Suspected 'thugs' were really Kings County Police
/Sherry Reynolds' good Samaritan effort resulted in her being charged by police
Sherry Reynolds was trying to do the right thing. She saw what appeared to be two thugs beating a homeless man near a Ballard grocery store parking lot. "Stop, I called the police!" she yelled. Their response: "We are the police." That night, she complained about the beating of a handcuffed suspect to the King County Sheriff's Office Internal Investigations Unit. "Stop, I called the police!" she yelled. The cops were never disciplined, but Reynolds was charged with obstructing justice. Several months and several thousand dollars in legal fees later, she was acquitted by a judge who questioned whether the officers were telling the truth. She believes the charge against her was retaliation, an attempt by the officers to cover up their own misconduct. So did the FBI, whose agents investigated the officers' actions and submitted the case for criminal prosecution under federal civil rights law. The Justice Department declined to prosecute. [more]
Sherry Reynolds was trying to do the right thing. She saw what appeared to be two thugs beating a homeless man near a Ballard grocery store parking lot. "Stop, I called the police!" she yelled. Their response: "We are the police." That night, she complained about the beating of a handcuffed suspect to the King County Sheriff's Office Internal Investigations Unit. "Stop, I called the police!" she yelled. The cops were never disciplined, but Reynolds was charged with obstructing justice. Several months and several thousand dollars in legal fees later, she was acquitted by a judge who questioned whether the officers were telling the truth. She believes the charge against her was retaliation, an attempt by the officers to cover up their own misconduct. So did the FBI, whose agents investigated the officers' actions and submitted the case for criminal prosecution under federal civil rights law. The Justice Department declined to prosecute. [more]
