Cops called after fight among Everett school board members
EVERETT, Wash. - A disagreement at an Everett School Board meeting got so heated, police were called to intervene.
A tussle erupted Tuesday night during a closed door session after a long and divisive public meeting. The dispute centered on the job performance review of Superintendent Gary Cohn.
Things heated up when school board member Jessica Olson turned on a small videotape machine and other board members objected.
Olson has gotten a reputation on the board for video-taping proceedings. But when she pulled out her camera Tuesday night, the meeting broke into the kind of fight you'd more likely see at a playground or school yard.
Moments after a document lands on the desk, you see a scramble to snatch it. Then someone reaches for the camera and the scuffle begins.
Olson says fellow board members were trying to railroad through a performance review of the school superintendent. and Olson wanted to document the process. But when she reached for a copy of the report, fellow board member Kristie Dutton went to stop her.
"So I leaned across to grab the nearest copy to me," Olson said. "And almost as soon as I grabbed it, she lunged at me and began grappling, trying to pull the document out of my hand, and pried my fingers away from the document."
Board member Jeff Russell says trying to record a private proceeding was inappropriate, but no one was going after Olson.
"What I saw was really just a tug of war focused on a document," Russel said.
Russell says the other board members handed back the performance reviews, but Olson refused.
Olson says her fingers were left bleeding in the scuffle, then board president Ed Peterson put her in a bear hug.
"Grabbed me from behind, had me in this lock with his arms, "Olson said. "He was pushing down on my arms. We were wrestling, like in a three person bear hug."
At that point, Olson and Dutton called 911. Police took a report and will forward the case to prosecutors to see if a criminal assault occurred.
"The attention is unfortunate, because the attention should always be on the quality kids we have in this district," Dutton said.
The district says Olson is free to continue recording public meetings, but draw the line when it involves school staff or any sort of executive session, as was the case Tuesday night.
Olson says the part she recorded wasn't privileged.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
A tussle erupted Tuesday night during a closed door session after a long and divisive public meeting. The dispute centered on the job performance review of Superintendent Gary Cohn.
Things heated up when school board member Jessica Olson turned on a small videotape machine and other board members objected.
Olson has gotten a reputation on the board for video-taping proceedings. But when she pulled out her camera Tuesday night, the meeting broke into the kind of fight you'd more likely see at a playground or school yard.
Moments after a document lands on the desk, you see a scramble to snatch it. Then someone reaches for the camera and the scuffle begins.
Olson says fellow board members were trying to railroad through a performance review of the school superintendent. and Olson wanted to document the process. But when she reached for a copy of the report, fellow board member Kristie Dutton went to stop her.
"So I leaned across to grab the nearest copy to me," Olson said. "And almost as soon as I grabbed it, she lunged at me and began grappling, trying to pull the document out of my hand, and pried my fingers away from the document."
Board member Jeff Russell says trying to record a private proceeding was inappropriate, but no one was going after Olson.
"What I saw was really just a tug of war focused on a document," Russel said.
Russell says the other board members handed back the performance reviews, but Olson refused.
Olson says her fingers were left bleeding in the scuffle, then board president Ed Peterson put her in a bear hug.
"Grabbed me from behind, had me in this lock with his arms, "Olson said. "He was pushing down on my arms. We were wrestling, like in a three person bear hug."
At that point, Olson and Dutton called 911. Police took a report and will forward the case to prosecutors to see if a criminal assault occurred.
"The attention is unfortunate, because the attention should always be on the quality kids we have in this district," Dutton said.
The district says Olson is free to continue recording public meetings, but draw the line when it involves school staff or any sort of executive session, as was the case Tuesday night.
Olson says the part she recorded wasn't privileged.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Learn about changes coming to commenting