BURIEN, Wash. — Police in Burien said they do not plan to pursue charges, at least for now, after a confrontation caught on video appeared to show a woman flashing a handgun at students protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) outside a Catholic high school earlier this year.
The incident happened Feb. 20 near Kennedy Catholic High School, where close to a dozen students had gathered along Southwest 148th Street across the street from the Burien Transit Center to protest ICE policies.
Video obtained by KIRO Newsradio shows a heated confrontation between students and a man and a woman riding in a pickup truck. After words were exchanged, several students could be seen making obscene gestures, including “middle-fingers” toward the occupants of the truck.
Moments later, the woman passenger rolled down her window and appeared to display a handgun toward the students. In the footage, her finger does not appear to be on the trigger, and she doesn’t appear to point the pistol at any students.
KIRO Newsradio showed the video and photo to Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for King County, Gary Ernsdorff, to get his reaction and understand how state law may or may not apply to the incident.
“First off, the person’s clearly trying to intimidate,” Ernsdorff initially said. “It sounds like the actor with the firearm was clearly trying to intimidate people exercising their First Amendment rights. You know, that’s not okay, and… given the circumstances, displaying a firearm in that fashion is illegal.”
Burien police couldn’t confirm the gun was real
So, why, after four months since the incident, have no charges been referred by the Burien Police Department (BPD) to King County prosecutors?
Because, in police reports sent to KIRO Newsradio Tuesday after a public records request filed in April, Burien investigators said they couldn’t identify a gun in the video or photos provided to them by students, and Ernsdorff agreed.
“You’d be surprised how many times we see replica guns out there,” he explained. “So, the sheriff’s office response is totally understandable, saying, ‘In order to prove assault in the second degree, in order to prove unlawful display of a weapon, we have to prove what this thing is.’”
In their reports, investigators also said they tracked the truck to the address listed on its registration, but were never able to locate the truck, the woman passenger, or a gun. BPD, which contracts with the King County Sheriff’s Office to provide the city’s law enforcement, then seemed to double down in their reports.
“Based on video provided to law enforcement, no crime occurred, and the actions of the passenger in the vehicle were justified given the specific circumstances … and current nationwide incidents regarding violence observed at protests,” one investigator wrote in a summary included in the report.
In the video, a female student can be seen quickly approaching the passenger side of the truck. She appeared to reach into the cab and put her hand inches away from the passenger’s face — showing the passenger her middle finger.
The police reports also redact the identities of the man and woman in the truck, along with the vehicle’s license plate number. Per state law, certain personal information shared with law enforcement is exempt from disclosure to the public or media, including information provided by the Department of Licensing.
Kennedy Catholic adds truck to campus security system
Kennedy Catholic High School declined to comment on the incident. In a letter to families, they explained that around 250 students took part in the non-school-sanctioned protest march and demonstration that day. The video involving the alleged gun shows a small fraction of that number. The letter explained that a police report had been filed.
“We have also entered this license plate and vehicle into our security system, which will alert school officials if this vehicle comes onto campus,” the letter stated. “We have no reason to believe this will happen, but we are taking this step as a reasonable precaution.”
Principal Matthew Mohs also said, “We are deeply grateful that no students were physically injured during this walkout and appreciate the communication and precautions student leaders took in preparation for this action.”
Ernsdorff expressed concern for students, but also about any incident that involves firearms.
“When you introduce a firearm to a heated engagement like that, you also run the risk of getting a response, and someone else might draw a firearm,” he said. “And these instances can quickly spiral out of control.”
Case sits in legal limbo without additional evidence
Washington law can allow criminal charges if someone intentionally displays a weapon in a way that intimidates or threatens others.
“I do think there is a middle ground on a harassment case … that probably doesn’t require us to prove that it’s an actual firearm,” he explained. “But typically, we want to know what the object was, and you know from a video, it, unless there’s something more, it’s very difficult to say beyond a reasonable doubt that’s a firearm.”
Without additional evidence, like a statement from the female passenger seen in the video and photo, investigators indicated there was not enough to forward criminal charges to prosecutors. And Ernsdorff said it would be difficult to know the motivation and reason for brandishing a firearm — whether to intimidate or for self-defense. Without those other elements, cases often sit in legal limbo, unable to move forward or close for good.
“In some instances, I would imagine these are fairly low priority incidences that don’t get investigated right away,” Ernsdorff explained. “And then as time passes, it becomes harder to prove these, especially if the firearm isn’t recovered or there’s no evidence it was an operable firearm.”
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