Wash. Students Walk Out After Campus Police Officer Program Cut

By Lauren Girgis

Source The Seattle Times

Hundreds of Bothell High School students walked out of class on Monday in protest of the Northshore School District's vote last week terminating the school's contract for a police officer.

The high school has had a stationed cop, known as a school resource officer, since 1994. The contract between the school district and city is reviewed annually, and board members voted to end the contract last week citing concerns about equitable policing and students of color feeling unsafe.

In the week since, an online petition calling to reverse the decision has garnered almost 4,000 signatures, and over 300 students left campus Monday morning in support of the school's current — and only — officer, Garrett Ware. He has been stationed at Bothell High since 2017.

“This district owes our community something more comprehensive, more equitable, and more empowering to all community members, board member Hân Trần said during the vote on May 11.

In lieu of a sworn officer, Bothell will instead have a second campus supervisor start in the fall. Three other Northshore high schools have two district-provided campus supervisors who "support proactive safety and security measures, respond to emergencies, (and) mentor students," district spokesperson Carri Campbell said in an email.

In June, Ware will leave campus and likely return to patrol, Bothell police Capt. Mike Johnson said.

At Monday's walkout, students chanted: "Hey hey, ho ho, give us back our SRO." Handmade signs read "Our safety is not political" and "Ware is our SRO."

Nils Peistrup, a Bothell senior who organized the walkout, said Ware has been a mentor and helped Peistrup get an internship with the King County sheriff's office internship.

"We all believe that the reasons the board used felt very personal to them," Peistrup said. "Our voices were not heard."

Peistrup's mother, Erin Peistrup, said several parents plan to speak with legal counsel to review their actions and file an appeal. Peistrup's younger son, Anders, will be a freshman at Bothell this year and was wearing a shirt Monday that said "Save Officer Ware."

Ware, monitoring the protest from his patrol vehicle, made the shape of a heart with his hands aimed at the crowd. His father, Ron Ware, joined the students, wearing a Thin Blue Line hat.

Garrett Ware said he felt "overwhelmed with support" on Monday.

"I'm just really proud of the students," Ware said. "I hope their voices are heard."

Several people held signs with blown-up photos of the four board members who voted against renewing the contract. One board member, Sandy Hayes, voted in support of the contract. Hayes said she had to "honor the students" who spoke to the board during public comment, overwhelmingly in favor of the program.

“You are correct in saying that you have elected all of us to represent you, but you also elect us to vote our conscience,” board member Carson Sanderson said last week, prompting jeers from the audience.

After the third "no" vote, community members and students erupted in cries of "Shame!" Some left the board meeting entirely.

“It concerns me that we are placing a police officer in a position as a confidant for students, encouraging them to tell him everything that concerns them or worries them, when those things can be used against them legally," Sanderson said during the meeting.

A statement from the board on Monday said it is "supportive of our students exercising their First Amendment rights" and "is aware of the petition and continues to monitor feedback."

"Our Board values community engagement and remains actively connected to the perspectives and experiences of our students, staff, families, and broader community," the statement said. "The petition is one of many ways feedback has been shared throughout this process and our deliberations."

During public comment last week, some students said they felt the perspectives of people of color were being continually referred to but not listened to. Several Spanish-speaking parents, through interpreters, described their support for having an officer in schools.

“As a student of color, I’m tired of watching everyone assume they already know how students of color feel," one student said.

Malik Lopez-Terron, president of the school's Black Student Union, said students "who historically feel less comfortable around law enforcement (have) been able to form a great connection with the law through Officer Ware."

A 2024 U.S. Government of Accountability Office review of school resource officers during the 2017-2018 school year found students’ race, gender and disability status impacted arrest rates in schools. Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Black and American Indian/Alaska Native students were arrested at rates that were two to three times higher than white students. Differences widened further if the kids had a disability.

The board's move comes as school resource officers in King County have been cut since the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020 and the subsequent racial reckoning in the U.S. In Northshore, Woodinville's contract was discontinued in 2022. North Creek High School ended its program in 2020, and Inglemoor High School discontinued their contract shortly after.

In Seattle, the school board rejected a plan to revive the school resource officer program amid discussion on public safety concerns at Garfield High School. The program had been axed in 2020, when the district placed a moratorium barring school resource officers from campuses.

Johnson, Ware's captain, said Bothell's program focuses on restorative justice pathways when possible. Throughout the 2025-2026 school year, there were 93 incidents at Bothell High, and Ware wrote 19 case reports. Some of the incidents included child sex offenses, threats and weapons violations. Johnson estimated about five cases a year actually get referred to prosecutors.

For instance, some students in the past have been accused of shoplifting from a nearby grocery store during lunch. Ware can meet with the manager, tell them about school sanctions options and ask if they're willing to not press charges so kids aren't prosecuted, Johnson said.

"They say yes," Johnson said. "Then our SRO has the time to meet with the school to tell them what happened, to identify the students, to reach out to their parents."

"In the future, when there's no SRO, they're going to get a patrol officer who is one of four people responsible for 50,000 residents in our community," Johnson said. "They don't have time to call parents.

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