high school civics stuff, and the city’s lawyers need to take that class again.
Finally, will Seattle’s citizens ever get tired of self-inflicted seven-figure verdicts against the city for civil rights violations? If so, let’s hear it, from voters and our elected City Council. We are the ones who will pay the bill, and we should want the police to obey the law, and the Constitution.
Roger Lippman, Seattle