Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by DivestSPD

Guy Oron @guyoron.net · 1d

NEW: In the hotly contested Seattle mayoral race, homelessness has become a fault line. Challenger Katie Wilson criticizes incumbent Bruce Harrell’s record, which includes carrying out more than 6,000 sweeps of homeless encampments.
Read my full article in @boltsmag.org:
boltsmag.org/seattle-mayo...

In Seattle Mayoral Race, Tensions Between Crackdown and Compassion on Homelessness - Bolts

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has ramped up sweeps of homeless encampments in his first term. In his reelection bid, he faces a progressive challenger who wants to curb them.

boltsmag.org

5 46 160

Reposted by DivestSPD

Seattle Anarchist Bookfair @seabookfair.bsky.social · 1d

This thread will be for Saturday workshops 🧵

White text on blue background:

Seattle Anarchist Bookfair 2025

Workshop schedule for Saturday the 18th of October

1 6 14

DivestSPD @divestspd.bsky.social · 2d

No. It's just a longstanding police practice at nearly all departments to promote primarily based on civil service exams. It's supposed to be more meritocratic.

1

Reposted by DivestSPD

FICO in tinder bio @notmylinkedin.bsky.social · 2d

I find it absolutely impossible to believe that nobody in the chain of command knew that Mike Tietjen, a vocal bigot they've worked with for decades, is a huge piece of shit with an enormous public record of abuse who is unfit for command.

jseattle @jseattle.bsky.social · 2d

Not much of a pledge but ok

1 3 16

DivestSPD @divestspd.bsky.social · 2d

Tietjen was third on the list, therefore he was “highly qualified”

He’s still a captain. They’ll put him in charge of something else significant. Probably another precinct, maybe citywide response (CRG) because of his military background and history with ACT

6

DivestSPD @divestspd.bsky.social · 2d

They don’t even consider disciplinary history. It’s purely based on officers’ rankings on the exam.

If there are more vacancies than officers on the register, they just promote everyone automatically.

Amy Sundberg @amysundberg.bsky.social · 2d

Quite the embarrassment for SPD, as this suggests they haven't previously been reviewing officers' history before promoting them, which should be a fundamental part of the promotion process.

jseattle @jseattle.bsky.social · 2d

Not much of a pledge but ok

2 8 34

DivestSPD @divestspd.bsky.social · 3d

It's a basic requirement that the captain of the East Precinct must be...a captain. Raguso was an acting captain (with the permanent rank of lieutenant) until the results of the captain's exam were released in August. He failed. Badly.

www.seattle.gov/documents/De...

www.seattle.gov

1 9

DivestSPD @divestspd.bsky.social · 3d

It's also typically lazy of Erica to fill the gaps in her reporting with insinuations that the acting commander Raguso was "quietly removed" despite being a "22-year veteran" and a "fixture at the East Precinct."

He was removed because literally everyone else scored higher on the captain's exam.

1 8

DivestSPD @divestspd.bsky.social · 3d

More receipts showing a pattern going back to 2021.

bsky.app/profile/dive...

DivestSPD @divestspd.bsky.social · Jan 20

Well, now that Erica Barnett has blocked us, we might as well point out that Publicola completely cannibalized a story we broke without crediting us—something she’s always loudly chastising other outlets for.

Note the dates below:

2 15

DivestSPD @divestspd.bsky.social · 3d

This is all putting aside the fact that Erica wouldn’t even have recognized this guy’s name if we hadn’t been regularly blasting it out into the public consciousness for four years straight bsky.app/profile/dive...

DivestSPD @divestspd.bsky.social · Jun 5

During the 2020 protests, Lt. Michael Tietjen racked up the most sustained complaints — including one for driving an SUV onto a sidewalk full of protesters and calling them "cockroaches."

SPD rewarded him with a promotion to watch lieutenant at the North Precinct.

tinyurl.com/MichaelTietjen

EPPs
TETURN
SEATTLE
EST
1869
POLICE
LT. MICHAEL TIETJEN
NORTH PRECINCT
Hired: 2000 Pay (2023): $153,401
• 2007 A wheelchair-bound Black man alleged
Tietjen and his partner planted drugs on him and
beat him. Investigators found inconsistencies in
their story and the video evidence
• 2020 Tietjen was suspended after he ran his
unmarked SUV onto a sidewalk full of protesters
and called them "cockroaches."
• 2020 During the July 25 demo, Tietjen violently
shoved a protester down, causing him to hit his
head on a bus shelter.
LUS ARMY
MICHAEL
TIETJEN
North.
www.divestspd.com

1 1 10

DivestSPD @divestspd.bsky.social · 3d

This is also inaccurate. Erica should've read through our posts more thoroughly when she was raiding them.

