Bill
08-14-2023, 6:03pm
https://www.masslive.com/news/2023/08/northampton-cop-who-tackled-60-year-old-woman-got-training-but-no-punishment.html?outputType=amp
Northampton cop who tackled 60-year-old woman got training, but no punishment
Updated: Aug. 11, 2023, 11:33 a.m.|Published: Aug. 09, 2023, 6:22 p.m.
Northampton Arrest
Holyoke resident Marisol Driouech is forced out of her car during the course of a vehicle stop with Northampton police. This video was supplied by Driouech's attorney, Dana Goldblatt.
By
Dave Eisenstadter | [email protected]
Editor’s note: The video below contains coarse language and a forceful arrest. The text of the story contains descriptions of that arrest.
______________
The situation escalated quickly, and that was one of the big problems, according to Northampton’s Chief of Police Jody Kasper.
On April 4, shortly before midnight, Northampton Police Officer John Sellew pulled over a vehicle driven by Marisol Driouech, 60, of Holyoke. He noticed she had a headlight out.
What happened next is shown in a video first published by the Shoestring, which MassLive obtained and reviewed. MassLive received permission to publish the video below from Driouech through her attorney.
After Sellew identifies himself as a Northampton police officer and asks for Driouech’s license and registration, Driouech, whose first language is not English, repeatedly tells him she doesn’t understand. At one point she tells Sellew she wants the police there. As Sellew raises his voice, Driouech says, “no me grites” — “don’t scream at me” in Spanish.
Over the course of two minutes from when he begins speaking with her, Sellew starts yelling and eventually begins to pull Driouech out of the car.
“No me toques,” Driouech says in Spanish — “Don’t touch me.”
“Get out of your (expletive) vehicle,” Sellew yells as he pulls at her and she screams. He eventually takes her to the ground.
“Someone help me,” Driouech screams from the ground and continues to scream as a second police car arrives. The second officer, Jonathan Bartlett, emerges from the police car and jumps in to assist Sellew and sprays Driouech twice with pepper spray.
Both officers handcuff Driouech and Bartlett pulls her up and leads her to a police cruiser as she asks them repeatedly “clean my eyes.”
Police charged her with assault and battery attempt to disarm a police officer, assault and battery on a police officer, resisting arrest and refusing to identify herself to a police officer.
All of those charges were dropped by the District Attorney’s office, leaving Driouech with just a $35 fine for a lights violation, which she paid, according to court documents.
Read more: Doubts raised that Eric Suher’s Northampton venues will reopen by deadline
Reached Wednesday, Northwestern District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Laurie Loisel provided a statement to MassLive:
“After reviewing the evidence in the case, and consulting with the Police Department, the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office concluded that dismissal of the criminal charges, and a responsible finding with a fine on the civil motor vehicle violation, was in the best interests of justice.”
Loading video
A legal claim is likely coming soon
Driouech was taken to the hospital for her injuries, according to the police report, and will likely present a claim to the city, according to her attorney, Dana Goldblatt.
The incident led to Sellew, the primary officer involved, being assigned to remedial communication training, according to Kasper. But an investigation into the use of force, conducted by an outside firm, concluded that Sellew’s actions were “reasonable and proportionate” considering all factors, and charges of misuse of force were not sustained, Kasper said.
Goldblatt said that was unacceptable.
“The police have concluded this is a reasonable and proportionate response to a 60-year-old woman, who does not immediately understand the questions asked of her,” Goldblatt said. “My belief is it is not. I do not believe that is how I want to treat people in the world, and I don’t want the police, who are funded with my tax dollars, to do that to people.”
Goldblatt said she plans to present a legal claim to the city on Driouech’s behalf within the next two weeks. The city will then have six months to respond, she said.
Read more: Here’s why Northampton’s new superintendent thinks many schools have lost their way
She hopes it leads to a change in behavior by officers in Northampton’s police department.
“It is the first time they’ve done that to a little old lady on camera and that might change people’s minds, but I don’t know,” she said.
Goldblatt said she has perceived Northampton as more physically aggressive in its police behavior than other Hampshire County departments based on her review of police videos. But she also said physically aggressive responses pass as standard policing, and believes that there should be less policing in order to reduce the number of these violent encounters.
Northampton also disproportionately uses force on Black and Brown individuals, Goldblatt said.
Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra issued a statement to MassLive regarding the incident on Wednesday.
“As mayor of Northampton, I expect the Northampton Police Department to conduct themselves with respect and professionalism. While an internal and an outside independent investigation found no violations in the April 4 stop, it is clear to me that a slower, more considered interaction and more effective communication could have avoided the escalation of the situation. I was very concerned to see the situation escalate to such a degree on the video and strongly disagree with how the officer handled it.”
