SEATTLE — The Washington state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has filed a complaint with the Seattle Office of Police Accountability regarding an incident in February in which the Seattle Police Department (SPD) allegedly responded with excessive force to a false report against two Black Muslim women.
CAIR is a chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization.
On Feb. 4, a 28-year-old woman and her 20-year-old sister were parking in a downtown Seattle garage when another car followed closely and honked aggressively, CAIR said.
After they parked, the driver of the other car reportedly verbally accosted them at their car and again at the garage elevator. Both women are Black and Muslim, and one wears a head covering.
“When the sisters returned to their car after eating lunch, they were confronted by several SPD officers pointing flashlights and guns at them. They were handcuffed, and the officers tackled one of the women, causing injuries that led her to seek emergency medical attention,” CAIR said in a press release.
The women learned that the driver of the other car had reported to police that one of woman had called him a derogatory slur and threatened him with a gun.
CAIR said security footage showed that the women did not have a gun.
“In addition to neglecting to use de-escalation tactics and using excessive force, SPD did not appropriately identify and document the potential bias against the two women. Had the officers identified the swatting incident, which was intended to draw police interaction and intimidate innocent individuals, they could have also identified the element of bias in the caller’s targeting of Black and Muslim women,” the suit said.
KIRO 7 has reached out to OPA for comment and is waiting to hear back.
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