School, but not police, punish Lake Stevens student over ‘racist’ post

Police found the girl’s social-media post about raccoon hunting was not a thinly veiled threat, but it was in “poor taste.”

(Lake Stevens School District)

(Lake Stevens School District)

LAKE STEVENS — Police believe a Lake Stevens student’s social media post was legitimately about hunting raccoons, not a hate crime, though it was interpreted by some students and staff as a racist threat of violence.

Meanwhile, Lake Stevens School District Superintendent Ken Collins still condemned the post as “racist and hateful” in an email to staff, families and students.

In the post Feb. 25, an 18-year-old student was pictured holding a pellet gun with the caption “going (expletive) huntin,” according to police reports. She was also wearing a shirt reading, “Let’s Go Brandon,” which has become a euphemism for an expletive against President Joe Biden. A 16-year-old student took the photo, captioned and posted it. Both girls attend Lake Stevens High School.

Students who reported the post to the school district interpreted the student’s use of the shortening of “raccoon” in the post as an offensive slur for a Black person. According to the Jim Crow Museum, the slur “is one of the most insulting of all anti-black caricatures,” and a term born during slavery.

“As a student of color, this does not make me comfortable going to school with people who have such an injurious agenda,” one Lake Stevens student wrote to school administrators.

“This is not only direct hate speech towards a minority group using a racial slur, but a safety threat for our fellow Black students that attend the high school,” another wrote.

Lake Stevens Deputy Police Chief Jeff Young said “nothing in the post indicated it was racially motivated.” The investigation was handed back to the school district for adjudication.

“We live in the country and have issues with raccoons attacking our cats,” one of the students wrote in a statement to the school district. “We hunt them to protect our animals.”

The student who wrote the caption was placed on a 10-day suspension for a school “behavioral violation,” according to a letter to the poster’s parents.

“The post did create a substantial disruption for the school and caused fear and concern for students and community members,” the letter states. As a result, the student received consequences “under the category of Disruption” instead of “Safety Violation.”

Regardless of the post’s intent, “we have zero tolerance for this behavior and it is not representative of our school district,” district spokesperson Jayme Taylor told The Daily Herald on March 1.

“… I will not apologize for calling the post out as racist,” Superintendent Collins wrote to a Lake Stevens parent in a March 4 email, shared with The Herald. “The post was hate speech, regardless of the intent.”

The school district has been working with the Snohomish County chapter of the NAACP in response to the incident, Taylor told The Herald.

According to Young, the post “was in poor taste” but didn’t rise to the level of a hate crime. Holding a weapon is not a violation of the law.

“After reviewing the posts and information available to me at the time of this report,” Lake Stevens officer Jim Barnes wrote, police could not find probable cause that there was a direct threat against a person or group of people.

Police also noted that a lack of school discipline or criminal record suggests neither the student in the photo nor the student who posted the photo “have a history of discrimination or hateful speech toward any specific group of people.”

The mother of the student posing in the photo with the gun told The Herald that the students “had no clue and no knowledge” the word was a slur.

The mother said she’s personally aware of the meaning, but “because of my upbringing, and I guess, where we live, I may not have thought about it at the time.”

“If she knew what she was saying, she just wouldn’t have said it,” the poster’s mother said.

Shortly after the photo was posted, a student of color reached out to the poster, pointing out that the word used in the photo could be interpreted as a slur, the poster’s mother said.

The student later posted “what appeared to be an apology for how her post was interpreted,” according to the police report.

“just posting this because what i posted on my private story was not meant to be the way you guys thought it was and i’m sorry to everyone,” a screenshot attached to the police report states. “if you want to talk to me about it please text me so i can explain.”

Last year, a Missouri school principal similarly apologized for the “hurt and offense” teachers’ use of the slur in a game of “human Scrabble” may have caused their community. One parent said they were speechless a slur like that could be used by educators, a local news station reported.

Some Lake Stevens parents say their kids hear racial slurs “daily” in Lake Stevens schools. In a private Facebook group, one mother wrote kids “are becoming desensitized to it because it is so prevalent.”

“I along with most people see this as further evidence of a lack of understanding of how microaggressions, micro-assaults and in this case, hate speech are deeply embedded in our community,” Collins wrote in a March 1 email to a Lake Stevens parent, shared with The Herald. “I am not ok with our students and families living in fear because someone posted a tone-deaf subject at the expense of traditionally marginalized students.”

Isabella Breda: 425-339-3192; isabella.breda@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @BredaIsabella.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

An American Robin picks a berry from a holly tree on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Calling all birders for the annual Great Backyard Bird Count

The Audubon Society will hold its 28th annual Great Backyard… Continue reading

A view of one of the potential locations of the new Aquasox stadium on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. The site sits between Hewitt Avenue, Broadway, Pacific Avenue and the railroad. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Initial prep work for AquaSox stadium to start, with $200k price tag

The temporary agreement allows some surveying and design work as the city negotiates contracts with designers and builders.

The Joann Fabric and Crafts store at 7601 Evergreen Way, Everett, is one of three stores in Snohomish County that will close as part of the retailer’s larger plan to shutter more than half of its stores nationwide. (Aaron Kennedy / The Herald)
Joann store closure plan includes Everett, Arlington, Lynnwood locations

The retail giant filed a motion in court to close approximately 500 stores in the U.S.

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

Devani Padron, left, Daisy Ramos perform during dance class at Mari's Place Monday afternoon in Everett on July 13, 2016. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Mari’s Place helps children build confidence and design a better future

The Everett-based nonprofit offers free and low-cost classes in art, music, theater and dance for children ages 5 to 14.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

Lynnwood
Lynnwood police: 1 suspect in custody, 1 at large after attempted carjacking

Beverly Elementary School went into a precautionary lockdown Thursday afternoon. Numerous officers continue to search for the second suspect.

Candidates announce campaigns for Everett city council seat

Ryan Crowther, founder of the Everett Music Initiative, will challenge incumbent Paula Rhyne for the District 2 seat.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.