Sciarra continued that she thanked Kasper for her “prompt and thorough action” to review and investigate the incident as well as the shift commander for reporting the event.
“I am grateful that there was WatchGuard cruiser video that recorded the stop and allowed for a visual review and documentation of the interaction,” she said.
What Northampton’s chief had to say
Kasper was clear that she disagreed with Sellew’s handling of the incident.
“This should not have happened,” Kasper said Wednesday. “Our community expects and deserves that we meet certain professional standards and in this case we did not meet those standards.”
Kasper, who had reviewed the video, said that any reasonable person watching the video could see that Sellew should have spoken more slowly and tried to slow down the pace of the conversation. She said Sellew was speaking quickly and failed to adequately respond to Driouech’s questions.
“Had the officer slowed down and made sure her questions were answered roadside, that would have been the first step he should have taken,” Kasper said. “The second step, if he felt he was not able to communicate effectively, is he should have called for a Spanish-speaking officer.”
A Spanish-speaking officer did eventually speak to Driouech, Kasper said, but it was after Sellew’s confrontation with her.
Northampton has Spanish-speaking officers, and they are available to interpret when needed, but it is not something that is requested every day or even every week, Kasper said.
Northampton police review use of force and have a system in place to correct behavior of officers involved when they fail to meet professional standards, Kasper said.
“The very morning after this, the shift commander brought this incident to our attention and we had him (Sellew) attend remedial training with defensive tactics,” Kasper said, adding that during the months of June and July Sellew also had to attend training in verbal de-escalation.
Later, on June 12, Northampton police received a community complaint about the incident, which initiated an investigation for which police hired an outside firm — Comprehensive Investigations and Consulting.
The investigation concluded on July 26 with the finding that Sellew’s use of force was “reasonable and proportionate” considering the totality of events, Kasper said. The investigator was Daniel Bennett, a former secretary of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security and former first assistant district attorney in Worcester County.
That is why Sellew did not face any discipline.
“I’ve already received some people sharing their thoughts on Officer Sellew and what actions we should take,” Kasper said. “In this case we do not have allegations that were sustained, so in order for disciplinary action to be taken, we need to have sustained charges against one of our members.”
MassLive has requested the full investigation report into Sellew’s actions.
Kasper said Northampton police try to be open with their data, particularly about use of force. She said there are about 60 to 80 instances of use of force reported each year, the majority of which are fairly minor. She also said the department worked hard to have a dashboard camera program as an important tool to determine appropriate use of force.
The officer’s perspective
Sellew did not respond to requests for comment, but did provide a two-page narrative police report of what happened from his perspective in court documents.
Sellew writes in the police report that he saw the car with the headlight out and followed, putting on his lights to initiate a stop while the vehicle continued for what Sellew said was a quarter mile.
In the video, Driouech can be seen continuing to drive for about 30 seconds after Sellew’s lights are engaged. Sellew says he identified himself as a Northampton police officer.
“Having identified myself I began to inform Marisol the reason for pulling her over,” Sellew wrote in the report. “She interrupted my explanation by saying, ‘What?’”
Sellew said Driouech told him she was making a food delivery and that she wasn’t sure where she was going. He said he told her she had failed to stop for a police officer and said he asked repeatedly for her license and registration.
“She stared blankly at me then stated she pulled over,” he wrote. “She again refused to even responded (sic) to the request. At this point she began to get agitated and started to refuse to comply with all requests for her license and registration. I began to ask if she was refusing to identify herself, and again order her to to (sic) produce her license and registration. She continued to not produce a license and she began to talk louder than I (sic). I immediately requested additional units to my location.”
In the video, it isn’t clear that Driouech understands the requests, but she does say “no me grites” — “don’t shout at me” in Spanish — when he loudly asks for her documents.
Sellew said in the police report that he gave her one last chance to produce her license, which is when she told him “You no police officer.” He said he saw her start to roll up the window and move her hand in a way he thought meant she was going to drive away.
“I immediately grabbed the door handle of the vehicle and opened it, again ordering her out of the vehicle 2 more times. I reached in, unlocked her seatbelt, and began to pull Marisol out of her vehicle,” he wrote.
He said she resisted by holding on to the car, and also that she removed his baton from its holster.
“The baton can cause serious bodily harm if struck in the head or neck. I realized that with Marisol in possession of my baton I had the ability to utilize strikes or possibly lethal force. However, due to her size, I believed that I could subdue her using takedown techniques until additional units arrived,” he wrote.
