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posted
10/27/08 05:38 PM
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updated
10/29/08 04:44 PM
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Crime
Prob. Officer Arrested After Helping CD Youth
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Ms. Gaston
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While I am outraged at how the young man and even moreso the probation officer was treated I question why this is a matter of race? Maybe it is, but this part of the story does not make it seem so. Can anyone clarify?
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Comment by
notbob
October 27, 2008
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RE: Ms. Gaston
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Police probably would not have stopped the young man in the first place if he had not been black.
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Comment by
carolyn
October 27, 2008
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Shoplifting
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Uh, something's not right with this story. Did the kid have a receipt for his clothes? Whether you use money or voucher, you ALWAYS get one. What was the kid doing at the Sears long after the parole officer had helped him there?
I'd like to hear the police side of this story. And please, don't anyone call me racist, as has happened. I'm black and have had my own problems with the police. |
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Comment by
Jack
October 28, 2008
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The way I understand it
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The clothes were bought for the youth by the parole officer. He wouldn't necessarily have had the receipt on him. He was stopped for jaywalking. He was nowhere near Sears -- he was near his school, where the officer dropped him off.
I have never in my 47 years been stopped by the police and asked for a receipt on the street for purchases in a shopping bag. Nor would I expect to be. That would be beyond outrageous. Even if I were jaywalking (and I did get a jaywalking ticket once), why would a police officer suspect I might have stolen my purchase? Jaywalking is not unusual. Why on earth should I have to show a receipt? Why would they have a right even to look in my bag? I would never expect to spend the night in detention for jaywalking and being "lippy" -- or talking back to a police officer. My goodness, this environment does NOT sound at all healthy for young people. |
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Comment by
Noemie Maxwell
October 28, 2008
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RE: The way I understand it
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I completely agree with Noemi. That is exactly the point. I, too, have jaywalked several times (oops) and even when there has been an officer that saw me. Never once have I had anything other than a "don't do it next time". This story is completely outrageous.
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Comment by
Kathleen
October 28, 2008
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Receipt doesn't matter
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Jack,
He wasn't near the Sears. 23rd & Jackson is a long way from any Sears. Also, it does not matter whether he had a receipt. If Sears had reported stolen merchandise along with a description of the boy, then police would have had probable cause to stop him. Nonetheless, this story is about the parole officer being arrested for assault, which really has nothing to do with whether the police had a reason to stop and question to boy. From the sounds of it, the police had no right to look in the bag, but that's irrelevant to Ms. Gaston's defense. I expect that charges against her will be dropped. |
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Comment by
Mike
October 28, 2008
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the REALITY
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Comment by
Realist
October 28, 2008
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Arraignment
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I actually went to Municipal Court this morning to attend this arraignment. I was there for the entire session (various shoplifting, assault, and prostitution cases), and the case never came up, although it was posted on the docket outside the courtroom. Apparently it was somehow handled out of court but was not dismissed. Anybody know any further info about this?
By the way, this "Part II" of this episode would never have happened if the boy had not been stopped, apparently without probable cause, in the first place. |
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Comment by
carolyn
October 28, 2008
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RE: Arraignment
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Wow that's really great. I couldn't miss work. I really want to know who the officer is. Seems like communication skills retraining is in order?
I'm also upset at the impact that, a kid straigtens up, and gets to spend the night in jail. |
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Comment by
ktkeller
October 28, 2008
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Attorney?
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I would hope that the ACLU would get involved in this. If in fact this is a case of racial profiling, it shouldn't be swept under the carpet by a judge (if that is the case), a hearing officer, or anyone else. Also juveniles can get an Avocate through Family Services. Any attorney worth his/her salt should be able to bring the cogent facts about the police tactics in this case. Furthermore, Ms. Gaston and the ACLU have an opportunity to show the public the outrageous response of some officers. New reports of Police excesses happen on schedule...seem to blow in with El Nino, or some such other enigmatic schedule.
