Mistrial declared in assault trial of former deputy

A mistrial was declared today in the case of former King County sheriff's Deputy Paul Schene after jurors split 11 to 1 to convict him of assaulting a teenage girl during a videotaped encounter in a SeaTac City Hall holding cell in 2008.

The 12-member jury told Superior Court Judge Michael J. Fox this afternoon that it was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on a charge of fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $5,000 fine. After conferring with attorneys for both sides, Fox declared a mistrial.

One juror favored acquitting Schene, according to the King County Prosecutor's Office.

The jury had begun its deliberations late Wednesday afternoon.

Schene displayed no obvious reaction when the judge announced his decision. His lawyer, Peter Offenbecher, placed an arm around Schene's shoulder.

Fox told jurors they shouldn't feel that failed by not reaching a unanimous verdict.

"Hard cases make for hard decisions," he said.

Prosecutors immediately announced they would retry Schene.

Offenbecher said he was disappointed that he was unable to sway the jury into finding Schene not guilty of the charge. He said he is prepared to defend Schene at a new trial.

Schene declined to comment. When asked by a reporter how he was feeling, the former deputy shrugged his shoulders.

All 12 jurors declined to comment. At least two covered their face as they walked out of the courtroom.

During the trial, prosecutors alleged Schene, 32, assaulted Malika Calhoun, then 15, when he kicked her, grabbed her hair, shoved her into a wall and twice punched her while she was on the ground after she flipped an athletic shoe from her foot at him.

Calhoun, who was being booked for allegedly stealing her guardian's car, had been told by Schene to remove her shoes at the cell door.

Schene testified during the trial that the shoe came toward his groin before hitting his right leg, prompting him to subdue Calhoun before she could kick her other shoe at him. He said he considered her act to be felony assault on a police officer.

Calhoun, 16, testified she removed the shoe in a routine fashion and didn't intend for the shoe to strike Schene.

The case drew widespread publicity when the video was released in February 2009, shortly after Schene was charged with assault.

In closing arguments Wednesday, Deputy Prosecutor Gary Ernsdorff asked jurors to uphold the rule of law, declaring Schene used unreasonable force.

"There is a reason we have adults" serve as police officers, Ernsdorff said. "We expect them to to act like adults at all times."

Ernsdorff asserted Schene snapped after swapping insults with Calhoun while booking her in the early hours of Nov. 29, 2008, along with another teenage girl who was driving the car.

Defense attorney Offenbecher told jurors Schene acted lawfully and like a "true professional," adhering to his training when he entered the cell to handcuff Calhoun.

Schene's actions represented a "textbook example" of how to take a person into custody, Offenbecher said.

Without injuring Calhoun, his client applied adequate force to assure he gained control of her and didn't allow her to take weapons from him.

"As violent and dramatic as that looks," Offenbecher said, referring to video of encounter, "there is not a bit of harm to her."

At the conclusion of his remarks, Offenbecher asked jurors to send a message that tossing objects at police officers isn't acceptable and that it's "not open season on police officers in King County."

Schene's trial began in November but was recessed until Jan. 11 when it was disclosed that Christopher Monfort, the accused killer of Seattle police Officer Timothy Brenton on Halloween, might have been motivated by the Schene case. Jury selection in the Schene case was delayed because of concerns about the timing of the proceedings.

Schene's written address was found in Monfort's apartment when Seattle police searched it shortly after Monfort was apprehended Nov. 6 as a suspect in Brenton's killing, according to law-enforcement sources.

Monfort, 41, was charged with first-degree aggravated murder and other charges, including the Oct. 22 firebombing of four Seattle police vehicles at a city maintenance yard. Prosecutors contended he randomly targeted Brenton and other Seattle officers solely because of their law-enforcement jobs.

Schene's name was mentioned in a threatening note left at the maintenance yard, according to court documents.

Calhoun sued the county and the case was settled in April, with the county paying $125,000 into a trust in the girl's name, according to the King County Prosecutor's Office.

Information from Seattle Times archives is included in this story.

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