Viva La Cola!

Founded in January 2009, PubliCola is a blog about Seattle written by journalists who are dedicated to non-partisan, original daily reporting that prioritizes a balanced approach to news. Started by longtime local editor and award-winning reporter Josh Feit, PubliCola is the first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol.

PubliCola was off and running. In June 2009, PubliCola hired another award-winning journalist, super-sourced Seattle city hall reporter Erica C. Barnett.

People were afraid that blogging would change journalism. Instead, we believe journalism can change blogging. Twenty-first century journalism may look and feel different, and yes Erica isn't afraid to get cranky, but we're committed to making sure online news still delivers independent, reliable, even-keeled coverage. And most of all, we're committed to making sure the coverage sparks honest civic debate.

Bringing you cola for the people, PubliCola is named after Publius Valerius PubliCola, the alias for the authors of the Federalist Papers—the original bloggers.

x close
The first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol and Seattle city hall, PubliCola has been called a “must-read” by the Seattle Post Intelligencer and a hot “New Media Mover and Shaker” by Seattle Magazine—which also cited our own Erica C. Barnett as the city's No. 1 news nerd.

The Morning Blotter: Teen Slashed, Stabbed, and Refuses to Talk to Police

News   September 7, 2010 at 8:31 am Jonah Spangenthal-Lee

For some reason, SPD JUST released this now-ancient report, which indicates a 14-year-old boy showed up at Children’s Hospital with slash and stab wounds, but refused to talk to police about what had happened to him.

According to a police report, the 14-year-old boy showed up at Children’s Hospital around 1:30am on July 19th with a cut on his face and a puncture wound on the side of his head.

Police say the teen gave “several accounts about what happened to him and was very vague in his description of the incident,” telling officers “I don’t know what happened.”

He eventually told officers he was walking home from Othello Park in South Seattle around midnight when 5-6 Hispanic males jumped him and cut him with a pocket knife.

The teen refused to give police more details about the incident.




  • SnarkyMcAllister

    then you should be refused treatment…just sayin.

  • upd

    No details, no treatment, who is paying for this treatment anyway do you think?

  • whatnow

    let’s not get confused. the hospital staff are not the police. they are responsible for treating people that need treatment and rightfully so

    what would you say to the wife who is an abusive relationship and is too scared to tell anyone what happened? “sorry no treatment lady, might as well turn around and head on home if you’re not going to tell us how this happened”?

    what about the people who are unable to talk as a result of their injuries. just treat them up to the point where they can answer questions and then stop treatment if they refuse to answer?

    how far does that attitude go? should the cops not assist someone that needs help because they think that person might be a gang member? If someone needs help it’s the police officers job to provide that help within the scope of their authority, unbiased.

  • SnarkyMcAllister

    and I apologize a for my poor attempt at using humor to express frustration over the whole “no snitching” mentality. I let my Charles Bronson show…

  • upd

    No dice. I know the difference between and nurse and a police officer and what their duties are. I am aware and mature enough to have empathy on the sitautions you try to argue above. However, if you are going to clam up and not help police fight evil, and by doing so, perpetuate gang mentality and thug lifestyle, you do not deserve care on my tax dollar. Period, and welcome to the civilized world.

  • whatnow

    First off, I’d like to say sorry for not replying in-line but I don’t see the option to do so. This is a response to upd’s response above.

    While any one of us might think we are aware and mature enough to empathize with many unfortunate scenarios we come across, we’re all only human. we make mistakes. if someone isn’t talking then we certainly may jump to conclusions to fill in the gaps ourselves and guess what, we may be wrong. Providing treatment for everyone in need helps us make sure that an innocent victim does not go ignored and unattended. will thugs get treatment while maintaining the no-snitching rule? yes, but so will the scared kid that looks like a thug (maybe they even are) that was just physically abused by their father. What about the man that needs medical help because he was just assaulted for leaving the gang life behind? Snitching would bring more pain to his family and he’s trying to turn his life around. Should he not get the treatment he needs?

    the police and hospitals are there to help, not judge or profile.

  • whatnow

    I wanted to add that I mean no disrespect to upd or seattlecrime.com. I think this is a wonderful site that I visit daily. I recognize upd for many insightful and well thought comments.

  • solidox

    I don’t care if he gets the basic medical attention he needs. The issue for me is wasting SPD man hours and other resources on an uncooperative person. There are far better uses of time, money, and effort than cajoling a person certainly old enough to know better into talking. The first instance he refuses to operate, the SPD should just stick his information into the lost-cause file and be DONE with it, so they can help someone who really wants it and is willing to cooperate.

  • maybe if we get gang members to talk, we can afford that deep bore tunnel

    Refusing medical treatment because of a crime investigation = torture. Plain and simple.

    Of course life would be easier if everyone was 100% honest, wholesome, and law-abiding. But if you continue down this train of thought into the hypothetical you will inevitably end up de-humanizing people who don’t act they way you want.

    Our military is expected to immediately give medical attention and save the lives of every POW in their care. It’s in the Geneva Convention. Allowing them to die on our watch is a war crime.

    Could you please explain, upd, if your idea is just wishful thinking for an easier world or is this a plan you would actually like implemented?

  • upd

    I don’t have to ‘explain’ anything, but will, it’s frankly wishful thinking, as the overly liberal mindset in this town favors crime, and not prevention or even punishment. If a thug wannabe/gang member is going to participate in third world rituals of guns/knives and no snitching, they really aren’t acting the way that I personally would ‘want them to’ in my community of the civilized world, so I guess I should own ‘de-humanizing them’ with my viewpoint. Oh and comparing a 14 year old banger who is out at 1:30am looking for medical care from a knife fight that he refuses to give details about, is not even an apples/apples argument stacking up to the Geneva Convention (really)?