Seattle police officer charged with assault

Published 1:30 am Friday, June 1, 2018

Associated Press

SEATTLE — Prosecutors have charged a Seattle police officer with assault after detectives said he punched a man in the face during an arrest in March.

The Seattle Times reports that 51-year-old Martin Harris has been placed on administrative reassignment. His commanders filed a complaint with the Office of Police Accountability, which referred the case for a criminal investigation. The Seattle City Attorney’s Office filed the fourth-degree assault charge Friday.

According to a police report, Harris and another officer responded to the First United Methodist Church at Second Avenue and Denny Way on March 5, where a 28-year-old man was yelling at passing vehicles. Harris told the man to leave, then grabbed him and punched him twice in the right eye.

Detectives found that Harris did not have probable cause to arrest the man, who spent 15 days in jail before posting $1,000 bail. Investigators said Harris defended punching the man, saying it was necessary because he “believed he was being bitten.”