Trooper to get more training after protest sign altercation

A state trooper will be receiving additional training following an altercation with a handful of student protesters Monday on a University District overpass.

Six members of the student chapter of Justice Works, a group advocating reform in the criminal justice system, were holding a large mesh sign on the 45th Street bridge of Interstate 5 when they were approached by the trooper, said Jon Yousling, one of the students organizing the protest.

Protesters had been holding the sign -- which read "Education not incarceration" -- for more than an hour without disturbance when the trooper arrived. Heated words were exchanged as the trooper demanded the protesters remove the sign, which the State Patrol now acknowledges was displayed within the law.

"We knew what the regulations are," said Jaime Brown, a junior at the University of Washington. "He was still trying to get us to release the sign."

The trooper grabbed the sign, then dragged it and one of the protesters into the street, Yousling said. As more officers arrived, it became clear that the broken sign was returned to the protestors.

No arrests were made and no one was injured in the incident.

State Patrol Lt. Bill Gardiner said the incident will be noted in the personnel file of the trooper, who's been with the department for about 18 months. He will also receive training in conflict resolution.

"The bottom line is the trooper was probably a little gruff toward these students," Gardiner said. "It also looks like they were kind of egging him on as well, so there's a little of that."