School employees accused of abuse

OLYMPIA – Spurred by what State Patrol Chief John Batiste called a “very troubling” videotape shot by an anonymous complainant, officers have arrested two employees of the Rainier School, a state home for the developmentally disabled in Buckley, Wash.

The Department of Social and Health Services – which called police about the incident – won’t say publicly what was on the tape, except that it suggests the employees physically abused residents during an outing at a picnic area adjacent to the school grounds. Both workers were arrested Tuesday.

“It is physical abuse, not sexual abuse,” said DSHS spokesman Steve Williams. He repeatedly declined to specify the alleged abuse depicted on the tape. “Since it’s evidence, I can’t really discuss it.”

None of the residents appeared to have been physically harmed by the incident, he said, although “we’re checking and double-checking to be sure.”

The tape was provided to Seattle TV station KIRO, Williams said, which agreed to show DSHS officials eight of the “worst” segments. Concluding that the abuse violated state rules and perhaps the law, the officials reported what they’d seen to the State Patrol, Williams said, which subpoenaed the tape.

The agency said in the statement that it is “prepared to take immediate disciplinary action when charges are filed.”

“Families place their trust in us to care for residents living at Rainier and we must not let them down,” said DSHS Secretary Robin Arnold-Williams.

The school is home to 393 developmentally disabled people, with a staff of 1,056.