Politically Correct Seattle Police and Washington State's Dept. of Corrections

Damarius Butts proved to be a violent criminal. Last month, while fleeing an armed robbery of a 7-11 store in downtown Seattle, Butts shot three Seattle police officers, who returned fire and killed him. Two of the officers went home that day, one being saved by her bullet-proof vest and the other having suffered a grazing wound to his hand. The third officer was shot in the face, with the projectile deflecting down into his chest. He underwent surgery and is expected to make a full recovery.

The incident well illustrates the hazards police officers face daily; in this case the officers survived a gun battle with a suspect who was trying to kill them. As in any officer-involved shooting, extensive interviews were conducted, the scene was processed by evidence technicians and mounds of paperwork was completed, including use-of-force reports.

The rub was in the paperwork. Seatttle police couldn't call the suspect a 'suspect'; they had to refer to the decedent as a 'community member'.

No, I'm not kidding.

Seattle Police Officer's Guild President Kevin Stuckey, speaking about the change, said "I don't think there's anything wrong with calling someone who is a victim a victim, or calling a suspect a suspect. 'Community member' is too vague."

The change came about in 2011, when a U.S. Department of Justice oversight committee urged the use of the term 'citizen' rather than 'suspect' or 'subject'. It's all about political correctness, you see.

In the fall of 2016 the State of Washington Department of Corrections stopped calling inmates 'offenders', instead referring to incarcerated persons as 'student', 'individual' or 'patient'.

DOC Secretary Dick Morgan said the term 'offender' has a negative impact. "Times change and so does our language."

And, apparently, so does the meaning of 'common sense'.