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Woman says she accidentally kicked SPD cop who hit her
A day after Seattle police revealed that an officer was under criminal investigation over his use of force, a South Seattle woman said Friday the officer punched her in the face after she accidentally kicked him while being placed in the back of a patrol car.
A day after Seattle police revealed that an officer was under criminal investigation over his use of force, a 23-year-old South Seattle woman said Friday the officer punched her in the face after she accidentally kicked him while being placed in the back of a patrol car.
Miyekko Durden-Bosley, who was arrested early Sunday, said she was lying face down and handcuffed when, while trying to adjust her position, her foot moved upward and hit the officer in the chin.
In response, the officer pulled her up and punched her in the face, fracturing two bones and leaving her with a swollen black eye, Durden-Bosley said in an interview with The Seattle Times.
“I was in a lot of pain,” Durden-Bosley said.
The officer, Adley E. Shepherd, 38, has been relieved of duty and placed on paid leave while the matter is investigated, the Police Department said Thursday.
Police did not release Shepherd’s name, but sources confirmed he is the subject of the investigation the Washington State Patrol has taken over at the request of Seattle police. The incident was captured on digital patrol-car video and initially reviewed by Police Department investigators.
Although police have not described details of where the camera was positioned, the department said that, based on the video, additional investigation was warranted.
Police said the incident stemmed from a domestic-violence call in the South Precinct, during which a woman and the officer were injured.
The woman was not identified, but Durden-Bosley contacted The Times on Friday, providing a detailed account of the incident and medical records showing she was treated at Harborview Medical Center.
A police report on the incident — which dealt new Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole her first major test — has not been released and won’t be disclosed while the matter is under investigation, a State Patrol spokesman said.
Police declined Friday to comment on Durden-Bosley’s account.
Durden-Bosley, who was held in jail for four days before being released without being charged, said she and the father of her 3-year-old daughter got into an argument at a friend’s house in South Seattle while drinking late Saturday night.
When he drove away to his mother’s home nearby, she said, she walked to the home because she was concerned about his welfare, particularly after he drove away after drinking.
He was sitting in front of the house and officers were there when she arrived, Durden-Bosley said, unsure of who called police and why.
The father of her daughter said Friday that his mother called police, but that he was not sure what she reported.
Shepherd walked over and said police were investigating a domestic-violence call, Durden-Bosley said. Durden-Bosley said she explained there had been a “verbal argument” at a different location.
Shepherd responded in a “sarcastic and rude” manner without listening to her, Durden-Bosley said.
Shepherd did not ask her if there had been a physical conflict, according to Durden-Bosley.
“He just kept saying, ‘Well we got called for a domestic dispute’ ” and “someone has to go to jail,” Durden-Bosley said.
Under state law and Seattle Police Department policy, officers are required to arrest and book into jail a person suspected of committing domestic violence.
Shepherd was suspended for 10 days after a 2009 incident in which he and a sergeant released a domestic-violence suspect who returned home and killed his roommate. The sergeant also was disciplined.
Durden-Bosley said Shepherd handcuffed her and put her face down in the back of a patrol car.
As she fell in, she said, she hit her chin on a hard middle part of the seats.
When she reacted to her fall and tried to adjust herself, she said, she kicked her leg up without realizing the officer was behind her.
“So I guess my foot made contact with his chin,” she said. “And when that happened, he grabs me, pulls me out of the cop car, punches me in my eye and then puts me back in the cop car.”
He implied she was resisting arrest and had kicked him, Durden-Bosley said.
Shepherd closed the door, leaving her dazed and bleeding with her right eye swollen shut, she said.
Eventually, another officer removed her from the car, and medics took her to Harborview Medical Center for treatment, she said.
Durden-Bosley said she was told she suffered two fractures, although a medical document she was given lists her diagnosis as an orbital wall fracture.
Durden-Bosley said she was given stitches and told by a doctor to return in a few weeks to have her eye checked, she said.
A Seattle police investigator questioned her at the hospital, saying he wanted to hear her version of events, Durden-Bosley said.
After being treated, Durden-Bosley was booked Sunday into the King County Jail for investigation of assault on an officer and held until Wednesday, when she was released without charges.
Durden-Bosley said she has missed work at a Seattle electronics store and that her injuries made her unable to return because she has to deal with customers.
She said she had been previously accused of resisting arrest over a fare violation on the Sound Transit light rail in 2011.
Court records show Durden-Bosley was charged with resisting arrest, possession of a dangerous weapon and failing to pay the fare, but ultimately paid only a $124 fine related to the fare violation under a plea deal. In addition, an assault charge possibly related to the case apparently was dismissed.
