Olympia Files Criminal Charges Against Three Individuals

Navigation

User login

Online users

Support OlyBlog

OlyBlog is run by volunteers who care about Olympia. If you like what we're doing, make a donation:

OlyBlog is powered by:

Who's new

itsthewater
tsunamizombie
Brooks
Teresa Marie Staal
Jeff151

Upcoming events

FROdependence Day Pizza Party(1 day)
Kimya Dawson, Ghost Mice, Heathers and June Madrona at Freeschool Fundraiser!(3 days)
Lunchtime Stories in the Park(4 days)
Jerry E. Smith on HAARP and Weather Warfare!(6 days)
OAR - Basic Sculling Class - Offering 5(7 days)
Oly Free Herbal Clinic Cob-Oven Pizza Benefit(8 days)

Poster Calendar

Olympia Files Criminal Charges Against Three Individuals

Submitted by JT on Thu, 05/15/2008 - 5:39pm.

I figured one of the super sleuths like Emmett would have scooped this by now, but since no one else has, here you are for your reading enjoyment.

Olympia Files Criminal Charges Against Three Individuals

(Olympia, WA) The City of Olympia Prosecutor’s Office has filed criminal charges against the following people for their actions in November 2007 relating to the transport of military equipment from the Port of Olympia:

Shyam P. Khanna has been charged by complaint #2008072 with Obstructing an Officer pursuant to OMC 9.08.020 and Resisting Arrest pursuant to OMC 9.08.040 for actions alleged to have been committed on November 8, 2007.

Kathleen K. Hutchison has been charged by complaint #2008074 with Obstructing an Officer pursuant to OMC 9.08.020 for actions alleged to have been committed on November 10, 2007.

Patricia O. Hutchison has been charged by complaint #2008075 with Obstructing an Officer pursuant to OMC 9.08.020 for actions alleged to have been committed on November 10, 2007.

Obstructing an Officer and Resisting Arrest are misdemeanor crimes. The maximum penalty for each crime is 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The Olympia City Attorney’s Office has added additional staffing within the Prosecutor’s Office to assist with the continued review of the investigation by the Olympia Police Department of the activities that occurred between November 7 and November 17, 2007 relating to the transport of military equipment from the Port of Olympia. The investigative materials concerning these activities are extensive and require a deliberate and careful review. Charging decisions concerning other individuals arrested in that time period will be made on an ongoing basis and within the one year statute of limitations.

In addition to the extra staffing, the Olympia City Attorney’s Office can and will rely on assistance from the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office. Ed Holm, the Thurston County Prosecutor has agreed to provide prosecutorial assistance as needed. The investigative materials concerning arrests made on the evening of November 13, 2007 will be referred this week to the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office for review. The Olympia Police Department arrested 42 individuals that evening.

All inquires should be directed to the City of Olympia City Attorney, Tom Morrill or City of Olympia Prosecuting Attorney, Kalo Wilcox at (360) 753-8449.

DATE OF RELEASE: May 15, 2008
INFORMATION CONTACT: Kalo Wilcox, Olympia Prosecuting Attorney, (360) 753-8449

Attachment	Size
Press Release in PDF.pdf	47.21 KB

JT's blog
Login or register to post comments

About time!

Submitted by security_six on Thu, 05/15/2008 - 5:42pm.

Front page material for sure. Thanks for the story!

Confucius Say-"He who need inquire if safe with one in pipe, ask loaded question!"

Psh. Good luck

Submitted by a.future.with.n... on Thu, 05/15/2008 - 9:12pm.

The city really knows how to pick their battles. There is no way they'll get a conviction on those charges. They're just picking out people active in PMR leadership.

There could have been much

Submitted by Common Sense on Thu, 05/15/2008 - 11:06pm.

There could have been much more serious charges.

well,

Submitted by Rob Richards on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 12:22am.

I think if there could have been more serious charges, there would have been more serious charges. They do base these charges on what they think they can convict on, obviously they don't have a case for anything more serious than this.

