A report just released by Office of Professional Accountability Auditor Kate Pflaumer appears to have cleared the Seattle Police Department of allegations from civil rights groups and attorneys that officers have used obstruction charges to cover for improper or violent arrests. Pflaumer, who compiled the report at the request of Mayor Greg Nickels, examined "obstruction only" arrests between January 2006 and July 2008 and found "no pattern of abuse" in how officers use obstruction charges. According to ...

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