Tietjen was supposedly transferred for this incident, but he had been at the North Precinct since Nov 2020 and remained after the case closed. He was promoted a few months later.

1 2 9

DivestSPD @divestspd.bsky.social · 3d

She also used this incident ripped straight off our Twitter feed and then linked to the OPA report that she also lazily obtained from our Twitter feed.

1 2 8

DivestSPD @divestspd.bsky.social · 3d

We even got video of it bsky.app/profile/dive...

DivestSPD @divestspd.bsky.social · Jun 5

Tietjen was also suspended for another incident on July 25, when he violently shoved a protester into a bus shelter. www.seattle.gov/Documents/De...

1 13

DivestSPD @divestspd.bsky.social · 3d

Erica Barnett is always complaining that other outlets use her reporting without credit.

Here she is again using our reporting without credit.

She links to KUOW and every other outlet in this story, but here she links to OPA

We were the only ones to cover this

1 8 41

DivestSPD @divestspd.bsky.social · 3d

We're working on rolling out a series of themed packs, including:

* The Protest Pack (CRG/POET/Protest Task Force Officers)
* The 40% Club (Google "40% of Cops")
* SPD Gone Wild (Cops Getting Drunk & Disorderly)

Stay tuned!

3

DivestSPD @divestspd.bsky.social · 3d

Divesters! The first DivestSPD baseball cards are being delivered.

Quote this post with pictures and the link (tinyurl.com/DivestCards) so everyone can see how cool they are.

Thanks to everyone who bought a pack (or several)!

1 1 8

Reposted by DivestSPD

Stop Surveillance City @stopsurveillance.bsky.social · 5d

SPD works with ICE. ICE just has to claim its for a "criminal" matter

The recent legislation expanding mass surveillance spelled this out: "While the City cooperates with federal immigration authorities in criminal matters, it does not do so in civil immigration matters except as required by law."

Glen Stellmacher @glentalk.bsky.social · 5d

NEW: Seattle Police Prioritizing ICE’s Records Requests Over Citizens’
www.hardpressed-info.com/seattle-poli...

Seattle Police Prioritizing ICE’s Records Requests Over Citizens’

HardPressed

www.hardpressed-info.com

1 12 43

Reposted by DivestSPD

DivestSPD @divestspd.bsky.social · 5d

EXCLUSIVE: Newly obtained bodycam footage from the May 24 bust-up in Cal Anderson shows a Seattle police sergeant beating a protester on the ground

Apparently, the sergeant also fabricated probable cause for the arrest.

Read & subscribe: www.divestspd.com/p/new-may-24...

2 33 65

DivestSPD @divestspd.bsky.social · 5d

We have additional footage and more on the way. Stay tuned.

Support our work.
ko-fi.com/divestspd

12

DivestSPD @divestspd.bsky.social · 5d

Compare this account of the incident to the body camera footage in the second post of this thread. None of it matches what actually happened.

1 13

DivestSPD @divestspd.bsky.social · 5d

Adams used force again a few minutes later as they were prepping the protester to go into the arrest van.

After the protester yelled "Fuck you," he twisted the handcuffs and pushed them up his back, causing him to cry out in pain.

1 7

DivestSPD @divestspd.bsky.social · 5d

Another aspect of Graham: Force must be judged from the perspective of a "hypothetical reasonable officer on the scene."

No need for hypotheticals. There was an officer with Adams, and he didn't use reportable force (much less punch the protester multiple times.

1 1 5

DivestSPD @divestspd.bsky.social · 5d

There was zero justification for this. Per Graham v. Connor, force must be "necessary," meaning there is no "reasonably effective alternative," to achieve a "lawful purpose" (handcuffing)

The alternative was just prying the guy's hands loose (what he ultimately did)

1 1 9

DivestSPD @divestspd.bsky.social · 5d

Sgt. David Adams claimed that a protester "charged" him and attempted to "tackle" him, but it was the other way around.

The man was standing about 10 feet away from where officers were making arrests, and Adams rushed him, threw him down, and started punching him.

1 4 10

DivestSPD @divestspd.bsky.social · 5d

EXCLUSIVE: Newly obtained bodycam footage from the May 24 bust-up in Cal Anderson shows a Seattle police sergeant beating a protester on the ground

Apparently, the sergeant also fabricated probable cause for the arrest.

Read & subscribe: www.divestspd.com/p/new-may-24...

2 33 65