by Brett Hamil

Everyone should take a look at the corporate media soft-focus profiles they’re doing about ousted Seattle Police Officers Guild president Ron Smith. This is how they always do it: Helping cover up blatant systemic racist violence and minimizing the SPD’s shitty leadership by blaming it all on “one bad tweet.” 

The basic thrust here is “ousted leader admits to one little mistake.” NO. Smith had a long history of belligerent, insensitive, intentionally provocative statements. His entire POSITION was predicated on working against the interests of the people.

Notice how these are the softest quotes he’s ever given: “We have to move through those mistakes, communicate with one another.”

Oh, now he’s ready to listen.

“We need to come together as a community.” This is from the guy who spent his waking hours opposing the valiant efforts of Community Police Commission at every turn. THEY are the community, dumbshit. And you hated their guts.

Then—get this—he conjures 9-11, of all things, to justify the sneering, taunting hashtag, “‪#‎weshallovercome,” he tweeted just to be a dick. This is the guy about whom Mayor Murray said yesterday, “I’ve always known him to support diversity and reform” and “that’s why the Facebook post surprised me.” If Murray was surprised, he’s the only one. It’s doubly insulting for Murray to attempt his idea of “finessing” it. He has no reason to provide cover for Smith anymore and yet he STILL lies directly to our faces about it. 

I thought it was interesting how Smith is given a platform to emote about how “his heart is sick” if “anyone was offended.” He was given this platform. Not the family members killed by cops Ron Smith spent his time protecting from all career repercussions. Not the moms who had teargas lobbed at their children last week while standing vigil for other black people murdered. No. The subject of this sad tale is the guy former SPD Chief Gil Kerlikowske called “an embarassment.” Smith was so blitheringly awful and needlessly aggressive and suburbanly anti-Seattle he got fired despite the system’s best efforts to hold him in place.