SEATTLE — Seattle police are investigating an alleged bias incident, and the conduct of an officer responding to the call also faces scrutiny.
Kert Lin called 911 last Tuesday after he went to the Home Depot in Seattle’s SODO neighborhood. He said as he turned in the parking lot, a man in a landscaping truck yelled at him out the window.
“As I drove by, they yelled out their window, 'C**** open your eyes, go back to China,'” Lin said. “Obviously I was disturbed by that.”
He said the vehicle followed him into the parking lot, so he took pictures of it and the man inside.
“He claimed to be the owner of the company, that there was nothing I could do, and he repeated his racial taunts,” Lin said.
He says while on the phone with 911, the man tried to goad him out of his car before entering the store. He expressed frustration with the company’s response.
“They were just welcomed into the Home Depot,” he said.
But he’s more focused on what he says the responding Seattle police officer did. He described the officer asking if he’d been threatened with direct physical violence or if he felt he was in danger. He answered no, reasoning he had stayed inside his car.
“So he said it sounds like there’s no crime, sounds like this man was exercising his First Amendment rights, regardless of what he says and how you feel about it he’s allowed to say that because of the First Amendment,” Lin recalled.
He said he left that encounter thinking no report would be filed. He left dissatisfied with the police response.
“Absolutely not,” Lin said. “I was not satisfied with anything at any level of society – bystanders, employees, security, corporate, city servants – all of them. Everything at every level of society this was ignored. It was accepted, and it’s not acceptable.”
He posted about it on social media where it drew department leadership’s attention. Lin says Police Chief Carmen Best called him to apologize, and he did hear from a detective.
Sunday, Seattle Police posted a statement about the incident on their blotter. SPD said the bias incident was noted in a general offense report and forwarded to the bias crimes coordinator for investigation.
“In light of community concerns regarding the police response at the scene, SPD has forwarded the case to the Office of Police Accountability for further review,” SPD wrote. “The Seattle Police Department remains committed to documenting and investigating all incidents involving bias. Anyone who feels they have been victimized should call 911.”
Lin said he wants the department to hold itself accountable for this response. As for the man accused of making these remarks – he writes it off, believing his mind won’t be changed.
“However, the police department is meant to serve us,” he said. “And I do expect them to do their job the right way. And so I really want the focus to be on the department’s response.”