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An internal investigation by the Seattle Police Department found an officer violated department policy when he initially dismissed a racial bias complaint filed by an Asian American teacher.
The Northwest Asian Weekly reports the Office of Police Accountability found both the officer and his supervisor failed to respond properly to the incident.
As AsAmNews reported back in May, Kert Lin called 911 after he reported a trucker yelled “Ch*nk open your eyes. Go back to China.”
Just weeks earlier, then Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best announced a new policy directing officers to investigate all racial bias complaints. Lin says that’s not what happened in his case.
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“Officer Jones responded and said no crime was committed, that man was exercising his first amendment rights. No law broken, no report taken,” said Lin to AsAmNews back in May.
Lin subsequently received an apology from Chief Best.
“The Bias Crime Coordinator confirmed that NE#1 should have completed a report and was trained to do so. He said that the then-Deputy Chief also indicated that this incident was not handled correctly,” the OPA report said, according to Northwest Asian Weekly.
The responding officer received a written reprimand and the supervising sergeant resigned prior to any action that might have been taken against him.
Lin expressed to AsAmNews back in May support for the internal investigation.
“I want to say that ultimately, my interest is in protecting our community,” he said. “We as a community are perceived as outsiders. And with all of this, and for me personally, I was in my community and yet I felt like an outsider because of the response of the Seattle Police Department, Home Depot, bystanders and security.”
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