OFFICER THREATENS TO MAKE UP EVIDENCE AFTER ARREST OF INNOCENT MEN

SEATTLE — A Seattle police officer has been caught on tape talking about “making up” evidence while two wrongly arrested men sit in jail. It’s the latest shocker uncovered by a KOMO 4 Problem Solver investigation into the Seattle Police Department’s vanishing dashcam videos. Josh Lawson and Christopher Franklin filed a claim against the city Monday for excessive force and wrongful arrest. The two were arrested at gunpoint on November 16, 2010 and said the incident changed their lives forever. “I thought I was gonna die,” Lawson said about that night. Franklin said it was “the most terrifying thing I’ve ever experienced.” Both men said they suffered facial bruises and swelling after one was kicked and the other man-handled into the pavement while being arrested. But then listen to what an officer says on an audio recording after he takes the two to holding cells: “Well, you’re going to jail for robbery that’s all.” You then hear Franklin ask, “for robbery?” And the officer responds, “Yeah, I’m gonna make stuff up.” Franklin believed him. “He showed me that he has the power to do whatever he wanted that night,” he said. “He has a badge, and all we can do is nothing.” We watched the partial video of their arrest together with Lawson and Franklin. Neither man has a criminal record and they were not charged with anything after the arrest. They both work full-time and go to school. But the night of their arrest they were in the neighborhood near Seattle Center, several blocks <b>…</b>

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *