Here's what we know for sure went down two Sundays ago in Wallingford: a man named Chris Johnson got into a minor accident, got a tattoo, then had a run-in with a cop.
After that, things get kind of fuzzy.
According to a police report collected by SeattleCrime, Johnson hit another car at 45th and Latona, refused to give any information to the other driver, then, after coming out of Slave to the Needle, chest-bumped and punched an officer and then kicked him in the balls.
Contacted by Daily Weekly, Johnson says what actually happened is nothing like how police are portraying it.
Johnson, a 37-year-old father of three, says that he was in his work truck when he hit the other driver's bumper with his tire. While he admits to being upset with the driver for causing a scene over what he considered to be a minor accident (he claims the mark left by his tire just rubbed off), Johnson says it's not true that he denied the man his information.
"I gave him my name and my insurance number," he says. "I'm driving a truck that has my business website on it. For them to say they don't have enough info isn't true."
After getting his son's name tattooed on his neck, Johnson says he and his wife came outside to find the other driver long gone. In his place was a police officer who Johnson says immediately started harassing and yelling at his wife.
"When I yelled back he pointed at his badge and said, 'You see this? This means I can scream at and yell at whoever the **** I want. I'm gonna show you how it feels to be intimidated.'" says Johnson. "The guy was just crazy."
Johnson claims that after yelling back it was the cop who initiated the chest bump, then grabbed him by the back of the neck and tried to knee him in the face. When Johnson pulled away, he says the cop fell backwards, tripped over a curb and landed on his face.
Johnson says the cop's partner then grabbed him from behind and put him in handcuffs. Then, while he was being held back, Johnson claims the other cop got up off the ground and elbowed him in the face.
"He was stepping towards me again so I kicked him in the nuts," says Johnson. "And of course, the officers that pulled up, that's all they saw."
Johnson admits to having a record. He says he used to drink and fight a lot, and got a felony conviction five years ago for growing pot. But he says he's sober now and has three kids and a business to look after.
He also says he has witnesses willing to testify in his favor. But Johnson doubts he'll take the case to trial.
"Right now my lawyer is just hoping for a lighter sentence," he says. "It might cost $10,000 to try the case. Really alls I have is the witnesses statements. The city is going to do what they want to do. Especially against a police officer. It's your word against them and I have a checkered past."
Johnson has been charged with third-degree assault on a police officer. Phone calls to Seattle police requesting more information thus far haven't been returned.
