Man spared jail time in assault on officer

A Seattle disc jockey convicted of assaulting a police officer outside a high school football game was ordered Friday to serve 240 hours of community service as an alternative to 30 days in jail.

Toby Campbell, also known as DV One, faced a maximum of three months in jail. Several community members, including three of the jurors who convicted him, spoke on his behalf.

On Sept. 15, 2006, Campbell went to pick up his daughter at Memorial Stadium after a football game between Franklin and Garfield high schools. Police were out in force because of past fights and gang activity that followed the rivalry game.

Campbell, 35, saw his 14-year-old daughter arrested by police on suspicion of blocking traffic and disobeying officers. Officers testified that Campbell rushed toward them and assaulted an officer trying to stop him from interfering with another officer questioning his daughter.

Judge Greg Canova, who sentenced Campbell, said the evidence portrayed him more as "an overly protective father who overreacted" than an "out-of-control person who hated the police."

"What this case is about is an example of extremely bad judgment under stressful circumstances," he said.

Campbell was convicted on one count of third-degree assault, a felony, after a King County Superior Court trial.

In testimony, Officer Daina Boggs described how she was injured after the defendant struck her and wrapped her in a "bear hug," causing them to topple over.

Officer David Blackmer used a Taser on Campbell as the defendant struggled with Boggs.

Defense attorney Lisa Daugaard had argued Campbell's contact was incidental as he tried to see what was happening to his daughter and contended that police overreacted.

Three jurors, including the jury foreperson, said they believed Campbell's behavior was not as aggressive as it had been alleged. But they said they were bound by the law, which defines assault as "intentional touching or striking" that is "harmful or offensive" regardless of severity or injury.

In a letter to the judge, juror Ian Challis said he doubted police would have treated Campbell and his daughter, who are black, as "roughly" if they had been "white."

Juror Matt Roach said in court, "Our decision was legally correct, but I don't think it was just, as far as what I felt happened that night."

The Police Department's Office of Professional Accountability investigated allegations that officers used excessive force on Campbell and made racist remarks and found no evidence that officers engaged in misconduct.

The judge, in citing the defendant's past work with police on community projects, said Campbell should have known his limits with officers.

"The jury would not have convicted, or could not have convicted, if it believed Mr. Campbell's version of events," he said.

Roach, the juror, said after the hearing that he also understood why police must be assertive and why the law has a low threshold.

"You have to have something to make someone think twice about any kind of negative contact with an officer," he said.