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THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JULY 16, 2019
Armed man attacking Tacoma’s
ICE detention center is killed
Man shot by police
By BRIAN CONTRERAS
and PAIGE CORNWELL
Seattle Times
TACOMA, Wash. — A
protest outside the federal
immigration detention cen-
ter in Tacoma last year drew
headlines when a 68-year-
old man wrapped his arms
around a police offi cer’s
throat and shoulders in an
apparent attempt to free
another protester.
When police got the man
into handcuffs, they found a
collapsible baton and knife
in his pocket, leading to
criminal charges.
Early Saturday morn-
ing, that man, Willem Van
Spronsen, of Vashon Island,
returned to the Northwest
Detention Center, the hold-
ing facility for the U.S.
Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, this time
armed with a rifl e and incen-
diary devices, according to
Tacoma police.
Police said Van Spron-
sen tossed lit objects at vehi-
cles and buildings, causing
one car fi re, and unsuccess-
fully tried to ignite a propane
tank.
Offi cers were called by an
ICE employee who saw the
rifl e. Soon after they arrived,
offi cers reported “shots
fi red,” said Tacoma police
spokeswoman Loretta Cool,
although it is unclear who
fi red fi rst or if Van Spron-
sen fi red at all. The Pierce
County Medical Examiner’s
Offi ce classifi ed his death as
a homicide.
The four responding offi -
cers all opened fi re and then
took cover, uninjured. After
medical aid arrived, offi -
cers found Van Spronsen
dead. He had multiple gun-
shot wounds, according to
the Pierce County Medical
Examiner’s offi ce.
Immigration is increas-
State Senate Republicans
face penalties over walkout
Senators fl ed the
state to protest
climate legislation
By AUBREY WIEBER
and CLAIRE
WITHYCOMBE
Oregon Capital Bureau
Seattle Times
Offi cers stand guard in front of a roadblock near the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma.
ingly a fl ashpoint Ameri-
can politics, and Van Spron-
sen’s death came on the eve
of national raids by ICE tar-
geting thousands of undocu-
mented immigrant families
who the government said
missed court hearings or
who had received removal
notices.
Deb Bartley, a friend of
Van Spronsen’s for about
20 years, described him as
an anarchist and anti-fascist,
and she believes his attack
on the detention center was
intended to provoke a fatal
confl ict.
“He was ready to end it,”
Bartley said. “I think this
was a suicide. But then he
was able to kind of do it in a
way that spoke to his politi-
cal beliefs ... I know he went
down there knowing he was
going to die.”
She and other friends of
Van Spronsen got letters in
the mail “just saying good-
bye.” He also wrote what
she referred to as a mani-
festo, which she declined
to discuss in detail but pre-
dicted would be taken by
authorities.
Maru Mora-Villalpando,
an activist with the group La
Resistencia, which has fre-
quently protested the con-
ditions at the detention cen-
ter and broader immigration
policy, said she did not know
Van Spronsen. Nor was La
Resistencia involved with
the June 2018 protest at
which he was arrested, she
said.
However, the group
believes, based on informa-
tion provided to them, that
Van Spronsen was target-
ing the detention center’s
parking lot, which includes
a fl eet of buses that trans-
ports immigrants to the
Yakima airport, where they
are deported.
Van Spronsen had worked
as a self-employed carpen-
ter and contractor, accord-
ing to court documents. He
was also a folk singer, play-
ing shows on Vashon Island
and around the Seattle area.
The 2018 protest involved
about 160 people outside the
detention center. About 40
people blocked a police car
that had arrived, prompting
the offi cer to call in backup;
about 25 offi cers responded.
In court documents, Van
Spronsen was accused of
lunging at a police offi cer’s
neck to help free a 17-year-
old protester who was being
detained. Van Spronsen
refused to comply with offi -
cers’ orders, and as he was
led through a crowd of pro-
testers, police said he tried
to pass the baton to another
protester. Van Spronsen was
punched in the face at least
once during the alterca-
tion. Nine other people were
arrested as well.
He ultimately pleaded
guilty in Pierce County
Superior Court to one count
of obstructing an offi cer,
a gross misdemeanor, and
received a one-year deferred
sentence in October, accord-
ing to court documents,
which labeled him indigent.
The four male offi cers
involved in Saturday’s fatal
shooting — whose tenure
with Tacoma police ranged
from 20 years to 9 months —
were placed on paid admin-
istrative leave per depart-
ment policy.
ICE spokeswoman Tanya
Roman confi rmed the shoot-
ing incident and said no ICE
employees were hurt nor
involved. She referred ques-
tions to Tacoma police. The
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives’
Seattle division said it will be
supporting the investigation.
La Resistencia had ini-
tially planned a protest of the
facility for Saturday after-
noon, but postponed the
event after reporting road
closures around the center.
SALEM — When
Republican senators fl ed
the state in June to avoid
voting on controversial leg-
islation, they were gone for
nine days.
They drove or fl ew out
of state, stayed in hotels or
cabins, and otherwise lived
out of sight.
Most went to Idaho,
though state Sen. Fred
Girod, R-Stayton, told the
Oregon Capital Bureau he
was in Texas. A spokesman
for Sen. Dennis Linthi-
cum, R-Klamath Falls, said
he was on the E ast C oast
attending a conservative
conference.
Some legislators and
lobbyists remaining in the
Capitol speculated that the
11 senators would tap their
political campaign accounts
to cover their travel costs.
That doesn’t appear to
be the case.
And they also so far hav-
en’t faced the $500-a-day
fi nes threatened by Sen-
ate Democrats that would
likely total $3,500 for each.
Senate President Peter
Courtney’s staff said Friday
he still intended to bill the
absent senators, but shared
no fi rm plan for doing so.
Senate
Republican
spokeswoman Kate Gillem
said the threat of fi nes now
“looks like a bluff.”
Sen. Herman Baertsch-
iger, the Senate Republi-
can leader, questioned the
legality of imposing fi nes.
He said outside attorneys
have been hired to look into
it.
“I have a feeling this is
going to get complicated,”
Baertschiger said.
There was talk about the
fi nes being deducted from
senators’ pay.
“The fi nes shall be col-
lected by forfeiture of any
sum that becomes due and
payable to the absent mem-
ber, including salary and
per diem,” Sen. Ginny Bur-
dick, D-Portland, said on
the Senate fl oor in June .
But now Senate Dem-
ocrat leaders say they will
send invoices.
When the Legislature
is in session, lawmakers
receive $149 a day for liv-
ing expenses. The traveling
Republicans still collected
that money while they were
absent, according to Legis-
lative Administration.
All said they used their
own money to pay for
travel and confi rmed they
haven’t been fi ned yet.
Sen. Brian Boquist,
R-Dallas, did voluntarily
pay $3,500 in fi nes and
said he did so to set up a
legal challenge to such
punishment.
Baertschiger said he
never advised the caucus
to use personal funds but
believes each senator did so
on their own.
When asked if he was
exploring reimbursements
for those senators, such as
through campaign funds,
Baertschiger said, “No, I
think we’ve just all agreed
to pay for it with personal
money.”
Sen. Cliff Bentz, a
Republican from Ontario,
agreed there was no direc-
tive on how to pay for
expenses, but said the
caucus is looking into
reimbursement.
“The only thing that was
really said was save your
receipts in case there is a
reimbursement opportu-
nity,” Bentz said. “I know
people are looking into it,
but I know the safest thing
was for me to pay out of my
own pocket, so that’s what
I did. I haven’t decided
whether I will ever ask for
reimbursement.”
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