There are myriad reasons why

Submitted by Common Sense on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 6:52am.

There are myriad reasons why charges are not pursued. People have been hanged for similar crimes. Clearly the people are not as oppressed as they claim.

ok,

Submitted by Rob Richards on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 8:42am.

What are those reasons?

When was the last time that happened in America?

When did any of them claim to be oppressed?

You guys are so right. I

Submitted by Common Sense on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 9:44am.

You guys are so right. I don't know what I was thinking.

nt

Submitted by Guglielmo on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 9:46am.

All the acronym speak

Submitted by Common Sense on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 9:54am.

All the acronym speak around here makes for very difficult communication. What does "nt" mean? I'm sure I SHOULD know that somehow.

It means "no text" as if

Submitted by NWarty on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 9:58am.

It means "no text" as if you're replying to a post in the subject line.

"Rice is great if you're really hungry and want to eat two thousand of something." - Mitch Hedberg

Still lost here. Then why

Submitted by Common Sense on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 10:00am.

Still lost here. Then why reply at all? It seems rather intagonistic.

I means "no text."

Submitted by Guglielmo on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 10:05am.

In this case it means I wrote a response, hit send , and then immediately realized I was behaving like someone who posts in the Daily Olympian comment threads. So I went back to my comment and deleted it to end my part in any back-and-forths. I've said enough here.

Yes. This has been very

Submitted by Common Sense on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 10:10am.

Yes. This has been very enlightening.

What would be enlightening...

Submitted by Rob Richards on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 2:49pm.

would be if you back up your earlier statements and answer my questions.

You know why Rob? Because it

Submitted by Common Sense on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 3:38pm.

You know why Rob? Because it doesn't matter. I gave up. I know you're smart enough to know exactly what I'm talking about and this is exhausting. No one EVER gets anywhere here and I decided to "let it go". And Gugliamo won't have to bite his tongue anymore.

No.

Submitted by Rob Richards on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 6:13pm.

Actually, I asked those questions because I have no idea what you're talking about and need clarification. That's how conversations work Sondra.

Apologies for the previous

Submitted by Common Sense on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 6:28pm.

Apologies for the previous Rob, I thought you had been replying to me. These types of forum layouts are very confusing! How does one comment without it displaying as a reply to someone in particular?

nt ditto

Submitted by Anonymously Larry on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 8:12pm.

nt ditto

nt cubed

Submitted by Common Sense on Sat, 05/17/2008 - 7:33am.

nt cubed

Do they still hang people for hyperbole?

Submitted by Guglielmo on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 8:49am.

...

nt

Submitted by Mike on Sat, 05/17/2008 - 12:44pm.

I guess not Gug,

Submitted by JT on Sat, 05/17/2008 - 12:35pm.

cuz I haven't seen any liberals swinging from any trees.

"Forgiving or punishing the terrorists is left to God. But, fixing their appointment with God is our responsibility."

itchyhitch.blogspot.com

I missed the complaints about legal oppression

Submitted by jlw on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 1:24pm.

I seem to recall people objecting to being sprayed and beaten for nonviolent acts of civil disobedience. I don't recall a lot of complaints about legal oppression. In fact, I recall people wondering why the cops were using brute force instead of the legal process. Obviously, my memory is not as acute as yours. Could you direct me to these claims of oppression?

how?

Submitted by chad360 on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 9:04am.

How are the cops picking these folks out of the crowd?

