SEATTLE – A King County District Court inquest jury took less than an hour to determine that Seattle police were justified when they shot and killed a man who had brought an inactive grenade into the lobby of the downtown federal courthouse.
Inquest jurors unanimously answered 20 questions about the facts of the shooting. One was the pivotal question about whether officers had reason to believe that Perry Manley, 52, of Seattle presented an imminent risk of death or serious injury to civilians, court personnel and other officers when he brought the grenade into the courthouse on June 20 and tried to bypass security.
Jurors concluded Wednesday that officers in the courthouse saw the grenade in Manley’s hand, told him several times to put it down and shot him when he failed to comply.
Associated Press
Blaine: School ‘hit list’ spurs probe by police
Police are investigating the discovery of a so-called “hit list” at Blaine High School.
The note, found Wednesday in a school hallway and turned in to administrators Thursday, warned several students would die Friday.
The list contained the names of 12 students and the school principal. It had “hit list” written across the top and the words: “You will die on 10/21.”
There was also a drawing of a stick figure with a gun.
Administrators gave the note to police, increased patrols at the school Friday, although many students opted to stay home, including those named on the list. Searches for signs of ammunition turned up nothing.
“We can’t find any commonality in terms of any one thing that would make all of those kids potential victims, but we are investigating,” Police Chief Mike Haslip told KING-TV of Seattle.
Associated Press
Tacoma: Costume leads to student’s suspension
Fourteen-year-old James Watkins says he was just trying to be funny. And, he says, plenty of other kids and passers-by thought it was funny, too.
Steilacoom school officials weren’t amused. They suspended the teen for three days for what Watkins considered a hilarious practical joke: wearing an inflatable penis costume on school grounds.
James, a Pioneer Middle School eighth-grader, donned the outfit, stood outside Steilacoom High School and showed it off to teens attending a Saturday night homecoming dance on Oct. 8. He said he politely complied when a couple of teachers asked him to take off the costume.
The laughs ended a few days later, when James’ dad, Mark Watkins, got a call from a Pioneer administrator saying James was being suspended for three days.
The suspension notice says he received the discipline for “sexual harassment, misbehavior at school-sponsored event, disruptive conduct and dress and appearance.”
James served his sentence, but he and his parents are contesting the discipline, arguing the incident didn’t happen at Pioneer Middle School and that the event was not during school hours.
The News Tribune
Oregon: Forest Service resumes issuing permits
The U.S. Forest Service said Friday it will resume issuing permits for mushroom picking, hunting outfitters, Christmas trees and other small projects after a federal judge clarified his ruling in a lawsuit over public participation in forest management decisions.
Clarifying an earlier ruling, U.S. District Judge James Singleton Jr. wrote Wednesday that the Forest Service needs to take public comments and consider appeals on major projects, such as timber sales and new off-highway vehicle trails – not on minor things such as permits for hunting guides or gathering mushrooms.
The Forest Service had suspended nearly 1,500 activities nationwide, including cutting an 80-foot spruce in New Mexico to serve as the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree.
Associated Press
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