To the editor:

On Oct. 4, 2014, Officer Mo Stitch of the Bainbridge Island Police Department walked onto private property without an arrest warrant to “warn” a 72-year-old mentally-ill woman not to trespass on her neighbor’s property.

Earlier neighbors called and alleged the woman walked onto their property and screamed about their trees killing her trees. BIPD knew this woman had a long history of mental illness. No mental health professional accompanied the police on this call.

(This was the second police visit to the property; on the earlier visit the woman wasn’t home.)

When Officer Stitch arrived she found the woman “talking to herself outside her trailer window.” The woman didn’t want police on her property and allegedly became “belligerent,” postured a “fighting stance” and “got in [the officer’s] face.” Instead of deescalating the situation by simply leaving after giving the trespass warning Officer Stitch responded with violence.

She shot the woman with her Taser and then two officers “took her to the ground”.

Officer Stitch claims the woman hit her shoulder and she got a scratch on her arm so the woman was then arrested and jailed for felony assault on the officer.

Police Chief Hamner contends the conduct of Officer Stitch was “handled … in a professional manner within the protocol of the [BIPD].”

This incident demonstrates why we need an independent citizen review board to oversee police misconduct. To be effective this board must have subpoena power and the authority to ensure officers are appropriately trained and disciplined for using excessive force.

KIM KOENIG

Bainbridge Island