Referee Endorses Tougher Penalties Against Those Who Assault Officials

Referee Bob West wants the Legislature to stiffen penalties for people who assault school employees or sports officials.

“As legislators, you are referees of sorts with the ability to make the right call,” said West, who wore his black- and white-striped ref’s shirt while testifying Wednesday before the House Law and Justice Committee.

West, a 20-year varsity wrestling official from Spokane, became an advocate for changing the state’s assault penalties after a Colville High School wrestler intentionally head-butted him as he refereed a match in January 1996.

The wrestler, Chad Hildebrandt, had just lost his match and was confronting his opponent when West tried to defuse the situation. A videotape of the incident was widely broadcast.

“I acquired my 15 minutes of fame at the hands of a 17-year-old,” West said.

After being hit, West fell backward to the floor and remained unconscious for the next 10 seconds. In the months that followed, he continued to suffer neck and back pain and racked up thousands of dollars in medical bills.

Hildebrandt was suspended from school and later pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail, a year of probation and 100 hours of community service.

The bill, HB1150, would allow a judge to impose the maximum penalty for assault if the attack occurs against a school employee or sports official while they are on the job.

For the lowest degree of assault - fourth-degree - that could be 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. For first-degree assault, it could be 20 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

At least 11 states have adopted laws making it a felony to assault a referee during a sporting event. In Washington, such legislation made it through the state House last year but died in a Senate committee.

West said he thinks a failure by parents to control their kids, and light sentences given people who commit assaults, have made it more dangerous to be a referee.

“Sports officials serve as law enforcement on a playing field,” and like police officers, deserve extra protection, he said. “‘Kill the ref’ is no longer a joke.”

In other developments:

Property taxes

A major Republican property tax cut bill cleared a House committee late Wednesday amid signs it will go to the governor by early next week - and straight to voters in November if he vetoes it.

The legislation, which passed the Senate last week, would put new limits on property tax rates and assessments and apply to all taxing districts with populations of more than 10,000.

The bill, SB5212, passed the House Finance Committee by a party line vote of 9-5 without amendment although leaders said it contained some flaws.

“If Gov. (Gary) Locke signs it, we can fix the problems in later legislation. If he doesn’t, we can fix them and send the bill straight to voters in a referendum,” said Finance Chairman Brian Thomas, R-Renton.

The measure would:

Require the governing bodies of all taxing entities with more than 10,000 people to vote by a simple majority if they wish to raise the property tax rate by anything up to the annual inflation rate, now running about 3 percent. A “super-majority” vote would be needed to raise the rate beyond the inflation rate, up to a maximum of 6 percent.

As is the case now, a vote of the people would be required to raise the rate above 6 percent. Current law allows taxing districts to automatically collect 6 percent more in taxes than the year before.

Create a procedure called “valuation smoothing” in which a taxing entity would be required to gradually phase-in tax increases for people whose assessed valuations go up 15 percent or more in a given year.