The Iron Lung, Number 15, July 1996
by David A. Kulczyk
Nothing puts a bee in my helmet more than a police officer that does not do his job in a courteous and professional manner. When Tracy Taylor collided with a car that illegally turned in front of her, the police officer at the scene failed to check the driver for proof of insurance, which she did not have. Of course the driver was a suit, a city employee. She must be all right. Why check to see if she even has a driver’s license? Unfortunately, that's how some of our more simple minded police officers think.
I had had enough. Those of you that know me, know that I can be an outright, stubborn prick, especially when injustice is involved. Must have been all those Superman and Batman comic books I read as a kid. When I got assaulted last summer, I reported the officer in charge to Internal Investigations and although it took six months and four letters, I finally got the suit who hit me charged with assault. He is currently grinding through the slow-moving gears of our justice system.
After Tracy’s experience, (thank goodness that she’s recovered) I thought, fuck this, I'm calling Councilperson Jane Noland . Noland is in charge of Public Safety and has her eyes set on the mayor’s office. I discussed the matter with Councilperson Noland's assistant, who asked me to write a report about Police Harassment of Seattle’s Bicycle Messengers. may have asked you, comrade, if you had ever been needlessly harassed by a Seattle police officer. The results were, yes, just about every messenger who has been on the job for a year or more has been needlessly harassed by the SPD. I took the ten worse incidents wrote down the facts and delivered the report to Councilperson Noland’s office.
A couple of weeks later, I received a letter from the police chief’s office informing me that they had copy of the report forwarded to therm from Councilperson Noland’s office and that a representative of the SPD will be in touch with me soon. Shortly afterwards I got a telephone call from Lt. Belshay, commander of the SPD’s Motorcycle Unit. We made an appointment to meet at the Public Safety Building on June 5th.
Our meeting lasted an hour. Lt. Belshay listened to me without defending the actions of his officers. He told me that he knows bad cops out there and nobody wants to get rid of them more than he does. The Lieutenant informed me that the only way they can find out who the bad cops are, is by the number of complaints that they receive about them. If a police officer has a pattern of complaints, they can drum him out. We must, he emphasized, report improper police conduct.. He told me to inform the city’s messengers the following:
1. If you feel that a police officer has acted in an unprofessional manner, get his name, badge number, and if you can, his serial number. It is against the law for a Seattle police officer to deny you that information. If he absolutely refuses, get his patrol car or motorcycle number. All police cars have the number on their roof.
2. Call the Precinct Commander (Downtown is in the west precinct, ph. - 684-8917) and inform them of what happened.
3. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, write a letter or call Internal Investigations (Dexter Horton Bld. - ph# 684-8797) and report the incident to them. Make sure that you get the name of the officer that you've spoken to. When I called back a week after I reported an officer to internal investigations, there was no record of my report. It went into the round file, better known as the trash can.
4. The Police has instituted its annual summer crackdown of automobile, bicycles, and jaywalkers. So be careful out there, the grand prize for the officer who gives out the most tickets is a 1/4 ownership of a doughnut shop in White Center.
If any of you noble messengers get mistreated by the Seattle Police, please contact me. If you need help in writing a Formal Police Complaint, I'll do it for you. It has been my experience that reporting the abusive officer to his immediate supervisor is like shitting in the shower. It doesn't do anyone any good.
Report the officer to Internal Investigations.
I believe that Lt. Belshay is sincere about improving relationships with the Bicycle Messengers of Seattle and I also believe that he truly dislikes bad police officers. Hey, it's a start and only time will tell if the SPD will live up to its word.
Seattle Police Department
Norman H. Stamper, Chief of Police
Norman B. Rice, Mayor
June 6, 1996
David A. Kulczyk
P.O. Box 144
Seattle, WA, 98111-0144
Dear Mr. Kulczyk,
I have received a copy of your letter to Councilmember Jane Noland outlining negative contacts you and other bike messengers have had with some members of the police department. I understand that you have met with Lieutenant Richard Belshay regarding these issues, and that this meeting allowed for a better understanding and appreciation for how bike messengers and police might work together.
Lieutenant Belshay tells me that he explained the procedure for filing a formal complaint through our Internal Investigations Section, but that he also suggested starting the process with the offending officer's immediate supervisor. Often the minor complaints can be quickly resolved at this level to the satisfaction of all parties involved. I would add that improprieties committed by our officers will not be tolerated, and will dealt with appropriately.
Your letter and your meeting with Lieutenant Belshay are of value to us in analyzing what additional roll call training might useful to our officers. The article you wrote for the Downtown Source titled, "Don't shoot me I'm only the messenger", has been photocopied and distributed to the Traffic Unit and West Precinct roll call boards. The article will be read and discussed at roll calls,
I appreciate your taking the time to meet with Lieutenant Belshay. He provided you with his telephone number, as well as numbers to the West Precinct and Internal Investigations. Please feel free to contact Lieutenant Belshay or supervisors at any of the numbers if there is anything the police department can do to assist you.
Sincerely,
Norman Stamper
Chief of Police
(signed by)
Assistant Chief John Pirak
Operations Bureau Commander
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