Jonah Spangenthal-Lee at SeattleCrime.com put together a rebuttal to the Stranger’s story that asked why it took so long to arrest Greenwood arson suspect Kevin Todd Swalwell.
Spangenthal-Lee, himself a former Stranger reporter, questions the premise of the Stranger article in a post titled “Burning sensationalism,” saying police didn’t have probable cause and had to follow due process before they arrested Swalwell.
The Stranger’s case against SPD seems to hinge upon two facts in the investigation: that Swalwell, who has a history of arson, was well known in the Greenwood area; and that police found a handprint left on a bottle of lighter fluid left at the scene of a fire.
Sorry, but that’s not enough for police to make an arrest that would’ve held up in court.
A lot you posted comments here about last week’s story.
