Hope destroyed again by paranoid City officials

September 23 2015

To whom it may concern, and Chief Mylett,

You keep your gun. I'll keep my camera. That was the deal.

You seem to want me to feel like this is my fault and you are just doing what you can in the face of my obstructive efforts, so I apologize for making you feel uncomfortable by asserting my rights. I'm not sure why I should apologize but I hope it makes you feel better.

I mean,  I have never edited my video evidence to manipulate context. There is no reason to suspect I would do so. What else do you suspect I may do that you feel the need to protect yourself from? 

The presence of third parties negates any reasonable expectation of privacy. That's the prevailing legal doctrine. I don't need their consent. You need mine.

I insist on recording any meeting because of the dishonesty and willingness to manipulate narrative records, not by yourself, but by officers and command staff in the City of Bellevue police department.

This is not a general suspicion, it is a substantiated and specific assertion drawn from the facts.

I don't feel comfortable outside my house without a camera recording at all times -- directly due to the behavior of YOUR department.

If you are telling me that your general fears are so substantiated as to apply specifically to my potential conduct, to the extent that I cannot even exercise my First Amendment right BECAUSE I wish to have a hearing of my grievances...... then I don't know what you think you are doing as a public official. That is not the law of this land, and I owe no one any courtesy at this point.

You disrespect the sincerity of my claims and want all respect for your concerns. Why do you get more rights than me?

If you are worried about me abusing my free speech, then rest assured in our country, the United States of America, and in our State, Washington, all citizens answer for that abuse - even police officers and public officials.

I will not meet with a group of people who can say I said something I didn't say, when that has been the nearly my entire issue in the first place!

My interest in protecting my liberty and life far outweigh the non-existent privacy interests of public officials, in the presence of third parties, in discharge of their duties.

You say you want everyone to be free to speak? Well, now I feel that you are going to try and be deceptive like your officers.

Now, I will never meet with you. That is your loss, as you would have had a chance to understand where to fix your department before a lawsuit.

Instead, I can now only meet with the City Attorney, in private, with my family and our legal counsel.

I'm sorry you were not able to meet with me -- I had high hopes for your assistance and our meeting. I was even hoping that maybe you could convince me not to sue.

This backtracking is shameful and only lends to my argument that the Bellevue police don't care about following the law, but rather manipulate it out of the public eye.

I have no need to pander for justice from adversarial parties who have broken their oath to uphold the law.

Regards,

CD

----- Original Message -----

From: SMylett@bellevuewa.gov

To: CD

Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 2015 4:27 PM

Subject: Meeting

Mr. D,

Unfortunately 4 pm will not work for several members of my team who will be attending, so if we can meet at 3 pm on Friday that will ensure I am able to have employees present who can respond to your questions and concerns.

There is another issue that I need to address with you prior to Friday.

While I certainly respect your right to record conversations with a police officer performing an official duty in public situations, not all attendees that will be present during our meeting will be police officer 

My intent with meeting with you and your family was to have a private conversation with all of you to discuss your concerns, so we can begin to work towards a solution. 

I have made the effort to accommodate your requests that are within my ability to accommodate; I am asking that you meet my efforts half-way as my understanding of the spirit of this meeting was to facilitate a clear and open dialogue where both sides have the ability to freely discuss the matter. 

Additionally, I cannot ignore that you have threatened the City with litigation and now inform me of your desire to record our conversation; unfortunately, I now have to question my ability to openly respond to your concerns without first checking with my legal counsel before responding.

Not that you would engage in such behavior, but I have witnessed many manipulations of tapes posted on the internet or by the media that twists the message due to editing. 

I intend to have the City Attorney and my legal advisor present at the meeting to help facilitate the discussion and to provide you with first hand expert legal opinions. 

I must tell you both do not consent to the conversation being audio recorded. I would certainly encourage you to take notes, but it appears taping the meeting will be a barrier to having this conversation.

.

Chief Mylett