Seattle's elected prosecutor says he's dropping all tickets issued for
the public use of marijuana through the first seven months of this year,
because most of them were issued by a single police officer who
disagrees with the legal pot law.
In a briefing to the City
Council on Monday, City Attorney Pete Holmes said he is moving to
dismiss approximately 100 tickets issued by the Seattle Police
Department between Jan. 1 and July 31. His office also said it would be
seeking a refund for those who have already paid their $27 ticket.
Through
the first six months of the year, a single officer wrote about 80
percent of the tickets, addressing some of them to "Petey Holmes" or
writing that he considered the pot law "silly."
The officer, Randy Jokela, is now under official investigation by the department's Office of Professional Accountability.
In
one ticket, the officer wrote that he found two people smoking
marijuana and made them flip a coin to decide which person would be
cited.
"(Suspect) lost the coin flip so he got the ticket while
the other person walked. (Suspect) was allowed to keep his pipe," the
ticket reads.
In another ticket, the officer referred to
Washington's voter-enacted changes to marijuana laws as "silly,"
according to Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O'Toole.
Jokela was temporarily reassigned but is now back on patrol. Meanwhile, the internal department investigation is ongoing.
If you or a loved one is in a bind as a result of a DUI, immediately contact a Seattle DUI attorney. A DUI lawyer
is not going to judge you, and understands that everyone makes
mistakes. Hiring a Seattle DUI lawyer to help can – at a minimum –
reduce those penalties, and can help direct people on how to best deal
with their DUI charge. So it should go without saying that someone cited
for DUI should hire a qualified Seattle DUI lawyer
as soon as possible. Driving Under the Influence charges can cause
havoc on a person’s personal and professional life. Anyone charged with
DUI in Washington State should immediately seek the assistance of a
seasoned Seattle DUI lawyer.
Monday, September 22, 2014
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“Sometimes I feel like if you just watch things, just sit still and let the world exist in front of you - sometimes I swear that just for a second time freezes and the world pauses in its tilt. Just for a second. And if you somehow found a way to live in that second, then you would live forever.” vaporizer
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