The Seattle Police Department has apologized to a black veteran who they 
arrested for walking while black.
As was previously reported , 70 year old William Wingate needed the help of former state Representative Dawn Mason to have charges against him dismissed after he was arrested for walking while Black.
Seattle police initially defended arresting Wingate despite criticism. Officer Cynthia Whitlach reportedly arrested Wingate, a retired veteran a local bus driver, for allegedly threatening her with a golf club that he has used as a makeshift cane for some 20 years. Dashboard camera footage of the encounter was recently made available by The Stranger.
Video of the incident shows Wingate standing as officer Whitlach pulls her patrol car to a stop in front of him. At one point, Whitlach can be heard telling Wingate, “You just swung that golf club at me,” to which Wingate replies, “No I did not.” Whitlach proceeds to insist that he had swung the golf club and that, “it was on audio and video tape.” Three minutes after Wingate’s initial encounter with Whitlach, he is placed under arrest by officer Chris Coles and charged with harassment and obstruction.
Even though the Seattle Police Department initially defended the arrest, they have since issued an apology to Wingate.
“Deputy Chief Best personally met with the man, returned his golf club, and offered an apology for his arrest. The officer who made the arrest received counseling from her supervisor, a course of action that the department believes to be an appropriate resolution,” an update to The Stranger reported.
Whitlach has also been accused of writing Ferguson posts that indicate a racial bias on her part.
Watch video of the incident below:
