On Friday SeattleCrime.com found that the suspect in Officer Brenton's murder had no criminal history, but was ticketed in Seattle on October 15th for lack of insurance. It raised a big question of whether that stop could give any clues into the motive behind his deadly rampage.
Yesterday Seattle police released the full video from that stop, depicting all of the interaction between the two George sector officers and the suspect, just six blocks east of the spot where he would open fire on Officers Brenton and Sweeney just two weeks later.
The stop occurred just before 6pm on Thursday, October 15th, when two 2nd-watch officers saw the suspect fail to signal a turn on Jackson Street and driving in an odd way as if he was lost. Note that this was in his green Crown Victoria, possibly an old police cruiser, and not the suspect vehicle from the murder. They followed him down Lake Dell Drive towards the lake, and pulled him over once there was a spot on that narrow road.
The suspect was uncooperative and "a little obnoxious" to officers, refusing to give his phone number and giving backtalk to one officer when she asked him if he needed directions. But other than demonstrating he possibly had an issue with authority, there was nothing to indicate what he was allegedly planning for the coming weeks.
A condensed version of the video is included above (all sections without audio removed), and here is a transcript of the interaction:
Officer 1: "George 03 on Traffic"
Dispatch: "2 George 03"
Officer 1: "35th & E. Alder, east of, 007-YTU"
Dispatch: "35th & E. Alder, just east of, 007-YTU"
Officer 1 (to suspect): "Hey there"
Suspect: "Good afternoon"
Officer 1 (to suspect): "Hey Officer [name redacted], Seattle Police. Just to let you know, I'm video taping you.
Suspect: "OK"
Officer 1: "OK, gotta let you know that"
Dispatch: "3 George 03, your plate is clear and current on a green 2003 Ford 4-door"
Officer 1: "Hey - I stopped you tonight because you failed to use your turn signals back there on 31st and umm Yesler, or Jackson. And then I just saw you driving around, and I'm curious are you lost, or are you looking for something, or can I help you with some directions?"
Suspect: [unintelligble]
Officer 1: "I'd like your license and proof of insurance."
Suspect: "Heres the registration. My license is in my pocket."
Officer 1: "OK, go ahead and go for it please."
Officer 1: "Is this a good address, is 56th Ave South good, or the one on Monroe NE in [unintelligble]?"
Suspect: "On the registration."
Officer 1: "56th Ave South in Tukwila?"
Suspect: "Yeah"
Officer 1: "What's a good phone number for you?"
Suspect: "Why would you like my phone number?"
Officer 1: "Because I asked for it. Do you not want to give it?"
Suspect: "I don't think I want to give you my phone number."
Officer 1: "Alright."
Suspect: [Unintelligble]
Officer 1: "Not a problem."
Suspect: "Really?"
Officer 1: "Tell you what, just sit tight for one second"
Dispatch: "George 03 under control"
Officer 2: "Are you just doing a warning? Was he rude to you?"
Officer 1: "He was a little obnoxious"
Officer 2: "Yeah. He turned his head on the turn [?] So i don't know if he's going to be pleased [unintelligble]"
Officer 1: "He's got an expired insurance card."
Officer 2: "Does he have anything that's current?"
Officer 1: "I didn't ask. It just saw was September '09 he was giving me, he didn't want to give me his phone number, so like then 'I'm done'"
Officer 1: "So, let's just stick with the warning. He doesn't have to like it"
Officer 2: "I was just wondering if he kinda copped an attitude with you. I was trying to be nice, to give him directions, and he was like 'Can I help you?' And I was like 'Well, I just wanted to give you directions if you needed it'"
Officer 1: "Well, yeah, he was zipping around like he was lost, and then he's, so"
Officer 2: "And then I was like 'Do you know where you're going?', and he was like 'Do you know where you're going?' and I was like 'You know what..'. Sorry. That wasn't my suggestion.
Officer 1: "Well you know what, it's typically..."
Officer 2: "I wasn't even coming back here to ..."
Officer 1: "I know"
Officer 2: "But I just thought it was weird, while I was trying to be pleasant, and of course your demeanor was completely nice to him. It was like. "
Officer 2: "Do you have his drivers license available so I can take a peak at it? Thanks"
Officer 1: "Alright sir, so I'm not citing you for not using your turn signal, just a warning for that, as well as you've got to make sure you've got your front license plate, OK? You've got an expired insurance card, so I am giving you a citation for that. Read the back. If you do have it, it's not the $555 fine, it's $25, and you can mail that in."
Suspect: "Have a good day sir"
Yesterday police commanders described this as "a model traffic stop" and one that they'll use as an example in training.
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