SEATTLE, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Two Seattle police officers videotaped kicking a suspect, including one who used an anti-Mexican slur, will not be charged, authorities say.
The Police Department says it is still conducting an internal investigation into the incident, Seattlepi.com reported. But City Attorney Pete Holmes said he did not believe the officers' conduct rose to the level of a hate crime.
"Though the incident was marred by an unacceptable and unnecessary racist comment, our office concludes that neither officer's conduct was criminal, and I decline to file misdemeanor charges," Holmes said in a statement Tuesday.
Shandy Cobane, a police detective, and Officer Mary Woollum were photographed stomping the suspect, a Mexican-born man who was later released. On the tape, Cobane can be heard saying he would "beat the Mexican ------- piss" out of the man.
Police Chief John Diaz promised a thorough investigation.
Civil rights groups had been pressing for hate-crime charges. James Bible, head of the Seattle National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said in September that Cobane was protected by being a police officer and called that "institutional power at its worst". UPI
