Blacks arrested for obstructing police more often

Eric Nalder, Daniel Lathrop and Lewis Kamb of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer found in a three-part investigation that Seattle police's use of the "obstructing a public officer" charge leads to arrests of African Americans at a rate eight times higher than whites, and that nearly half of all obstruction cases are dropped before trial due to proof issues, no probable cause and other reasons. The investigation, a continuation of the Post-Intelligencer's ongoing "Strong Arm of the Law" series examining police misconduct and accountability, relied on more than six years of municipal court data, internal police use of force reports and other records.