Student's trial over near-riot set to begin

Last March, a near-riot outside Everett High School involving Latino students, school administrators and police resulted in the arrest or suspension of 13 students, all but one a minority.

Latino parents protested on the Snohomish County Courthouse steps, saying school administrators escalated what had begun as a fight between two girls by calling police rather than handling it themselves.

School officials said they punished conduct, not race. The police said officers acted with restraint to quell an agitated, after-school crowd that had grown to between 60 and 100 students.

Today, opening remarks will be heard in Snohomish County Superior Court as a trial begins for the one student charged as an adult in the fight. Court documents say Rogelio Hernandez, then 18, assaulted an Everett policewoman who had taken one of the two girls to the ground. Police said they were pulling each other's hair and swearing at police and school administrators.

If convicted of third-degree assault, Hernandez could be sentenced to several months in jail and may face deportation to Mexico. He is a legal immigrant, but not a U.S. citizen. Juvenile court misdemeanor charges against three other students have been dismissed, pending the teenagers' successful completion of community service.

A lawyer for Hernandez doesn't dispute that his client knocked the policewoman down, but said he had come to the aid of a friend who was the victim in the fight.

"There were a lot of mistakes made that day, a lot of bad judgment, but Rogelio is the one who may be saddled with a criminal record," said Michael Schwartz, a Seattle defense attorney.

Prosecutors say the policewoman was in uniform and performing her lawful duties when Hernandez rushed at her from the crowd. "He ran straight at her right shoulder, where her gun was holstered," the court charging papers say.

Regardless of the outcome of the trial, the fight left scars that are still healing. Everett High School administrators have sponsored "Challenge Days" to break down barriers and establish connections among disparate groups of students. They've also brought in Latino speakers for assemblies.

Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson held three community meetings to hear Latino families' concerns.

But Christina Castorena, Associate Dean for Diversity and Equity at Everett Community College who works with some Latino high-school students, said, "Things haven't changed that much. They learn almost nothing about their history and culture. They still feel marginalized."

Lynn Thompson: 425-745-7807.