A Bad Night in Post Alley

By TChris, Section Misconduct
Posted on Fri Jul 04, 2008 at 08:04:48 PM EST
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Seattle Police Officer Zsolt Dornay made a mistake.

Just after midnight, Dornay was riding through Post Alley when his mirror bumped Lisabeth Dias, a paralegal who was leaving Kells Irish Pub. The officer was in street clothes and had finished his shift. Dias took umbrage with him riding through the crowded alley and straddled the front wheel of his motorcycle.

Mistake 1: Don't mess with paralegals. After arguing with Dias and her boss, Dornay made his second mistake.

Dornay, who said he identified himself as a police officer, drove forward with Dias clinging to the windshield.

Mistake 2: Don't try to drive a motorcycle with a paralegal clinging to the windshield, while her boss and a whole group of people are there to witness your reckless conduct. [more ...]

Things quickly got ugly, with too many mistakes by everyone involved to begin adding them up. It nonetheless seems fair to say that shooting the lawyer was mistake 3.

Dornay grabbed the woman and pushed her against a garage door, drawing the attention of several men. The group then turned into a mob that punched, kicked and stomped the officer, causing him to briefly lose consciousness. He reached for his .40-caliber Glock and fired several shots.

Who made the most mistakes will be decided by the jury that hears the lawsuit filed by the paralegal's boss, who didn't appreciate being shot given that he wasn't part of the mob attacking the officer. Dornay has countersued, claiming the unarmed lawyer "was coming toward him and about to kick him when he fired," an allegation the lawyer (who had a good bit to drink and undoubtedly had a chivalrous interest in rescuing his paralegal, knowing how difficult it is to find a good one) denies.

It's difficult to understand why Dornay is deemed fit to carry a badge and gun, given this:

But he's also been disciplined for misconduct, including an off-duty road rage episode as a rookie when he held a gun to man's head and rubbed his face into the surface of a parking lot.

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A Bad Night in Post Alley | 14 comments (14 topical)

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There are psychological profiles created (5.00 / 4) (#2)
by PssttCmere08 on Fri Jul 04, 2008 at 08:14:01 PM EST

on wannabe cops....how did he slip through the cracks? I know my friends husband, who wanted desperately to be a sheriff, was disqualified based on his profile. They said he would be a danger to the public. Sounds like this guy is too.

: well (none / 0) (#16)
by boredmpa on Sat Jul 05, 2008 at 06:39:42 PM EST

I've heard of other people failing some aspect, but i'm never sure what part they failed. They may not a) really know or b) want to admit what went wrong.
It could be polygraph issues (and the questions on those are often poorly written/thought out from a research perspective, not to mention it doesn't work to well on some people), or credit checks, or profile, or an acquaintance not as trustworthy as you thought. The whole process doesn't seem open enough to me and doesn't have enough pressure for reform/oversight.
------------
Sadly, I suspect this guy might still pass the profile because it's not necessarily a decent design.

Dornay doesn't (5.00 / 3) (#4)
by oldpro on Fri Jul 04, 2008 at 08:39:16 PM EST

seem to have the temperament or the judgment to be a police officer. I remember when we used to call them 'peace officers'...

This mess is a classic example of how a small thing can escalate into a major event and no way to walk it back. How quickly a righteous group can become a mob and provoke unforseen consequences, as this story unfolds.

Awful. Lessons for everybody involved in this one. Wonder if anyone actually learned anything.

I know that spot well (5.00 / 2) (#5)
by shoephone on Fri Jul 04, 2008 at 09:23:51 PM EST

since I have lived in Seattle for 24 years and have spent many happy times down at the Market.

Dornay was stupid in the first place to have been riding a motorcyle in Post Alley. Dias is even stupider for straddling the front wheel of anyone's motorcycle.

She was coming out of Kell's, quite likely drunk (one doesn't go to Kell's for the food, my friends.) Dornay was drunk on power. Bad combination.

Next.

probably out of desperation, (5.00 / 3) (#6)
by cpinva on Fri Jul 04, 2008 at 09:41:12 PM EST

how did he slip through the cracks?

or he knew someone.

several years ago, DC was desperate to fill it's police ranks, then being decimated by retirements. as well, they wanted to increase the number of officers.

to this end, they went on a recruiting binge. bear in mind, they compete with two states, several large counties and multiple federal agencies for qualified people. to meet their goal, they lowered their standards. really, really bad move.

that particular group had among the highest problems, up to and including murders.

having not learned this lesson well, just recently, they had another recruiting drive. the screening was so poorly done, they actually called back something like 160 people, from their training in the federal facility in glencoe, ga, to tell them they had two options: resign or be fired.

apparently, the fact that many were felons, among other things, managed to slip right by the human resources people.

yikes....that's scary (none / 0) (#7)
by PssttCmere08 on Fri Jul 04, 2008 at 09:45:37 PM EST

: Not only scary (5.00 / 0) (#10)
by Fabian on Fri Jul 04, 2008 at 10:35:47 PM EST

but recruits like these can cost cities a LOT of money if they get sued.
Prevention is best.

Uh, I'm not sure either party looks heroic (5.00 / 3) (#8)
by Jim J on Fri Jul 04, 2008 at 09:51:47 PM EST

in this episode.

Not funny for the people involved (5.00 / 1) (#9)
by gyrfalcon on Fri Jul 04, 2008 at 09:56:47 PM EST

but I laughed out loud at your narrative, TChris. Thanks!

Seattle cops have a bad history (none / 0) (#1)
by MarkL on Fri Jul 04, 2008 at 08:11:36 PM EST

Back around 1970, there was one night where they just took to the streets and beat up huge numbers of people, for no particular reason.

: That's not a fair assessment (none / 0) (#15)
by JavaCityPal on Sat Jul 05, 2008 at 03:39:04 PM EST

Police from all over came to assist at WTO and it wasn't the Seattle police who took the most criticism. King County Sheriff's come to mind as the worst. Did you see the incredible damage done to downtown? The crowd was absolutely out of control, property damage high, looting, and they could hardly determine anyone on the streets to be innocent bystanders.

Welcome to" (none / 0) (#3)
by DoggieDaddy on Fri Jul 04, 2008 at 08:24:01 PM EST

Part 476 of George W Bush's Americka.

Sound's like Aspen cop Dan (none / 0) (#11)
by Blowback on Fri Jul 04, 2008 at 11:02:15 PM EST

Glidden's profile. He is one very rotten apple. Google him. I know from personal, life destroying experience with Officer Dan. Include Hunter Thompson in this Google and see what you get.

Update: if you Google (none / 0) (#12)
by Blowback on Fri Jul 04, 2008 at 11:11:48 PM EST

Dan Glidden & Hunter Thompson, be sure to view the 'cached' edition, from Hot Press.