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Comment by
CWolf
October 28, 2008
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a little perspective
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OK, I was going to stay out of this conversation, but there are a couple of points that need to be brought up.
First, I would implore the readers of this fine blog to not devolve into Seattle PI-esque knee-jerk reactions. I've been reading this forum for a while and I'm continually impressed with the compassion, rationality, and genuine caring that is emoted through many posters’ writings. A couple misconceptions have been put out there by various sources that are being taken as truth, which have not been corroborated. Some misconceptions are outright, purposely deceptive. I need to make some mundane corrections to some of the preconceptions that are out there. They may seem like minor, inconsequential points at first, but they are important if you follow along with me. ***Probation vs. Parole...Adult vs. Juvenile*** There's a difference. Probation Officers work with either adjudicated or pre-adjudicated offenders that are not incarcerated (either jail or prison - I assume most know the difference between the two). Parole Officers monitor freed inmates AFTER they get out. Yvette Gaston is NOT a parole officer, she is a ***Juvenile Probation Counselor (JPC)***, and she has not been a JPC for 12 years. I was a JPC for 5 years, and haven't been there for almost three. Gaston was hired after I left. Doesn't add up to 12 years by my humble math. For King County, JPCs are "officers of the court", meaning that they fall under the auspices of the King County Superior Court Judges. JPCs are not Law Enforcement. They hold not commission, limited commission, have no authority to... read more |
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Comment by
eyes open
October 29, 2008
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probation v parole -- the environment for young people in Seattle
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The error in confusing probation and parole is mine -- from my title in the original Washblog story (where I've now corrected it with an update.) I appreciate that correction and am embarrassed that I made the mistake. Assuming that "a little perspective's" note on when Ms. Gaston began with JPC is correct, the discrepancy would only, again, be in my title. The article describes Ms. Gaston as a juvenile counselor for approximately 12 years and doesn't specify what employers she's had during that time.
The start of "A Little Perspective's" long comment, characterizing other people's words as "Seattle PI-esque knee-jerk" indicate that this is likely to be a person with an ideological perspective. And so I view his or her comments, which are largely assertion and speculation without documentation (or sharing of his or her real name), with more skepticism than I otherwise would. Seattle is a tense place when it comes to law enforcement and race. When I first came to this city in 1989, one of the first things I saw was an incident where a crowd of young people on the street were yelling and throwing things and the police were responding. I thought these were race riots -- as the youth looked to be all black and the cops looked to be all white. I soon learned this was in protest against the police dept.s response to a 3-page letter that Bill Wald, a member of the board of the Police Guild and a Seattle police officer had written to King County Executive, Ron Sims. In the letter, Wald, a 24-year veteran of the force, told Sims that blacks are genetically inferior, lazy and... read more |
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Comment by
Noemie Maxwell
October 29, 2008
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Good post Noeime...
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I appreciate the candor in which you write. I apologize for not using my real name, however I'd like to keep my anononymity as intact as possible, especially on an online blog. I began working with juveniles (minorities in particular) in 1992, because, like you seem to, believe that there are systemic problems with out justice system. I believe it best to walk the talk and work within the system to try to change it for the better, rather than pontificate and wring my hands form the sidelines. Iv'e seen the inherent racism within the system, and it does exist, I can tell you that with a certainty as a minority working within it. However, with King County especially (and I've worked in different cities and states), there is a systemic and cultural reverse racism in place - one that specifically targets minorities and young black men in particular.
There is a fine line between enabling and empowering our youth; what I've seen over and over with juvenile court is an overemphasis on meeting required grant-funding outcomes instead of real progress and development with probationer's lives and world views. I've also seen counselors and judges set limits and refuse to enforce them over and over and over again because the ADULT "feels badly" about holding a kid accountable, ESPECIALLY when it comes to minority youths - it makes the stats look bad when kids of color lose their deferred dispositions, or get sent back to secure detention for probation violations. This overemphasis on making the numbers fit and in many cases, completely enabling continued anti-social behavior in repeat... read more |
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Comment by
eyes open
October 29, 2008
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