Seattle police have launched an internal investigation into whether department members sought to discourage a media outlet from airing video of an April 17 incident in which two Seattle police officers were caught on video kicking and stomping a Latino man.
The Police Department is already conducting a criminal investigation into the actions of the two officers.
Thursday, the department said its Office of Professional Accountability (OPA) became aware Wednesday of information published by a local media outlet alleging that unidentified department members "tried to exert influence over another media outlet, specifically discouraging that media outlet from disseminating the April 17th video." The OPA conducts the department's internal investigations.
The statement didn't identify either media outlet.
But on Wednesday, The Stranger newspaper published on its website what it described as allegations by a current unidentified employee of KCPQ-TV. The employee said station management complied with requests of "friends at SPD" not to air the footage to preserve the station's long-term working relationship with police.
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Copyright: The Seattle Times
