Replies

Here is another story regarding Seattle's treatment of soldiers:

Police Need Your Help In Capturing Beating Suspects

August 25, 2005

By KOMO Staff

SEATTLE - Two soldiers who just returned from a year in Iraq were badly beaten in an attack outside Pioneer Square. But believe it or not, someone caught the beating on videotape. Now, police are asking for your help identifying the suspects.

The brutality of it all was captured on tape outside of Larry's Nightclub on First and Yesler on July 31.

Police say the victims were with two women who'd been groped by the suspects. One of the women threw a hot dog at the suspects and walked away.

They didn't get very far. The three suspects ran after them and began attacking the two men -- two soldiers who'd come home from the war.

The graphic videotape shows both victims getting beaten over and over again, and then after one of the victims loses consciousness, a suspect starts stomping on his head.

Now police want your help in catching these guys.

"We consider them very dangerous," said Seattle Police Officer Sean Whitcomb.

After not getting any leads, Seattle police have just released this tape to the media even though it happened over three weeks ago.

But clubs and businesses we spoke with wonder why police waited for almost a month before making the tape public.

KOMO 4 News spoke with Larry Culp, the co-owner of Larry's, who was in Vancouver, B.C. Thursday. He told us there are several things that really disturb him. He said if police believe it happened at his club, why didn't they contact him until Thursday? And why didn't they ask for tapes from the two cameras he has outside the building?

Culp says he talked with police when he installed the camera, and they knew they were there. And the department should have known the tape is recycled every six days.

But Whitcomb says they tapes they do have are paying off, adding since the release of the video Wednesday night, police have received several relevant tips. While he declined to elaborate, he did say police believe arrests will come "sooner rather than later."

If you know who these suspects are, or have any information in the case, you're asked to call Seattle Police.

Both victims suffered broken jaws, while one suffered a broken arm and both had other broken bones and several bruises.

Here's some closer photos of the three suspects, along with one who is just a witness but police want to find and talk to:

http://www.komotv.com/stories/38738.htm