In the video during this time, Driouech can be heard screaming for help. It is clear from the video how much smaller Driouech is than any of the officers that interact with her.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fukx4TrVs4g
Really the only way to justify this is if she's illegal :hide:
Northampton cop who tackled 60-year-old woman got training, but no punishment
Updated: Aug. 11, 2023, 11:33 a.m.|Published: Aug. 09, 2023, 6:22 p.m.
Northampton Arrest
Holyoke resident Marisol Driouech is forced out of her car during the course of a vehicle stop with Northampton police. This video was supplied by Driouech's attorney, Dana Goldblatt.
By
Dave Eisenstadter | [email protected]
Editor’s note: The video below contains coarse language and a forceful arrest. The text of the story contains descriptions of that arrest.
______________
The situation escalated quickly, and that was one of the big problems, according to Northampton’s Chief of Police Jody Kasper.
On April 4, shortly before midnight, Northampton Police Officer John Sellew pulled over a vehicle driven by Marisol Driouech, 60, of Holyoke. He noticed she had a headlight out.
What happened next is shown in a video first published by the Shoestring, which MassLive obtained and reviewed. MassLive received permission to publish the video below from Driouech through her attorney.
After Sellew identifies himself as a Northampton police officer and asks for Driouech’s license and registration, Driouech, whose first language is not English, repeatedly tells him she doesn’t understand. At one point she tells Sellew she wants the police there. As Sellew raises his voice, Driouech says, “no me grites” — “don’t scream at me” in Spanish.
Over the course of two minutes from when he begins speaking with her, Sellew starts yelling and eventually begins to pull Driouech out of the car.
“No me toques,” Driouech says in Spanish — “Don’t touch me.”
“Get out of your (expletive) vehicle,” Sellew yells as he pulls at her and she screams. He eventually takes her to the ground.
“Someone help me,” Driouech screams from the ground and continues to scream as a second police car arrives. The second officer, Jonathan Bartlett, emerges from the police car and jumps in to assist Sellew and sprays Driouech twice with pepper spray.
Both officers handcuff Driouech and Bartlett pulls her up and leads her to a police cruiser as she asks them repeatedly “clean my eyes.”
Police charged her with assault and battery attempt to disarm a police officer, assault and battery on a police officer, resisting arrest and refusing to identify herself to a police officer.
All of those charges were dropped by the District Attorney’s office, leaving Driouech with just a $35 fine for a lights violation, which she paid, according to court documents.
Read more: Doubts raised that Eric Suher’s Northampton venues will reopen by deadline
Reached Wednesday, Northwestern District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Laurie Loisel provided a statement to MassLive:
“After reviewing the evidence in the case, and consulting with the Police Department, the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office concluded that dismissal of the criminal charges, and a responsible finding with a fine on the civil motor vehicle violation, was in the best interests of justice.”
Loading video
A legal claim is likely coming soon
Driouech was taken to the hospital for her injuries, according to the police report, and will likely present a claim to the city, according to her attorney, Dana Goldblatt.
The incident led to Sellew, the primary officer involved, being assigned to remedial communication training, according to Kasper. But an investigation into the use of force, conducted by an outside firm, concluded that Sellew’s actions were “reasonable and proportionate” considering all factors, and charges of misuse of force were not sustained, Kasper said.
Goldblatt said that was unacceptable.
“The police have concluded this is a reasonable and proportionate response to a 60-year-old woman, who does not immediately understand the questions asked of her,” Goldblatt said. “My belief is it is not. I do not believe that is how I want to treat people in the world, and I don’t want the police, who are funded with my tax dollars, to do that to people.”
Goldblatt said she plans to present a legal claim to the city on Driouech’s behalf within the next two weeks. The city will then have six months to respond, she said.
Read more: Here’s why Northampton’s new superintendent thinks many schools have lost their way
She hopes it leads to a change in behavior by officers in Northampton’s police department.
“It is the first time they’ve done that to a little old lady on camera and that might change people’s minds, but I don’t know,” she said.
Goldblatt said she has perceived Northampton as more physically aggressive in its police behavior than other Hampshire County departments based on her review of police videos. But she also said physically aggressive responses pass as standard policing, and believes that there should be less policing in order to reduce the number of these violent encounters.
Northampton also disproportionately uses force on Black and Brown individuals, Goldblatt said.
Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra issued a statement to MassLive regarding the incident on Wednesday.
“As mayor of Northampton, I expect the Northampton Police Department to conduct themselves with respect and professionalism. While an internal and an outside independent investigation found no violations in the April 4 stop, it is clear to me that a slower, more considered interaction and more effective communication could have avoided the escalation of the situation. I was very concerned to see the situation escalate to such a degree on the video and strongly disagree with how the officer handled it.”