Contrary to popular opinion

Submitted by Guglielmo on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 9:29am.

there was no lawless crowd out of which law enforcement arrested a few lucky enough to win the plastic bracelet lottery. I'm guessing these charges arose out of direct confrontations between protesters and police. From the Seattle PI about that day:

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- At least a dozen people were arrested in Olympia on Saturday as demonstrators rallied to protest military-cargo shipments at the port in Washington's state capital. Saturday's actions by police come one day after protesters were able to halt two trucks from removing military equipment that had been unloaded from a ship coming from Iraq. The equipment was bound for Fort Lewis, an Army base about 15 miles northeast of Olympia that is home to Stryker combat brigades
Protesters on foot blocked traffic downtown about noon Saturday by jumping in front of large trucks towing cargo containers carrying military equipment. Olympia police in riot gear moved in quickly, spraying pepper spray in the faces of the protesters, pushing them with their batons and dragging them away from the road. At least three people were arrested at that location, and at least nine more were arrested when they tried to block an entrance to Interstate 5 as scores of protesters deployed to several different locations.
The protesters at the freeway entrance linked arms through PVC pipes and sat in the road. Several convoys drove around them, and police shot pepper spray pellets at them. When they refused to move, officers sawed through the PVC pipes, handcuffed the protesters and dragged them to a police vehicle....

That's how it happens.

Thank God!!!

Submitted by Guglielmo on Thu, 05/15/2008 - 11:17pm.

We are safe at last. Any updates on the civil suits?

Isn't this exactly what was asked for?

Submitted by Norm on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 1:31pm.

Acts of civil disobedience, right? People were expecting to get arrested, right? 3 of those people are now being charged with a crime. Doesn't this follow the proper path by both parties?

There aren't many folks disagreeing with you Norm

Submitted by Guglielmo on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 1:46pm.

Arrest and prosecution are rather firm expectations of people practicing civil disobedinece. Selective prosecution is another matter, but I don't know what evidence suggests that is the case here. But I imagine their defense will take a good look at that.

I recall being accused of similar charges

Submitted by Anonymously Larry on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 8:23pm.

Winter of 1970, High Valley Park, Packwood, WA.

While up skiing with friends and staying at parents cabin, we ran out of firewood. Since the community clubhouse is owned by the Association (I was employed summer by said Association) I suggested that we drive down and pick up enough wood to get us through the night until day when we could dig under the 3 feet of snow to my folks wood pile.

Now, I know that four young guys should have though ahead before heading to White Pass, but...well....we just screwed up.

So.....down the the Clubhouse. A house across the street from the Clubhouse was RENTED by a County Sheriff and his family. His dog started barking so he jumps in his patrol vehicle and drove across the street, lights on, with another officer - both not in uniform.

When I tried to explain what we were doing and that we planned on replacing the wood the next day, he just proceeded to hard ass us. When I tried to return the conversation back to the subject, he said we would be sent to jail for "petty theft" and interfering with an officer in the line of duty.

Since he was not a member of the private club and I could have proved I was, "petty theft would have never stuck, thus the "interfering" charge.

It's a catch all phrase that is misapplied by some officers.

for reference

Submitted by epjmcginley on Wed, 05/21/2008 - 6:13pm.

the end of this piece has a compelling description of two of the above noted arrests

additional testimony is available here:

Submitted by epjmcginley on Wed, 05/21/2008 - 6:16pm.

http://www.olyblog.net/blog/epjmcginley

1:45: And then arrested [the

Submitted by The Fire Inside on Wed, 05/21/2008 - 7:44pm.

1:45:

And then arrested [the protesters] one by one, um, people had the option of either walking with the police officer or being dragged by the police officer, well, dragged by two police officers.

It's really not the job of the police to drag able-bodied people.

If I'm going to end up dragging someone who is fully capable of walking, I'm going to make it worth my time to do so. You're not taking your date to prom.

1:55:

That is exactly what I expected this year

Which further solidifies my point that if you handle everyone with kid gloves, it's just going to encourage similar behavior in the future.

3:30:

People were very seriously injured

This wasn't a car crash. Here's a video from Army Basic Training when you're in a room filled with gas:

6:34:

I was just feeling frantic and I said, no, no, what are you doing?

There's no mention of what she was doing physically. There are multiple photographs of protesters attempting to physically remove arrestees away from police officers:

01 MAY 2008

And numerous others in which protesters - evidently under the impression are obliged to grant an audience during an arrest - are within reach of an officer.

