Posted on 02/27/2009 5:39:58 PM PST by microgood
SEATTLE - A security video released Friday shows a King County sheriff's deputy purportedly shoving and kicking a 15-year-old girl in a holding cell after her arrest.
The security video was obtained by KOMO News under the state Open Records Act.
The deputy, Paul Schene, 31, has been charged with fourth-degree assault in connection with the Nov. 29 incident in a holding cell at SeaTac City Hall. Schene pleaded not guilty to the charge Thursday, and he was released on his own recognizance.
According to court records, Schene and another deputy arrested a pair of 15-year-old girls for investigation of auto theft after they were stopped driving a stolen car.
The girls were taken to the holding facility at SeaTac City Hall for fingerprinting and other processing.
Trouble allegedly began after Schene escorted one of the teens into a holding cell. While trying to take her shoes off, the girl kicked off her left shoe, which struck the deputy in the shin, the document said.
The video shows the girl crossing her arms and kicking off her shoe through the doorway of the cell. The video then shows the deputy's violent response. (Watch the video clip.)
Court records say Schene kicked the teen in the upper thigh area, then pushed her into the back wall before taking her down on the floor and putting her in a handcuffing position. Once on the floor, Schene grabbed the teen's hair and yanked her head and neck upward, the document said.
With the help of the other deputy, Schene then handcuffed the teen, the document said. While doing so, Schene appeared to strike the teen twice overhead, investigators noted. However, due to the angle of the camera, they could not determine whether the deputy had actually hit the teen.
The document states teen then began complaining about not being able to breathe. She later told investigators she was pulled up to her feet by her hair and taken back to the regular holding area. Medics were called to tend to her, but she was not taken to the hospital.
Both girls were booked into the Youth Center on auto theft charges. One of the girls was also booked for assault for allegedly assaulting the deputy.
Schene's attorney, Anne Bremner, released a statement Friday in response to the video's release. The statement said:
"We had argued strenuously that the video tape released to the media this morning not be released because it does not tell the whole story of the incident. As we argued to the judge, it will inflame public opinion and will severely impact the deputy's right to a fair trial. We will defend this misdemeanor case in court. No story can be sliced so thin that it does not have two sides. We hope that judgment will be reserved until all the facts of this case are given fair consideration in court."
On Dec. 1, the detective assigned to the auto theft and assault case checked the security video as part of her follow-up investigation. She saw the holding cell video and immediately notified her supervisor.
An investigation then began, and the accused deputy, an 8-year veteran of the force, was placed on paid administrative leave the following day. He currently remains on leave.
Sgt. John Urquhart said the surveillance video shows Schene "using more force that was necessary as far as the prosecutor's office is concerned. And as far as we're concerned, that rises up to the level of an assault."
Schene said the teen had become enraged when she found out she was going to be booked into the Youth Center, the document said.
The teen told detectives she had not meant to hit the deputy with her shoe, and said she never resisted arrest. She also said the incident left a bruise on her right hip, as well as scratches on her arm and neck.
The second teen later told investigators her friend and Schene had been "arguing at each other" since the traffic stop.
The second deputy said the alleged victim was "real lippy," calling the deputies names and "basically trying to piss us off."
Schene refused to explain why he had made the two strikes toward the teen in the holding cell since he and his partner appeared to have the teen under control. He also refused to say whether the strikes actually made contact.
Now that the criminal investigation is complete, the sheriff's Internal Investigations Unit will launch its own probe. The result will determine discipline, which could include termination.
The officer here lost his head and forgot he was dealing with a 15 yr old girl. Does anyone think it would look as bad if the perp had been a 15 yr old male gang banger? I almost got tazed once by a Miami Cop because I poked his partner in the chest with my finger to make a point during a traffic stop. He didn't charge me with assault...but my lawyer said I should have thanked him for not doing so. Except for the age of the perp, I'm pretty sure what the cop did was legal. Thoughtless and foolish perhaps...but legal.
That sissy cop should be fired. So some punk girl gets “lippy” and rotten creep beats her up. He’s no good.
The poor guy hadn’t had a dog to shoot for a long time.
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I usually give the cop the benefit of a doubt but this cop is done.
In that neck of the woods it gets pretty crowded under those bridges.
A picture may be worth 10,000 words but there are no words here. Where is the sound? What provoked the policeman’s behavior? I’m sure the sweet little thing would never provoke that response. sarc/. Stolen car? Where are the parents? Could it be she may be just a young punk? Yeah, it could be my daughter too, if it was, TS, you get what you deserve when you mess with crime. She could have kicked her shoe at the cop and said something like “Stick this up your a__ A__hole.” I would think something like that would make a cop irate. There is more here than meets the eye or ear. I will not rush to judgment until all is presented.
Then,
A. What person would be ‘attracted’ to that environment.
B. What person would stay in that environment.
So, if it is the case, then there should be a three year max at a cop job, because either you are sick to do it, or like the sickness, or it would make you sick.
Right?
“What the young lady did by kicking her shoe at the officer would be considered assault on on officer here...”
I don’t know since I’ve never been locked up. Perhaps you do... Do the ask you to give up your shoes when they put you in a cell? I have heard they take your belt.
I understand his frustration with a 15 yr. old snotty girl, but he went WAY too far. Okay, he charged her (scaring the daylights out of her) but slammed her head against the wall. Once she’s face down on the floor with 2 MEN on top of her, there was no need for him to punch her in the head twice. I don’t care how much her mouth may have been running. (which I doubt by that point)
This guy needs to spend 10 minutes in a room with 6’8” ‘Bubba’ for some ‘sensitivity’ training.
I’ve been locked up more than a few times and have never seen such bad behavior from a cop. That goes for cops facing far more threatening people.
I like the tactical head punches, followed by the forehead slam to the concrete by the 220lb officer.
Very professional.
No doubt will be studied for masterful execution of innovative restraint techniques for decades.
By the way, bartenders, emergency staff, shrinks deal with drunks, liars and scum on a daily bases. They( the scum ) aren’t too bright and fairly easy to handle, even with out a gun and a badge.
Wow.
What a tough cop. Those 15 YO girls can be scary.
Like how the jackboots charged her with assault.
Nice touch.
They deal with the worst of life all the time. It takes a conscious effort on their part to keep it from shading all of their relationships. Sadly, they seldom get the opportunity my son did to see themselves in action when there's still time to change their attitude.
Just one person's personal observation.
If King Count fires this guy, he should easily be able to find employment with the sheriff’s department of a number of Florida counties.
Reference bump!
I would not last a month.
Ditto. I would have shot Rodney King and I would have belted this bimbo. That doesn't mean that I think anything goes with police, but before I judge them I reflect on how unsuited I would be for the work.
I dont know since Ive never been locked up.
I wouldn't know. I imagine they probably take anything that can be used as a weapon or anything that can be used to harm ones self with. I wouldn't know jail booking policy...but I do know a little law. In Fl., if you put your hands on a police officer in commission of his duties, there are several charges he can hit you with. This cop should have shut the cell door and charged her with the crime. His anger got the better of him and now he may lose an 8 year career. The kid only claimed to have gotten a couple of scratches and a bruise so it most certainly looks worse then it actually was. If his intent had been to injure her don't you think she would have gotten seriously injured.
>>>here should be a three year max at a cop job, because either you are sick to do it, or like the sickness, or it would make you sick.<<<
That includes lawyers and judges, I would hope.
And hey, how about criminals, too.
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