Federal jury sides with 69-year-old William Wingate, finding officer violated his civil rights after false arrest captured on bodycam
A 2014 Seattle arrest that once symbolized racial profiling in policing has resurfaced on social media — reigniting outrage and debate after the wrongfully accused man, 69-year-old William Wingate, was awarded $325,000 in damages. The clip shows Wingate being confronted by a white officer while using a golf club as a cane. Despite evidence showing no crime, he was handcuffed, jailed, and humiliated. This came before being cleared of all charges and later vindicated in court.
The case was a flashpoint for Seattle’s police reform movement. Now, it has reentered public conversation in thanks to a reposted bodycam clip that’s gathered over 400,000 views and 6,000 likes on X (formerly Twitter). The footage captures the tense exchange between Wingate and former Seattle officer Cynthia Whitlatch. Later, her actions were ruled racially discriminatory by a federal jury.
The Video That Reignited National Attention
In the clip, Wingate, a retired Metro bus driver and Air Force veteran, is seen walking slowly down a Capitol Hill sidewalk on July 9, 2014, leaning on a golf club he’d used as a cane for over two decades. Without warning, Officer Whitlatch approaches him and shouts, “Drop the golf club!” Wingate, visibly confused, replies, “This is my cane.”
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Whitlatch insists she saw him swing the club at her patrol car — a claim later disproven by dashcam footage. Despite his calm explanation, she radios for backup and accuses him of “harassment” and “unlawful use of a weapon.” Within minutes, Wingate is handcuffed on camera, placed in the back of a squad car, and booked into jail. He would spend over 24 hours detained before prosecutors dismissed the case…