Overzealous ( and under - informed ) city cops have cau$ed many problem$ in $eattle the past few years, resulting in large $umS of money changing hands to those who were unlawfully detained and / or arrested. The curious habit of not using non - lethal force when it is available, and curious-er timing of cops shutting off their body cameras, has been noted by the courts in their decisions.
As for railfanning, I was F-I'ed and attempted Ejected by 2 Rent - a - Cops near the Port of Seattle's Terminal 5 a few years back, for the simple act of parking on the overpass and grabbing a few images of the BNSF power tied up below. Considering that Barney & Gomer had to leave their guard shack / sleeping quarters to harass me, while I was parked on the shoulder of a public overpass on a Saturday morning, I quickly surmised that they were out of their jurisdiction. Barney wrote down my vehicle license plate number while Gomer informed me that I was not allowed to take any pictures of a Customs - controlled Port facility, ( never mind that I had my back to the Port ), and insisted on seeing some form of identification. I simply told them that I was on a public roadway, and that their only course of action was to call the Port of Seattle Police Dept. At that, they said they were going to call Port cops. I never heard back from anyone, but I'm guessing if they actually did call Port cops, they would have been dressed down for waking up the Port cops for a foamer !!!