What is the vibe in the break room at the East Precinct above 12th and Pine?
Around the time of the January 6th United States Capitol attack, a “TRUMP 2020” flag hung from the wall. And a mock gravestone for Damarius Butts — a Black 19-year-old killed in a “justified” shooting by Seattle Police — sat on a shelf.
The Seattle Times reported Wednesday on officer body cam video surfaced in the court proceedings around this settled East Precinct chalk graffiti protest case that shows the inappropriate and possibly illegal displays.
“As one of the officers stands to respond to the vandalism report, his body camera sweeps the room, showing the Trump flag, a U.S. flag and a silhouette of a tardigrade — a tiny organism celebrated for being virtually unkillable,” the Seattle Times reports. “The video also captures, on a shelf, a small gray mock tombstone, bearing a clenched black fist, the name Damarius Butts, his age (19) and the date he was killed by officers: April 20, 2017.”
While the Trump flag marks “a possible violation of state law and department policy regulating officers’ involvement in partisan politics while on duty,” the fake tombstone is offensive at a deeper level. “I can’t express how hurtful it was to learn that SPD endorsed joking about the killing of my son by displaying a fake tombstone with his name on it,” Damarius’s mother Ann Butts said in a statement reported by the Times.
The video was recorded only six months after the East Precinct was abandoned and then reestablished during the 2020 protests on Capitol Hill.
The revelation adds to criticism and mistrust of SPD that is especially strong in the East Precinct and the neighborhoods around Capitol Hill in the Central District where issues around social cohesion and police legitimacy have continued to grow. Those issues plus the challenges of the old auto row building it calls home and the logistics of being in the center of the densely populated neighborhood have had some officials looking at alternatives to continuing to house the precinct headquarters at 12th and Pine. Meanwhile, staffing challenges have continued across SPD and in the East Precinct where it now takes more than an hour for a cop to show up for low priority calls.
Investigations identified six SPD officers who attended the January 6th actions in Washington D.C. Two were fired.
The Seattle Community Police Commission has called on Chief Adrian Diaz to answer for the newly revealed video while the Office of Police Accountability announced it has launched an investigation following publication of the video.
Seattle Police said in a statement about the fake gravestone that it has “no reason to believe it was placed as a ‘trophy’ or with any pejorative intent” and added that the Trump flag was removed “long ago.”
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As a long time Capitol Hill resident, not at all surprised. Truly callous to have a mock gravestone for a teenager who was killed, and very unprofessional about the Trump political sign. It really does feel like East Precinct hates the neighborhood and people they “serve and protect.” Hopefully some cops are working hard to make a difference, but this goes a long way toward damaging community goodwill and trust.
“no reason to believe it was placed as a ‘trophy’ or with any pejorative intent”
Of course.
So why do it at all?
Flags represent fealty. Removed incriminating evidence by 1/7/22?
Damarius Butts was committing armed robbery when he fired his weapon at least four times on responding police officers, hitting two of them – one officer was struck in their protective vest and the other was struck in the face where the bullet “ricocheted off his jaw, traveled down his neck and wound up in his chest, where it was removed months later.”
Seriously, WTF is up with the quotation marks around it being a justified police shooting? How much more justified can you get?
If you look the link the post is quoting the article.
Still doesn’t justify having a trophy.
Yeeahhhhh that’s the thing to focus on here and not SPD waving around a trophy for killing a black kid.
Given that he was killed as a result of SHOOTING AT POLICE OFFICERS yes, I think that’s worthy of more focus than the fact that they retained a mock tombstone that was left by protesters.
Yet not surprising at all. There’s no rejoicing when evil is stopped as anymore, it’s turned into “you can’t judge someone by their actions!”
great point! and what’s the point?
The gravestone is untasteful. As far as the Trump flag…would you all be OK with police who displayed Biden/Harris flags? What about a BLM flag? Remember, those are all political, too.
From the story
So no, a Biden flag also wouldn’t be appropriate.
As for BLM, that’s not a political party nor have any candidates run for office treating it as such, so not a partisan political angle there. Police officers around the country including from SPD have kneeled in support of BLM.
This is so messed up. Shame on SPD.
Regardless of their personal feelings we should expect more professionalism and maturity from the police. I’m pretty sure if I had a political flag hanging at work I could expect a conversation with HR and that tombstone is beyond inappropriate.