Cop Punches Woman On Face In Seattle
By Priyanka Roy Chowdhury, Gaea News NetworkThursday, June 17, 2010
SEATTLE (GaeaTimes.com)- The Monday incident of a Seattle cop punching a woman has created a great furor among common people and Civil Rights groups who are now condemning the act of Ian P. Walsh. The cell phone video of the cop punching a 17-year-old woman who tried to intervene while the Seattle police officer was trying to cite another girl for jaywalking has been circulating over the Web since Monday. The video shows the girl reeling backward holding her face after being punched on her face by the cop.
In the wake of the incident, Police Chief John Diaz has reportedly ordered a review of the police department’s training procedures and taught tactics. Nick Metz, the Acting deputy police chief said that the action of the cop punching woman would be investigated by the Office of Professional Accountability, a civilian led office. However, he also added that the women involved in the case bear as much responsibility for the act as they tried to resist and intervene with the work of the police.
Ian P. Walsh, the cop who punched the woman, has been transferred temporarily to the training unit of the department reportedly. The cop’s action on the other hand is being supported by the Seattle Police union. According to the union the cop’s action is justified as the video shows that he was being surrounded by a growing group of people. According to them the police officer feared his own safety and used the force to get the situation under control. Richard O’Neill the president of the Seattle Police officer’s guild said that if the police did not use force chances were there that “this could have been a tragedy”.
