Seattle will defend Kshama Sawant in defamation suit brought by police officers

[brooklynite]

Source: Seattle Times

The city will defend Seattle Councilmember Kshama Sawant in the defamation lawsuit brought against her by two Seattle police officers, Council President Bruce Harrell decided.

In that lawsuit, Officers Scott Miller and Michael Spaulding claim they were defamed when she falsely declared they had committed a “brutal murder” in last year’s fatal shooting of Che Taylor — an allegation not supported by a later inquest jury.

By city charter, Harrell had to decide if Sawant made the alleged statement “within the course and scope of employment.” He concluded it was.

The city already is representing Sawant in a second defamation lawsuit, this one brought by Carl Haglund, a landlord who took issue with Sawant referring to him “as a ‘slumlord’ and as a ‘notorious slumlord.’”

Read more: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/seattle-will-defend-kshama-sawant-in-defamation-suit-brought-by-police-officers/

[Turbineguy]

1. Only Trump

can "tell it like it is".

[maxsolomon]

2. Swant needs to ease up on the hyperbole - it's counterproductive.

Just like DU, frankly.

The shooting of Che Tayler was pretty sketchy. He was an armed felon, and the cops had itchy trigger fingers. Essentially, they didn't give him a chance to comply before they unloaded their revolvers into him, because they were terrified.

Now, his family is trying to make it out like it was a racially-motivated assassination. In the usual mode of Seattle racial politics, there's one gear: Hysterical Hyperbole.

$15 min. wage aside, Sawant is becoming more trouble than she's worth.