Elderly Man Arrested For Using Golf Club as Walking Aid

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An elderly black man was arrested in Seattle while he was using his golf club as a cane. The Seattle Police Department is reviewing the conduct of the officer who had made the arrest. Her online history shows that she had previously characterized the Ferguson unrest as “chronic black racism.”

The Seattle PD were also nice enough to release the dashboard-camera footage of the encounter that had led to the arrest. Also caught on film was the delusional ranting of one female police officer.

“You swung that golf club at me when I turned the corner at 11th and Pike,” Officer Cynthia Whitlatch said to 70-year-old William Wingate as she arrested him.

This “club-swinging” does not make an appearance in the 20-minute video, which starts out with Whitlatch yelling several times at Wingate to drop the golf club. She had even called it a “weapon” at one point. Wingate points out that he had been “walking with this golf club for 20 years.”

The video below had been procured by The Stranger via public records request.

“You just swung that golf club at me!” Whitlatch said in the video, proving that the she was either lying or more senile than any elderly people in the video. The man had moved the club very slightly in a non-provocative manner prior to her accusations , but her interpretation of this non-event leads us to the obvious elephant in the room: how exactly are officers trained to identify provocation, and more importantly, what form of non-provocative stick-shaking would have resulted in the use of deadly force? The sheer number of police brutality/execution cases should be enough to make us sit up and take this question seriously, particularly for cases where footage is not available.

Wingate is an Air Force veteran and has no criminal history. He was arrested and jailed, according to KIRO.

“I was scared,”  KIRO reported Wingate as saying “I didn’t know what was going to happen to me. I knew one thing—I was being framed.”

“I know one thing,” the retired bus driver and 20-year military veteran said. “I’m a black man walking down the street doing nothing and I got stopped and went to jail by a white police officer.”

He has filed a claim with the City of Seattle, asking for damages of more than $750,000.

“Mr. Wingate’s physicians and family members and friend will attest to the emotional distress caused by the racial profiling, arrest, and incarceration of this man, whose only crime was ‘walking in Seattle while black,’” part of the claim reads.

The Seattle police for their part have apologized and dropped the unlawful use of a weapon charge.

“The Mayor believes that these incidents are unfortunate and disappointing,” according to The Stranger, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray’s communications director Viet Shelton was quoted as saying.

“He supports [Police] Chief [Kathleen] O’Toole’s decision to call for a comprehensive review of the overall conduct and performance of the officer involved.”

O’Toole announced the review of Officer Whitlatch Wednesday.

Whitlatch is also one of the Seattle PD officers who had filed a federal lawsuit against the use of force polices of the city according to KIRO.

According to the Seattle Police, a complaint over the arrest had also been filed with the Office of Professional Accountability.

“The officer who made the arrest received counseling from her supervisor, a course of action that the department believes to be an appropriate resolution,” said the Seattle Police Department in a statement.

Whitlatch has not been disciplined for behavior in the past, Seattle police said, claiming that there was no racial profiling involved in the arrest of Wingate.

“He should feel confident walking with a golf club in hand anywhere near the East Precinct,” spokesperson Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said. “He should absolutely not be concerned.”

Whitlatch had earlier commented on Facebook, calling the Ferguson civil unrest that had been prompted by the shooting of an unarmed black teenager “chronic black racism”.

“I am tired of black peoples [sic] paranoia that white people are out to get them,” she wrote. “I am tired of hearing a black racist tell me the only reason they are being contacted is because they are black solely because I am NOT black.”

To be fair, she makes a valid point in that many other minorities and homeless do suffer from prejudice, ironically often also meted out by her department.

Seattle PD is also under fire for not filing charges against an officer who had punched a handcuffed black woman as well as wanton pepper spray usage on a crowd that had been marching through the city on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, according to two RT reports.         

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14 COMMENTS

  1. This “officer” needs to go. The last thing we need are authoritarian types to enforce laws. This became, “you’re going to do what I tell you or else”. pffft

    • THE POLICE, WAS JUST DOING HER CHRISTIAN DUTY
      The Christian Black Codes of 1724
      Article 12
      We forbid slaves to carry offensive weapons or heavy sticks under the penalty of being whipped, and of having said weapons confiscated for the benefit of the person seizing the same. An exception is made in favor of those slaves who are hunting or are shooting for their masters, and who carry with them a written permission to that effect, or are bring designated by some known mark or badge.

  2. I am more than willing to bet an upside down golf club makes a perfect ergonomic cane to an arthritic hand. Removing race from the man or the officer, sorry lady….you come off as an authoritarian psycho. The gent should market that cane design…and you should look for a less stressful job.

    • What point is she making??? He is using something he probably picked up on the cheap. Old used golf clubs cost less than used canes do at Goodwill (I know because I shop there myself). Since WHEN is making do and using what you have to work with a crime?????

  3. this “cop” should be fired.she is a disgrace to any “decent” cop out there and carries on that “fine” american tradtion of targeting black people going about there legal lawful biesness!bunch of loonies and nutters!

  4. One of the most infuriating things is cops making up charges to justify their mistakes. They commit a crime and then LIE to charge you with one. Godspeed, Anonymous!

  5. she says something when she gets him up against the car at 4:15 that he swung his golf club at her at another location somewhere (11th and 9th). any information on prior interaction between this officer and this guy? was she called to find him or did she just stop when she saw him? a lot of unanswered questions. if you support this website than you support being completely informed. making judgments prior to all of the facts being revealed is backwards. she could be a rotten apple. not saying that all cops are saints, but i need a little more info before i call for her badge

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