Bicyclist won't be charged with felony for assaulting deputies

Thursday, July 27, 2006

A bicyclist arrested last month by King County sheriff's deputies during a Critical Mass ride will not face felony charges.


		Dan DeLong / P-I
	Zachary Treisman was arrested June 30 for investigation of third-degree assault.

The bicyclist, Zachary Treisman, was arrested June 30 for investigation of third-degree assault.

In a statement released Wednesday, the King County Prosecutor's Office said there were too many issues over the circumstances surrounding the allegations that Treisman assaulted the deputies.

Treisman was taking part in a regular bicycle demonstration called Critical Mass in which scores of bicyclists ride through downtown Seattle in a show of support for bicyclists rights.

The deputies, in plainclothes, were part of the Metro Transit Police and were in an unmarked van driving through downtown when it was stopped by the bicyclists. The deputies arrested one of the riders, an 18-year- old man. Treisman tried to intervene.

Treisman said he did not know the men taking his friend to the ground were law enforcement officers until after he jumped in to help his friend.

Numerous witnesses supported his version, saying deputies did not immediately identify themselves.

The Sheriff's Office has said the deputies did identify themselves.

In declining to file charges against Treisman, who was accused of assaulting a deputy, the Prosecutor's Office said the deputies were not seriously hurt, no weapons were used against them, and there was no attempt to disarm them, the statement read.

The entire case has now been turned over to the City Attorney's Office for consideration of misdemeanor charges.

A spokeswoman for the office said the case has not yet been reviewed, and it was not clear when a decision on charges would be made.

The matter put a spotlight on a growing trend of Metro deputies taking law enforcement action in the city limits.

It's an issue that has upset some Seattle police officers, who used to make up a large part of Metro security, working off-duty.

Of the prosecutor's decision, sheriff's Sgt. John Urquhart said: "The role of the Prosecutor's Office is to make filing decisions. Our role is to make arrests. That's how the system works. We rarely quibble with their decisions, and we're not this time, either."

Critical Mass supporters are planning a larger-than-average rally for Sunday with a race to raise money for a legal defense fund and a barbecue at Woodland Park.

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