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Cell video captures man pepper sprayed on Sound Transit train

SEATTLE — Video shot by a commuter on a Sound Transit train early April 9 in Seattle shows a King County Sheriff's deputy pepper-spraying a man who was refusing to get off the light rail.

"I think that the situation was never under control," Avery McGinnis, who shot the video on her phone, said by phone Thursday evening.

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She said the man appeared to be having some kind of mental health crisis and kept reaching for things in his back pocket and his sweatshirt. She said she and other passengers were concerned he might have some kind of weapon.
“We just wanted him off the train,” McGinnis said. “We all started to feel uncomfortable. I remember thinking, ‘Is anybody going to do anything about this?’"
The video shows the man walking up and down the aisle of a Sound Transit light rail car for several minutes, at one-point ranting about “intergalactic communication.” McGinnis said he had been behaving that way for at least 10 minutes before she started recording.
She said passengers pressed the emergency call button, which did not appear to summon anyone, and they eventually decided to block the doors at the Othello station to try to summon the operator. McGinnis said she also called 911.
The video shows a deputy arriving and passengers filing outside while she boards to confront the subject.
At one point, she is heard stating, “The last thing I want to do is put my hands on you. I’d rather have you step off.”
Less than a minute later, she sprays his in the face with pepper spray.
“No! Not my nose! Not my nose!” the man is heard yelling. “It’s 30 minutes till they kill!”
KIRO 7 showed the video to people at the station Thursday.
“I personally think it's definitely wrong and our police department should... they need some training in dealing with people with mental health issues,” rider Silverstein Davis said.
KIRO 7 asked if the deputy in the situation was following protocol.
“Yes, she was,” Sgt. Charlie Akers with the King County Sheriff’s Office said. “She was called to a situation that we get often. Somebody was going through a mental health crisis of some sort. And she was by herself.”
According to data from Sound Transit security, which does not include law enforcement data, 258 incidents of disorderly conduct were reported in 2017.
Sound Transit said its law enforcement data was not readily available by deadline.
Akers pointed out that in the video, after the deputy sprays the subject, she almost gets him through the doorway and onto the platform.
“They were just about outside the door when a group of good Samaritans decided to jump in to help out and in fact what they did is they hindered the operation,” he said, pointing to how they bring both the deputy and the suspect to the floor of the rail car.
He said the deputy handed her pepper spray to a King County Metro operator as she wrestled the suspect to the ground. The video captures the operator, whom King County confirms has no training in handling pepper spray, using the canister to spray not only the subject they are trying to subdue, but also the good Samaritans, deputy, and witnesses.
“In the heat of the moment, she asked, ‘Hold this for me,’” Akers said. “And this individual, again trying to be a good help, utilized the pepper spray on the entire group of people.”
Akers said deputies assigned to Sound Transit are normally given pepper gel or pepper foam. He said Thursday night that the deputy was using gel, a form of pepper spray that disperses somewhat less than the regular spray.
He said the deputy has 19 years working with the department and has completed 40 hours of crisis intervention training.
Akers told KIRO 7 that the subject was booked for unlawful transit conduct and resisting arrest.
The man was taken to a hospital for a mental health evaluation.
King County also says they are reviewing the incident and the operator's actions with the pepper spray.