The parking lot at Memorial Stadium was clogged with people and cars trying to leave a football game between Seattle high school rivals Franklin and Garfield. A fight had already broken out when Officer Daina Boggs says she found herself in a dangerous situation.
She and another officer, David Blackmer, were suddenly outnumbered by a concerned father and two teenage girls smaller than her. But, to Boggs, anyone is a threat.
"I've seen four-year-olds assault officers before," the officer said in court last week, so, when it comes to assessing threats, "size doesn't matter."
That was part of Boggs' testimony in the trial that started Oct. 17 for Toby Campbell, who is accused of assaulting Boggs on Sept. 15, 2006 -- an incident in which Campbell, a Black DJ whose stage name is DV One, says it was he, not Boggs, who got jumped by police, who Tased and stomped on him.
In testimony before the jury, it was hard to tell why the scuffle started or who did the grabbing. In questioning, Boggs wasn't clear on certain facts. Others were directly contradicted by a 15-year-old witness and friend of Campbell's daughter.
Boggs, Blackmer and another member of the the police department's Anti-Crime Team testified they were assigned to last year's Franklin-Garfield game because of past violence between the rivals. While directing traffic out of an exit near the Experience Music Project, Boggs and Blackmer said that Andrea Campbell responded with a sarcastic "I'm sorry" to a request to get out of traffic.
After two more requests, Blackmer said he then grabbed the girls by their backpacks, taking the 14-year-old Campbell over to one of the police team's SUV. "There was an escalating voice and some swearing," Boggs testified, but "I don't recall if I heard actual words."
When she saw a man running in the direction of Blackmer and the girl, she said she stepped in his path and put her arm up to stop him as he slowed to a walk. At that point, Campbell has said he told Boggs he was the girl's father, but that the officer refused to let him pass.
On the stand Wednesday, Boggs said there was no conversation, but later testified, "I said something, but I don't recall what I said."
Campbell shoved her and hit her in the face three or four times with an open hand, she said. She grabbed his shirt or jacket with her right hand, then pulled her body close to Campbell's to avoid further blows. After that, she said, Campbell got her in a bear hug from behind and the two somehow fell to the ground.
During the struggle, Boggs said she engaged her radio and called for backup. Campbell has said she did that prior to the struggle -- which he says started after Boggs raised a flashlight to strike him and he threw up his hands to block her.
On the ground, the officer said the two were facing each other with Campbell on top -- the position in which Blackmer testified earlier that he Tased Campbell once for 11 seconds. After that, Boggs said, she crawled out from under Campbell.
Franklin sophomore Jasmine Ortega later contradicted Boggs, saying it was Boggs who put Campbell in a bear hug from behind and that Blackmer used the Taser while Campbell was on his feet, causing him to fall to his knees.
The officers called for backup, Ortega said, then Blackmer Tased Campbell again. Other officers arrived and, through their feet, the girl said she could see one of them stomp on Campbell's face and kick him. Ortega said she never saw Officer Boggs on the ground.
The red raspberry of Campbell's face in photographs taken after the incident were the result of Campbell's fall to the asphalt, Blackmer testified. But, "from what I could see," Ortega said, "they were stomping on his face." A verdict in the trial could come as early as Wed., Oct. 31.