For example, on April 17 there was a report of a robbery near Northgate. The cops walked around until they found some Latino guys, then they cuffed and stuffed them. And, while they were at it, one of the officers put his boot into the head of one of the guys while another stomped on the back of the guys leg. Know what the guy did? Nothing. Know the only reason we know about it? Somebody video taped it and then sent it to TWO televisions stations (the first sat on it).

One isolated incident doesn’t a pattern make. But ask any criminal lawyer in the city and they’ll tell you this isn’t an isolated incident, particularly the part about walking up to people who only fit the description of a suspect because they are the race of the reported suspect (and sometimes not even that). This isn’t going to change no matter who is hired as police chief. It’s a cultural thing.

There will be a lot of news and reporting in the next few weeks and months about the hiring of this police chief. There will be open houses, and public forums and all kinds of things like that. People will feel like they’ve been heard. A police chief will be hired, and everything will stay the same. Good for business as a criminal defense attorney. Bad for everyone else.

Let me set the scene for you a little bit if I can. This video, which I’ll insert below, is of a Seattle gang unit stopping four hispanic guys up around the Northgate area. It turns out there was a robbery or something several blocks away and the witnesses identified the robbers as hispanic looking. Doing great cop work, the cops just drove around until they found someone.

Now, when the cops approached these guys they didn’t run away, they didn’t resist, the didn’t do anything. What do they get for cooperating? A couple of racial insults, a boot to the head, and a boot to the back. Thanks.

Here’s the video:

I wish this was an isolated event, but it happens all the time.

I’m a criminal lawyer, so I’m a little biased, but I’ll give credit where credit is due. The mayor, shortly after this incident, said he was disturbed by the video and wants to see changes (though I bet the officer isn’t even fired over this). We’ll see what happens, as the cop’s union official seemed to see things a different way.

I’m paraphrasing here, but to sum up what the union official said, it was basically, we didn’t get to see everything that happened before the video, which probably explains what happened. No apology, no acknowledgment that maybe the cop stepped over the line. Nothing.

In the end, the guy was released. He wasn’t involved in any wrong doing. At least he stands the chance of getting a decent check out of the whole deal.

Everyone in the United States probably has at least a vague notion of what the Miranda warnings are. They come from a case called Arizona v. Miranda. Yep, Miranda was an actual person (how’d you like to have your name known to everyone?). He was interrogated by the cops for a ridiculously long time and never told he had certain Constitutional rights, that, had he known about, may have saved him from the interrogation.

You see cops in TV shows spouting the Miranda warnings all the time. They are basically, “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you to send you to jail. You have the right to an attorney. If you can’t afford an attorney, we’ll make one available to you.” Four small sentences, but possible the most four powerful sentences out there, particularly if you find yourself in the cross hairs of the law.

And every criminal attorney wishes their clients understood the implications of Miranda. See, Miranda doesn’t apply all the time. It only applies when you are being custodially interrogated. This means when you are not free to leave. Legally, then, when the cops come up to you on the street or stop and in your car and ask you if you have drugs, they are not interrogating you. They are simply making conversation (I know that sounds dumb, but that’s how the courts see it).

This means, as I intimated at the beginning of the article, you should not talk to the cops at any time. If they start asking you questions, tell them, politely, that you won’t be answering your questions. When they get pissed, tell them you’ll answer all their questions, after you talk to a Seattle criminal attorney. They aren’t going to like it, but there isn’t much they can do about it. So, remember, Miranda is there to help you, but all you need to remember is one simple rule – don’t talk to the cops.