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Ticketed, banned from Heritage Park for walking on powerhouse road

On Saturday, February 11, 2006 at approximately 5:20 p.m., my wife and I were walking along the road in Heritage Park underneath the state capitol building, heading to the foot path that leads up to the capitol. A state patrol car drove up from behind and pulled beside us with the passenger window down. The officer inside said that he would prefer it if we walk on the gravel trail beside the lake because "they" use that road.

A simple question

A bit amazed, I asked if that was a requirement, if there was a law or rule behind that (his "I would prefer" language made us doubt that this was a legal requirement). He replied that there is a sign "back there" and reiterated that "they" use the road. I asked him again if that was really a requirement, if there was a law or rule to that effect, and Lisa asked this as well. The officer responded, "I guess a warning's just not good enough for you," and got out of the car rather abruptly. As he walked behind the car toward us, I said that I jog this road all the time and have never heard this before. He asked if I had ID on me and I said yes. He demanded that I show him my ID. I felt I wasn't required by law to show him my ID but he was rather agitated and this situation already seemed way out of hand, so I did not question him and complied, providing him my Washington State ID.

Waiting in the cold

He took my ID and went back around the car and entered the vehicle. He sat in the car for about twenty minutes. During this time he looked through numerous books or binders, we believe searching for a law that he could cite me for violating. He was also on the radio at points and I believe on a cellular phone at one point. During this time it was very cold and Lisa and I did stretching to stay warm. Also during this time numerous people walked on the same roadway we were on, directly in front of this officer. At times, trying to point out the silliness of this all, we pointed to the people so the officer could plainly see that everyone else was doing the same thing.

Here's the law, buddy

Eventually the officer got out and came around the back of the car to us. He said he wrote down the law for me, and held the infraction in front of me on a small clipboard and told me to sign it. I said I want to know what it says before I sign it and began trying to read the amazingly tiny print on the infraction. By now it was much darker and I had left my eyeglasses at home -- as I always do when Lisa and I walk the lake. Lisa is used to this and often reads things aloud to me. She offered to read it to me and began doing so. The officer interrupted in a very forceful tone, saying "you better just sign it." At that point I noticed his right hand shaking, the hand holding the pen, either because of the cold or, more fearfully, because he was very agitated and tense. I hadn't read the complete statement, but I believed it was a legitimate infraction notice and the state wouldn't put a "sign away your rights" line on the form, so I signed it without reading the complete legalese. I really just wanted to de-escalate things -- the officer's shaking hand and forceful tone concerned me greatly. I felt that everything up to this point was not legal and it could get even worse if I didn't actively work on de-escalation.

Trying to get his name

After I signed the infraction, he began detaching my copy and organizing the numerous papers. I asked for his name and badge number and he said it's on the ticket. He handed me my copy of the infraction and I could see his scribbled signature but no printed name. I said that I was unable to read his signature and would appreciate it if he could write it too. He said "it's on there." I said yes, but again I can not read your signature and asked him again to print it legibly. He refused to do so. I said that if he wouldn't write down, at least he could say it aloud since I can't read his signature. He was silent, continuing to fiddle with slips of paper. After no fewer than five requests, he finally told me his name was R.J. Woods. The badge number he wrote down was 789 or 784.

Trespass warning

He then pulled out another form and said it was a trespass notice and demanded that I sign that too. The form was minimal in design and I could tell it had a legal statement in the form of "I, Ben Livingston ..." I felt it could very well be a statement saying that I agree to this action. I said that I wasn't comfortable signing that and would not do so. He said fine and wrote something where I was supposed to sign. He gave me a copy of the trespass order and said "I suggest you read that." He explained that if I'm caught in Heritage Park in the next thirty days I'll be arrested for criminal trespass and could go to jail. Then, as he walked back around the car to get in, he said, "that's what you get for getting smart with a trooper."

Ticket that lady too

We continued on our way to the foot path entrance one hundred feet in front of us. The trooper drove by us and continued the rest of the way along the road toward the capitol powerhouse. As we were walking up the first of the switchbacks to the capitol, the trooper had turned around and was parked at the bottom of the hill on the road. In front of him about twenty feet a woman was walking her dog on the very same path that I was ticketed for walking on. We stopped and, assuming he was paying some attention to us, pointed to the lady walking her dog. The trooper began to drive off, driving right by the woman who had to move out of his way.

And why not ticket Lisa?

As we walked up the switchbacks discussing how egregious that experience was, Lisa said, "and why didn't I get a ticket?" We stopped and looked at each other in a "what the?" sort of way. We also thought it rather odd that Officer Woods was so resistant to telling us his name.

A rather distressing experience

The whole experience was rather distressing. The officer's actions and forceful tone and demands seemed completely disproportionate to the situation at hand. And the situation should never have arisen in the first place. As I told the officer, I jog that path all the time. I have jogged past numerous state troopers on that path in the morning and I have spoken to a handful of them; none has ever said that path was off limits. I see people on that path every day. The public foot path to the capitol outputs onto that road, of course the public can walk on it. I was somewhat shaken by the experience and felt a bit ill in my stomach. I was planning on working that night as I had much overdue computer programming, but I felt I needed to focus my energy on relaxing my nerves. A gin and tonic and a few bites of dinner helped lessen the stomach queasiness and writing down this statement helped ease the nerves a bit.

Forbidden from my running path

I am now forbidden from entering Heritage Park for thirty days. This is extremely annoying as this is the place I go to jog. I start from my house, head around the lake counterclockwise starting on the power plant road, stop on the corkscrew hill and stretch on the bench, complete one lap, then up the switchbacks to the capitol where I stretch on the wood mushroom bench across from the capitol conservatory.

Is powerhouse road public?

Also of note, looking at a map of the capitol campus, the foot path down to Heritage Park is shown as outputting onto powerhouse road. I have looked at this map numerous times in the past; I used it two days prior while doing some citizen lobbying at the capitol. I don't understand how that road can be off limits when the trail quite obviously outputs onto it.

The law I violated

I was cited for violating RCW 46.08.15, Control of traffic on capitol grounds. The ticket is for $101. The WAC rule he cited is WAC 236-12-140 but I think he meant WAC 236-12-080, Regulatory signs and directions. Either I failed to obey a regulatory sign or I failed to comply with directions given by a uniformed officer. I assume it is the former not the latter, as the officer never directed us to leave the road; he only once said he would "prefer" it if we walked on the gravel path. If it is indeed the first one, the WAC rule seems to be applied in a discriminatory manner because numerous people were doing the same thing in plain view of the officer yet I was the only one he ticketed. Lisa was right beside me and didn't get a ticket for the same offense.

Court address?

Also, on the ticket the section for the court address was left blank by the officer; I am uncertain where to mail my contested hearing request. Because of this, I am photocopying my ticket and mailing a photocopy to the address I find in the phone book. The address wasn't in the phone book so I used the address on their web site.

Officer info

According to OFM records the trooper's name is Reginald J. Woods, his position is "Trooper 2," and he makes $4468/month. Past OFM records indicate he made $4380/month in 2003, $3759/month in 2001, $3154/month in 1999, and $2448/month in 1997 when he was a cadet.