Girl describes being 'shocked' as deputy punched her

The teenage girl who was kicked and punched by a King County sheriff's deputy in a holding cell in 2008 testified Wednesday that she was shocked by his actions and didn't resist him during what she described as a harrowing encounter.

Malika Calhoun, 16, also told a King County Superior Court jury that she didn't intend to strike Deputy Paul Schene with an athletic shoe when she kicked it off at his request before entering the cell.

Schene, 32, rushed into the cell after Calhoun flipped the shoe toward him, kicking her in her side, shoving her against a wall, throwing her to the ground and punching her twice.

Prosecutors charged Schene with misdemeanor assault over the Nov. 29, 2008, videotaped incident at the SeaTac City Hall holding cell, and he was fired from his deputy job in September.

Schene's attorney, Peter Offenbecher, maintains Schene used accepted tactics to prevent Calhoun from kicking her other shoe at him after the first missed his groin.

Calhoun testified she routinely flipped the shoe off the same way she does every time she gets home from school and that she didn't know where it landed.

She said Schene called out, "that's assault," but that she didn't know why he came after her.

"Was I putting up a fight or anything? No. I was too shocked," Calhoun told the jury.

After she was thrown to the floor, Calhoun said, Schene "punched my head twice."

In opening statements Tuesday, Offenbecher told the jury Schene punched Calhoun in a shoulder as a standard way to control her and handcuff her.

Sheriff's Deputy Travis Brunner, Schene's rookie partner the night of the incident, testified Wednesday that Schene punched Calhoun in the chest or shoulder.

Brunner also testified Calhoun's shoe hit Schene on his right leg and that Schene used standard techniques to subdue her.

Brunner said he was not concerned for his partner's safety and didn't think it was necessary to inflict pain on Calhoun for flipping the shoe.

Calhoun testified she felt pain during the encounter, and was so scared she wet her pants after Schene kicked her.

"I was so scared I didn't know what to do," she said of the punches.

On a scale of one to 10, she said her level of fear was "about a nine maybe."

Calhoun said that when she first arrived at the SeaTac facility, after being arrested for allegedly stealing her guardian's car with another teenage girl, she and Schene were casually "making fun of each other" and "talking down to each other."

Without a search warrant, Schene looked at photographs in a cellphone she had, commenting that both girls were ugly and the other girl had bad teeth, Calhoun said.

Calhoun said Schene also suggested she was a prostitute, prompting her to reply the deputy's wife was a prostitute.

Schene turned red with anger at the remark, as tension between the two escalated, Calhoun said.

Calhoun said that when she was unable to remove her necklace in the booking area because she was wearing fake fingernails, Schene "snatched it off my neck" without trying to undo the clasp.

Schene's actions in the cell left her sore on her leg and neck and gave her a headache, Calhoun told the jury.

Brunner, in his testimony, said Calhoun called him and Schene "fat pigs," but Calhoun didn't mention that in her testimony.

Calhoun is to return today to the witness stand, where she faces cross-examination from Offenbecher.

Steve Miletich: 206-464-3302 or smiletich@seattletimes.com.