document: Feds Investigate Seattle Police for Possible Excessive Use of Force By Nathan Koppel We tend to think of Seattle in stereotypical ways : earthy , mellow , panoramic , rainy . But it 's not all Patagonia and lattes out there , as the news yesterday about the Justice Department 's investigation of Seattle police would indicate . The DOJ is looking into a possible pattern of the SPD using excessive force and discriminating against minorities , Justice announced here yesterday . At issue in the federal investigation are several high-profile incidents involving police violence . Last April , a detective was videotaped kicking a Latino robbery suspect and stating that he would beat the '' `` Mexican piss '' '' out of the suspect ; In June , an officer was videotaped punching a 17-year-old African American girl who protested the arrest of a friend for jaywalking ; and , In August , police shot a Native American woodcarver after he faied to drop his carving knife . -LRB- Click here for a Seattle Post-Intelligencer article on the investigation and here 's one from the LA Times . -RRB- Seattle Police Chief John Diaz told the Seattle Times that he welcomes the DOJ investigation and considers it like a '' `` free audit . '' '' '' `` We have nothing to hide , '' '' he said . '' `` We 've been open and transparent with the Department of Justice , which makes for a good working relationship . '' '' On a separate and lighter note , we would like to point out that our own Ashby Jones , who currently is on vacation , has first-hand experience with the mean streets of Seattle . Earlier this year , Jones followed modern-day superhero Phoenix Jones -LRB- pictured below -RRB- , as Phoenix patrolled Seattle in a black-and-gold costume in search of drug dealers and other miscreants . It 's a little hard to explain , but we invite you to read Ashby 's page one story about his brush with superheroes .
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