6:45:

I was given no warning and I was doing nothing illegal.

RCW 9A.76.020 ("Obstructing a law enforcement officer):

(1) A person is guilty of obstructing a law enforcement officer if the person willfully hinders, delays, or obstructs any law enforcement officer in the discharge of his or her official powers or duties.

The Job of a Law Enforcement Agent

Submitted by Robert Whitlock on Wed, 05/21/2008 - 8:07pm.

You wrote that the job of a police officer is not to drag able-bodied persons through the streets. I agree.

The job of law enforcement is to enforce the law. That includes laws that go against war crimes and crimes against humanity. The military invasion and occupation of Iraq was and is an act of aggression. Iraq did not attack the USA prior to the invasion. Iraq did not even so much as threaten to attack (making even the claim of Pre-emption moot.)

Law enforcement failed last November because it sided itself with an illegal and highly immoral foreign policy of global dominance by means of military violence and aggression. An appropriate enforcement of the law would have been to join the blockade against the tools of an illegal, unjust war of aggression.

WOW Rob!

Submitted by JT on Wed, 05/21/2008 - 8:20pm.

I appreciate your passion on this subject, and even though I disagree with just about every statement you have made in past posts, I just let you be with your beliefs.

But the only answer I have for your above comment is you are completely wrong.

"Forgiving or punishing the terrorists is left to God. But, fixing their appointment with God is our responsibility."

itchyhitch.blogspot.com

Wow

Submitted by security_six on Wed, 05/21/2008 - 8:23pm.

I would argue that the OPD is a LOCAL law enforcement, charged with enforcing LOCAL laws first. National/International law are way beyond any local agency's jurisdiction.

Show me an injunction against the war in Iraq by a competent court with jurisdiction over Oly and I may change my tune.

Why aren't you filing for such an injunction for that matter?

You seem pretty sure you have solid proof. Take it to a federal judge and seek an injunction.

Confucius Say-"He who need inquire if safe with one in pipe, ask loaded question!"

Fr Gd sk cn't y gt vr yrslf?

Submitted by Merwyn Haskett on Thu, 05/22/2008 - 7:55am.

Fr Gd sk cn't y gt vr yrslf? Pll yr hd t f th clds nd cm bck dwn t Plnt rth (f y vr wr n Plnt rth t bgn wth

Hly Smks!

Submitted by JstPlnOnry on Thu, 05/22/2008 - 8:14am.

Whtvr Rbrt s ngstng s rlly ltrng hs prcptn f rlty.

Rob

Submitted by Norm on Fri, 05/23/2008 - 6:33pm.

United States "civilian" judicial police forces don't enforce international law, that is the UN's job. If you think there is an injustice please inform the UN to act. Local cops do the job of enforcing local, state, and federal laws (even this is sticky at times). Their job is not to "side" with anyone beyond their local government. Your local government felt you were wrong. An appropriate enforcement of the law took place. To expect what you are suggesting is highly delusional.

Some people are claiming excessive use of force

Submitted by Guglielmo on Thu, 05/22/2008 - 8:58am.

It is a constitutional issue that a court will decide.

I'm reminded of a pretty

Submitted by NWarty on Thu, 05/22/2008 - 9:57am.

I'm reminded of a pretty good Saturday Night Live sketch from Mike Myers.

"Your story has become tiresome." - Deiter from Sprokets.

OlyBlog.net

OlyBlog is devoted to hyperlocal news and discussion specifically about Olympia, Washington. Contributors to OlyBlog are citizen journalists who care about their community and are tired of corporate media.

If you'd like to contribute, please register for an account. Here is a list of local news beats that need to be covered. You can post your news as a personal blog entry, and it will be reviewed (and possibly edited) for promotion to the front page. You can also send news via email. All members of OlyBlog agree to abide by our Social Contract. You should also look at our comment and fair use policies. If you are frustrated about something said in a comment thread, go here.

Olyblogger of the Month:

decorabilia

Online users

Comment viewing options