Off-duty officer being investigated for Ballard brawl

Geeky Swedes Ballard

A Seattle police officer is being investigated for allegedly assaulting another person during a bar fight in Ballard last year. According to the Seattle Police Department, the Office of Professional Accountability (OPA) received a complaint of misconduct by an off-duty police officer that occurred in the early hours of December 12. Two days later the unnamed officer was administratively reassigned. Since then the OPA has referred the matter for internal criminal investigation.

You can read the SPD account of what happened that night here.

  • Seattle Times: Seattle police officer faces criminal probe in brawl outside Ballard bar

    • Geeky Swedes

    The founders of My Ballard

    32 thoughts to “Off-duty officer being investigated for Ballard brawl”

    3. So an off-duty cop gets his jacket stolen and then attacked from behind by three thugs as he tries to get his coat back. Then he’s on the ground getting kicked in the head while the on-duty officer responding to the scene tries to break up the melee. Up to this point sounds like the cop was being as about as professional as he could be, and it’s not working out to well for him. Can’t really say I blame him if he took a shot at one of the thugs when he was finally cuffed, even a trained LFE can only withstand so much abuse.

    4. There seems to be two very different accounts of the event leading up to the head kicking.
      1. The cop had his jacket stolen, then was attacked by a gang of jacket thieves.
      2. The drunk attacked a woman who mistakenly picked up his jacket while picking up the pile of her friends coats. Three good samaritans intervened when they saw a drunk dude roughing up a girl. The drunk dude then pulled a gun and badge.
      Either way, cops aren’t supposed to kick suspects in the head while they are handcuffed. Also, isn’t it illegal to bring a gun into a bar? Even for off duty cops?

    5. The real catalyst here is the BalMar. They way over serve more than any other bar on Ballard Ave. By far. I can walk outside my apartment at closing time and totally drunk mean young people just stream out of this place. Small fights, people pissing in my door way, most of that comes from inside the BalMar. Folks coming out of other taverns are buzzed, sure, but they seem well behaved for the most part. The people coming out of the BalMar are just totally poopfaced and have the common sense of a three year old. We are also having huge problems with their music being so loud my roommate said the walls were shaking. Contacting the owner does no good at all, blaming bad acoustics instead of waking up and realizing people actually live next door and simply turning it down. Last Saturday nite I walked out and stood in front of the Sunset Tavern where a live band was playing and could hear the BalMars bass over the live band. If its that loud then dont you think the people next door might have a problem? I been in this same building for a long long time, since there was a typewriter shop in the spot the BalMar is now, and ever since they opened this corner has gone downhill fast. We don’t have the drunks and noise problems from the Smoke Shop, The Matador, The Sunset or The Peoples Pub, they are all good neighbors. I would love to see the BalMar close, or at least change into a venue that respects the neighborhood.

      Im thinking about taking my neighborhood back and documenting some of this and sending it to the Liquor Board. Since I cant sleep because of their music, I might as well do something constructive.

    9. You are a bitter asshole. Do I hang at the balmar often? Nope. Occassionly mid week when it’s mellow….but never on the weekends. But do I blame them for all the drunk jerks? Maybe some sure but if you think that comes out of one bar? Think again. The smokeshop and matador all have plenty of drunk jerks as do kings, the Ballard loft, and any other place that holds more then 40 people. I live on the street too, just further down, and almost every night people coming out of the loft or tractor or hat ties or kings or anywhere and are loud and obnoxious. That’s part of living on Ballard ave these days. The neighborhood is changing, like it or not. But I don’t threaten these business that provide jobs. I deal or I’ll move. It used be all brothels and fist fighting sailors. If you don’t like it you can move.

    11. Excuse the big ol’ cut and paste, but the KOMO news story paints a very different picture:

      But according to a witness, the situation began inside the nightclub where Haynes and his friend tried to chat up the group of women she was with.

      “They were a little too tipsy. They both had a little too much to drink, because they’re being a little too touchy-feely with some of the girls,” she said.

      The women decided to leave when the bar became too crowded, the witness said, and gathered their jackets.

      “I asked my sister (to) grab my jacket, reach across the table and grab all the coats off our table. Because it was our table – it was reserved – and all the stuff is ours, you know,” she said.

      While the women were smoking outside, Haynes came charging at one of them, the witness said.

      “My sister was approached by this gentleman, and he said, ‘You have my jacket,'” the woman said. “My sister was like, ‘Oh, sorry … Some of my friends were still in the bathroom … I thought it was their (my friends’) jacket, I apologize. Here’s your jacket.”

      But that wasn’t the end of the situation, said the witness, as the man came back and accused her sister of stealing his jacket. He wouldn’t let up even when she explained she’d made an honest mistake, she said.

      “He was like, ‘Nope, you stole my jacket. You stole my jacket. I’m a police officer. I’m arresting you,”‘ the witness said. “And we all look at him – including his buddy, the guy that was with him – and we’re all like, ‘Dude, just let it go. It’s not a big deal.’

      “You can tell at that point that he’s belligerently drunk because he reeked of alcohol, and he was talking like he was belligerent drunk.”

      The situation intensified when the man grabbed her sister’s arm and began pulling her, the witness said. When several of their male friends interfered, the witness said the man pulled out a police badge and a gun.

      “And then the guy grabs his badge, opens his shirt, shows his badge and unbuckles the thing for his gun. Then (he) puts his hand on his gun and pulls it out, and puts it back in,” she said. “And this guy’s grabbing onto my sister. My sister had a bruise on her arm the next day. This guy was holding onto her for his dear life.”

      The struggle had migrated to the middle of an intersection when three men appeared out of nowhere, the witness said.

      “(They) start telling the cop to let her go, let her go,” she said. “He wasn’t having it. All of a sudden all hell breaks loose. It’s pouring rain out. Before I know it, I look behind me and these guys and the officer are fighting. And it was a full-on brawl.”

      According to the statement, two of the men attacked Haynes, punching and kicking him, while the third attacked the officer’s friend. The three men claim they only attacked because they thought the woman needed help.

      “They saw somebody they thought was in trouble. They attempted to help or intervene,” said Clary’s attorney, Tim Leary.

      But it’s what happened after on-duty officers arrived and subdued the situation that landed Haynes at the center of a criminal investigation.

      “Jake was doing what he was supposed to be doing, which was complying once uniformed officers arrived following their commands,” said Leary. “(The) officer came up, and the video speaks for itself.”

      In a written statement, Seattle police said, “As the investigation commenced, the off-duty officer made physical contact with one of the three handcuffed subjects. The investigating officers prevented any further contact between the off-duty officer and his assailants.”

    15. Not to step to the defense of hipsters, but I think you conflate them with another stereotypical but also polar opposite demographic.

      Let me point out that you’d be 110% more likely to see said hipsters at a ballard music venue or dive bar rather than this insipid little corner of Ballard, BalMar, which so happens overrun with what can correctly be categorized as insufferably boorish douchetards and also the bubble-headed bimbos that come along in tow.

      I hope this clears things up.

    16. No no sir, he would have to be half deaf, listening to music, minding his own business, and carrying a retracted pocket knife to get shot in this town….We have rules here…..wait…

    17. LOL. Yep, pretty much you mess with my sleep and I am a bitter asshole. Thats bottom line. I need to move because the BalMar cant be decent neighbors? I dont think so!! Follow the law, and keep your music out of my bedroom and you wont have a problem with me.

    21. If you value your sleep so much then why do you live in the middle of a nightlife district? You sound like the kind of guy that would live above a bowling alley and go downstairs every night and complain to the manager about the noise.

    23. Dude, WTF are you thinking? I cant value my sleep and live where I want? You need to read the noise laws for Seattle. I have every right to live here and not have someone elses music in my bedroom. I live next to the Sunset Tavern too, and do not hear the live music from them in my bedroom. I dont live over a bowling alley, so that point is just freaking stupid. I live in the same building I have lived in for 16 years and I plan on staying and raising a fit when my rights are trampled on. If that make me a bitter asshole then nice to meet you. Deal with me.

    25. Sure, but I’ll also take the word of a drunk off duty cop who kicked a handcuffed person in the head with a whole shaker of salt, some pepper, and a dash of paprika.

    26. That’s what I thought at first, too!

      But then I get more details, and find out how this first account is, uh, tilted in preference… (incomplete and innaccurate). SPG below highlights quite a bit of this.

      I’m watching and waiting before making judgment. Not all the cards are on the table yet.

    28. I think joelabel makes a great point. You live in the middle of a nightlife district. If it’s not one thing I’m sure it’s another with you. Have you tried earplugs?

    31. Neither the cops nor the hippies are likely to apprehend the criminals, but at least the hippies won’t kick you in the head while you’re handcuffed.

      Just kidding! I actually have nothing but good things to say about most of the cops I interact with, but there’s not enough of them and the psycho PTSD bullies seem to be really making the job harder for the rest of them.

    32. Oh, landscape landscape architect. Thats sure an important job!! Actually I gave up being a crier when I was about 3. Right now I am a Phlebotomist. Maybe someday you will be needing my services. I can only hope.

    Leave a Reply