Rioters should pick up bill for damages

Sheriff Dan Kimball has gladly accepted a check from The Evergreen State College to cover the costs of damage to four sheriff patrol cars during a riot at the campus on Feb. 15.

But ultimately Kimball wants those who are arrested, charged and convicted of riot-related crimes to pay for the damage. He’s told County Prosecutor Ed Holm that and will press for full restitution as the cases come to trial.

Good for Kimball.

And good for The Evergreen State College President Les Purce, who called the sheriff the day after the riot and pledged to do all he could to have the college cover the costs to repair the damaged patrol cars.

One car was flipped onto its top. It was a total loss, Kimball said. Three other vehicles sustained body damage: a broken windshield, a dented hood, a broken side window, a bashed in door. Total costs amounted to $50,926.33 and that’s the amount of the check sent to the sheriff’s office from the college.

“That was really nice,” Kimball said. “And the fact that it only took six weeks was pretty impressive. I’m not sure we could turn things around here that quickly. It is robbing Peter to pay Paul at some level, but I think it was the responsible thing to do.”

The money came out of an unspent college reserve fund that collects excess student fees and tuition. According to college spokesman Jason Wettstein there are no public tax dollars commingled in the reserve account. The reserve fund has about $1 million in it and is used for emergency needs such as temporary housing for campus employees during the remodel of the Evans Library building.

Kimball said the check from the college covered all of the county’s equipment expenses. County officials talked about but did not charge the college for manpower expenses.

“It’s our job to respond to crises,” Kimball said. “I didn’t think we should ding them for that. Besides, the big ticket was the damaged vehicles.”

But the sheriff insists that the criminal defendants ultimately be held accountable for their actions. “I can’t talk about these cases individually because it’s still in court, but I can say a fair amount of these kids recognize they screwed up,” Kimball said.

While he leaves the final decision on restitution up to Prosecutor Holm and his staff of attorneys, Kimball said he has conveyed his philosophy on accountability to the prosecutor. In this case, Kimball said, the riot defendants who have no prior criminal history should face hefty restitution payments. Those with a prior criminal record probably should be treated differently, with more severe charges and jail time. Restitution is essential, Kimball said.

“I always ask myself, ‘How is justice best served?’,” Kimball said. In this case, he believes justice is best served by making those who did the damage pay the bill.

It’s a sound approach that prosecutors should embrace.