Sciarra continued that she thanked Kasper for her “prompt and thorough action” to review and investigate the incident as well as the shift commander for reporting the event.
“I am grateful that there was WatchGuard cruiser video that recorded the stop and allowed for a visual review and documentation of the interaction,” she said.
What Northampton’s chief had to say
Kasper was clear that she disagreed with Sellew’s handling of the incident.
“This should not have happened,” Kasper said Wednesday. “Our community expects and deserves that we meet certain professional standards and in this case we did not meet those standards.”
Kasper, who had reviewed the video, said that any reasonable person watching the video could see that Sellew should have spoken more slowly and tried to slow down the pace of the conversation. She said Sellew was speaking quickly and failed to adequately respond to Driouech’s questions.
“Had the officer slowed down and made sure her questions were answered roadside, that would have been the first step he should have taken,” Kasper said. “The second step, if he felt he was not able to communicate effectively, is he should have called for a Spanish-speaking officer.”
A Spanish-speaking officer did eventually speak to Driouech, Kasper said, but it was after Sellew’s confrontation with her.
Northampton has Spanish-speaking officers, and they are available to interpret when needed, but it is not something that is requested every day or even every week, Kasper said.
Northampton police review use of force and have a system in place to correct behavior of officers involved when they fail to meet professional standards, Kasper said.
“The very morning after this, the shift commander brought this incident to our attention and we had him (Sellew) attend remedial training with defensive tactics,” Kasper said, adding that during the months of June and July Sellew also had to attend training in verbal de-escalation.
Later, on June 12, Northampton police received a community complaint about the incident, which initiated an investigation for which police hired an outside firm — Comprehensive Investigations and Consulting.
The investigation concluded on July 26 with the finding that Sellew’s use of force was “reasonable and proportionate” considering the totality of events, Kasper said. The investigator was Daniel Bennett, a former secretary of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security and former first assistant district attorney in Worcester County.
That is why Sellew did not face any discipline.
“I’ve already received some people sharing their thoughts on Officer Sellew and what actions we should take,” Kasper said. “In this case we do not have allegations that were sustained, so in order for disciplinary action to be taken, we need to have sustained charges against one of our members.”
MassLive has requested the full investigation report into Sellew’s actions.
Kasper said Northampton police try to be open with their data, particularly about use of force. She said there are about 60 to 80 instances of use of force reported each year, the majority of which are fairly minor. She also said the department worked hard to have a dashboard camera program as an important tool to determine appropriate use of force.
The officer’s perspective
Sellew did not respond to requests for comment, but did provide a two-page narrative police report of what happened from his perspective in court documents.
Sellew writes in the police report that he saw the car with the headlight out and followed, putting on his lights to initiate a stop while the vehicle continued for what Sellew said was a quarter mile.
In the video, Driouech can be seen continuing to drive for about 30 seconds after Sellew’s lights are engaged. Sellew says he identified himself as a Northampton police officer.
“Having identified myself I began to inform Marisol the reason for pulling her over,” Sellew wrote in the report. “She interrupted my explanation by saying, ‘What?’”
Sellew said Driouech told him she was making a food delivery and that she wasn’t sure where she was going. He said he told her she had failed to stop for a police officer and said he asked repeatedly for her license and registration.
“She stared blankly at me then stated she pulled over,” he wrote. “She again refused to even responded (sic) to the request. At this point she began to get agitated and started to refuse to comply with all requests for her license and registration. I began to ask if she was refusing to identify herself, and again order her to to (sic) produce her license and registration. She continued to not produce a license and she began to talk louder than I (sic). I immediately requested additional units to my location.”
In the video, it isn’t clear that Driouech understands the requests, but she does say “no me grites” — “don’t shout at me” in Spanish — when he loudly asks for her documents.
Sellew said in the police report that he gave her one last chance to produce her license, which is when she told him “You no police officer.” He said he saw her start to roll up the window and move her hand in a way he thought meant she was going to drive away.
“I immediately grabbed the door handle of the vehicle and opened it, again ordering her out of the vehicle 2 more times. I reached in, unlocked her seatbelt, and began to pull Marisol out of her vehicle,” he wrote.
He said she resisted by holding on to the car, and also that she removed his baton from its holster.
“The baton can cause serious bodily harm if struck in the head or neck. I realized that with Marisol in possession of my baton I had the ability to utilize strikes or possibly lethal force. However, due to her size, I believed that I could subdue her using takedown techniques until additional units arrived,” he wrote.
In the video during this time, Driouech can be heard screaming for help. It is clear from the video how much smaller Driouech is than any of the officers that interact with her.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fukx4TrVs4g
Really the only way to justify this is if she's illegal :hide: