Sources tell KING 5 a Seattle Police officer could be fired after she was caught on her dash cam accusing a 69-year-old African American man of using a golf club as a weapon. He said he uses the club as his cane.
The head of the Seattle Police Guild has confirmed to KING 5 that officer Cynthia Whitlach was summoned to SPD's human resource office along with guild president Ron Smith on Monday to be told she faces firing for her role in a high profile incident involving a then 69-year-old man on Capitol Hill.
William Wingate was walking about a block from the East Precinct just a little over a year ago when he crossed paths with Whitlach. Much of the incident was recorded on video - what we don't see is Whitlatch's claim that William Wingate swung his golf club at her.
And because of that, the union says it will back Whitlach, and if she is fired after a hearing before Police Chief Kathleen O'Toole the union will appeal.
The officer has been on paid leave pending the outcome of the investigation conducted by the department's Office of Professional Accountability.
Beyond that, Whitlatch came under fire for racially charged Facebook posts following the Michael Brown shooting.
Among other things, the O.P.A. found the officer - hired back in 1997 - was guilty of biased policing and failure to de-escalate the situation.
Wingate, who says he uses the golf club as a cane, has already filed suit against the city and Whitlatch, which has now become a federal case. The officer said race had nothing to do with what happened that July day.
There is no timeline on when that hearing before Chief O'Toole may happen.
