It's been almost four months since Edmonds police arrested a white bar manager for malicious harassment of two teens who are black.
On Super Bowl Sunday earlier this year, a brother and sister were out taking pictures for a school project. They stopped at Harvey’s, a bar right off of Highway 99, to take some photos because they said the lighting looked cool.
According to a police report, a man who is a bar regular went outside to record and take pictures of the teens, then followed them to their car to take pictures of their license plate.
One of the teens said they thought they left their wallet in Harvey’s parking lot, so they returned to look for it.
Video surveillance obtained by KING 5 shows a female manager with a bat.
The teens said she and the man came outside and told them, "The owner doesn't want n-words on the property."
After the incident, police came to interview the female manager and later arrested her for malicious harassment based on race. Nearly four months later, the Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office has not filed charges.
KING 5 inquired with the prosecutor’s office this week and the office issued this statement: “The case is still pending a charging review.”
The Edmonds Diversity Commission, a city advisory committee that provides recommendations to elected officials on diversity issues, discussed the incident at Harvey's.
"We need to have the resolution to that case or any of the cases," said Diana White, the chair of the committee.
White says what happened at Harvey's is one of several racist incidents that have occurred over the last few years in Edmonds, including an incident where a noose was left at a site with two black construction workers. Swastikas have also been left on cars and schools.
"It feels like a kick in the gut; it’s so disheartening. You feel like you're working and taking two steps forward, and you feel like it's five steps back," White said.
In response, the city's Diversity Commission has put together a draft of recommendations it will present to the mayor and council members. Those include a task force to review the process of reporting and getting a resolution to bias-related incidents.
"How do you follow through? And who does what? Who is responsible for filing charges? And how do you follow up? And who is your advocate?” White asked.
White said the goal is to create visibility of a caring community, which embraces inclusiveness, equity and diversity.
"We want communities where everybody feels safe, not just one color," she said.
But she added a list of recommendations won't resolve it.
"It’s not going to be this commission that solves these problems. It's people everywhere that need to solve these problems."
