KOMO’s Ken Schram takes on the officer-attack case

Can’t think of the last time we had occasion to link to a commentary by Ken Schram (with whom we worked at KOMO back in the days he hosted Town Meeting), but Kay sent word of this one, so we’re sharing: Schram is giving one of his not-necessarily-coveted “Schrammies” to the judge in last week’s sentencing (WSB courtroom coverage here) of the teenagers convicted in connection with last year’s attack on Southwest Precinct Officer Jason McKissack. Read his commentary here.

13 Replies to "KOMO's Ken Schram takes on the officer-attack case"

  • blahgrrmudgeon June 24, 2009 (1:31 pm)

    I can’t say I’m a big fan of Schram but I have to agree with him here…bad decision by the judge….this was a violent crime by violent kids… it was egregious…they should go to jail for this, boring as it is or not.

  • TeresaP June 24, 2009 (1:40 pm)

    This is awesome!

  • Roadsterboy June 24, 2009 (1:51 pm)

    Glad Ken is helping to get some attention to this travesty beyond our West Seattle community. I’d like to see this judge lose his next election bid over this ruling.

  • bridge to somewhere June 24, 2009 (3:05 pm)

    i also hope this brings more attention to court proceedings in general. although i would love to believe this was an anomoly associated with one judge, i suspect it isn’t.

  • KateMcA June 24, 2009 (4:28 pm)

    I’m so glad that someone is bringing more attention to what a travesty these sentences were, and I’m glad we’re not the only ones who think this was a serious offense and a terrible miscarriage of justice.

  • Paul in Gatewood June 24, 2009 (4:54 pm)

    Completely agree. These kids are getting the message that assaulting a police officer is no big deal. By my definition, “justice” was definitely not done.

  • jc June 24, 2009 (5:01 pm)

    In fairness to Judge Washington, the most serious conviction carried a standard range sentence of 0 to 30 days. No one was convicted of a more serious offense. The prosecutor did ask for an exceptional sentence but Ken doesn’t tell us what the factors are that the judge must find to impose such a sentence or what actual evidence supported that. The judge may have just been following the law (or not) but it is impossible to tell from the story.

  • WSB June 24, 2009 (5:06 pm)

    Ken didn’t cover the actual sentencing (or the actual incident last year). We did, and the link to our coverage last week (with inline linkage to last year’s coverage) is above. The Seattle Times also wrote about the sentencing, though their story was shorter – TR

  • Koni June 24, 2009 (5:17 pm)

    We were just discussing this at home and wondering how to see that people remember this case the next time the judge is up for election. Any attack on a police officer should be considered as a more than usually serious offense!!!

  • still bothers me June 24, 2009 (8:24 pm)

    This judgement still bothers me horribly. I think of the officer and his family. His brain damage, his depression, the family’s rage and wonder how they will get passed it and reclaim their lives. And I think of the kids who weren’t taught anything about assaulting and almost murdering a police officer. Maybe because I am married to one and I know it could have been my husband. When he goes to work the nightshift I always pray that he comes home safe to me and his small daughter. The brutality of this case and the message this judge sent is absolutely chilling to me. I am still mulling it over wondering what we are to learn from its outcome. We also live here in West Seattle as do many SPD officers and we love our community. Thanks for your support West Seattleites and WSB. I am sending healing thoughts to the McKissack family. Thanks for the awareness Ken.

  • ScubaO2 June 24, 2009 (10:09 pm)

    Can the Mayor unseat Washington before his term’s up? The Governor? Are we really stuck with Washington until the next election cycle? Can The People file a grievance against him?

  • homesweethome June 25, 2009 (7:18 am)

    It is important to always read about, and vote for or against judges – many people scim this part of the ballot. Read up on these folks and volunteer for campaigns that support causes that are near and dear to you. One verdict will not unseat a sitting judge, but the next election can.

  • bridge to somewhere June 25, 2009 (8:12 am)

    you know, i wrote to judge washington to express my dissatisfaction with the sentencing, and he wrote back a very reasonable, actually sensible response.
    .
    i still don’t know if i agree with his bottom line, but i am less angry with him specifically than i was before, and more generally frustrated with a process that allowed these thugs to get off with time served.
    .
    jc is right (although this is clearly unpopular to say): judge washington was bound by sentencing guidelines and the case and charges that were brought before him. these boundaries were defined by many people other than he — the legislature, the prosecutors, etc. and in this particular case, as much as it pains me to write this, there is a bit of a problem when someone is tried for a lesser crime (assualt three) and then is sentenced under a greater crime (sentences greater than assault three) — and perhaps judge washington was right in holding firm on this. you cannot be tried for a small offense, then get railroaded into a huge sentence as if you were tried for a large offense — that isn’t fair. (and just so we’re clear, yes, i know it isn’t fair what these kids did either — but our law and its enforcement has to be fair). we don’t know why the prosecutor didn’t bring assualt 2 charges — but if he or she had, perhaps we wouldn’t be having this discussion.
    .
    again, i’m not saying i agree with anything that happened here and i definitely think these kids deserve jail. but the problem is in blaming one public servant for a constellation of factors that amounted to the kids getting-off with time served. if you’re pissed — i mean really pissed — then talk to your congressman about the sentencing rules they set. talk to your elected officials about jail occupancies. talk to your prosecutor’s office about its budget and how that effects its ability to try cases. sometimes the easiest person to blame is not the true culprit.

Sorry, comment time is over.