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FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016
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Tides’ ace shuts down Wildcats’ playoffs, season Page 10
Feds charge troubled officer with using excessive force BY MIKE CARTER
The Seattle Times
A federal grand jury has indicted a former Tukwila police officer on a charge of violating the civil rights of a man he pepper-sprayed while the man was restrained on a gurney in the Harborview Medical Center emergency room in 2011.
Nick Hogan, who was fired by the department and is currently an officer with the Snoqualmie Police Nick Hogan Department, faces up to 10 years in federal prison and fines of up to
$250,000 for allegedly depriving the suspect of his civil rights by using excessive force. On Friday, the city of Snoqualmie announced it was placing Hogan on paid administrative leave in light of the federal indictment. Hogan, 35, is the first police officer in Western Washington in eight years to be federally charged for actions while “act-
ing under color of law,” according to court records. The indictment, handed down Thursday, alleges Hogan “willfully deprived” the victim “of the right … to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, which includes the right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a SEE CHARGED, PAGE 8
DYLAN CHAFFIN | dchaffin@snovalleystar.com
North Bend Elementary School teacher Rick Flanagan goes over last minute details on the voting process with his fifth grade students before they participate in the mock election May 20.
Real lessons at mock elections
BY DYLAN CHAFFIN dchaffin@snovalleystar.com
Each year, schools across the state allow K-12 students to use their democratic muscles in a nonpartisan, educational mock election designed to help kids become more informed voters.
For two fifth -classes at North Bend Elementary, the exercise held May 16 to May 20 was a worthwhile break from the curriculum and a chance to engage in a political conversation, with an introduction to the electoral process, the two main parties and what to expect during election
season. The classes didn’t go much into candidates, said fifth grade teacher Rick Flanagan, because he didn’t want to slant opinions. It’s Flanagan’s fourth presidential election season at the school, even though each November is with a different
set of students. Computers were set up to mimic voting booths, and students were able to thoroughly read the biographies of the candidates for both parties before voting electronically. “It’s really exciting,” said SEE ELECTIONS, PAGE 5
Portion of tribe’s lawsuit is dismissed BY SCOTT STODDARD
sstoddard@snovalleystar.com
A federal judge in Seattle on May 16 dismissed a portion of the Snoqualmie Tribe’s federal lawsuit against Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson and other city officials. U.S. District Judge James Robart sided with the city on the tribe’s discrimination claims, writing that the tribe failed to make a plausible case that the city’s move to end sewer services at the Snoqualmie Casino was motivated by race. Larson said the lawsuit “was never about discrimination.” “The City Council, the Administration, and our staff have always been committed to providing cost-effective utility services — fairly and without regard to race,” Larson said via a press release issued by the city. Robart gave the tribe 20 days to amend its complaint. A statement released by the tribe May 20 said: “The court dismissed, without prejudice, only one of the tribe’s multiple claims against the city. The tribe has every intention of amending our complaint to add more evidence of discrimination as requested by the court.” The tribe filed suit in December 2015 against Larson, City Council members, the city administrator and the public works director. It cited SEE LAWSUIT, PAGE 8
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