City attorney charges SPD officer with assault

SEATTLE — Charges were filed Wednesday by a Seattle City attorney against a police officer accused of assaulting a man in handcuffs.

In 2012, Chris Hairston, an officer with the Seattle Police Department, allegedly hit a man who was accused of assaulting Hairston’s wife. She is also an officer with the Seattle Police Department.

A dashboard camera from a patrol vehicle caught the incident.

Seattle City Attorney Peter Holmes filed a misdemeanor assault charge against Hairston.

The union for the Seattle Police Department, the Seattle Police Officer’s Guild, said it was disappointed with the decision Holmes made and said Hairston’s action did not rise to the level of a criminal act.

The city said it cannot release the video until legal action is finished.

KIRO