A menace to society
March 1st, 2008 by ktula
The one that got away scot-free, with a slight slap on his wrist
menace |ˈmenəs|
noun
a person or thing that is likely to cause harm; a threat or danger
Local Seattle news widely reported on Friday that the West Seattle Rabbi, who ran over and killed an aide to then-City Councilman David Della, received no jail time at his sentencing in the Seattle Municipal Court. When Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz, director of the West Seattle Torah Learning Center, struck Tatsuo Nakata in the crosswalk at the intersection of SW Admiral Way and 47th Avenue SW, he was using his cellphone. According to the Senior Assistant City Attorney Kevin Kilpatrick, “there were no skid marks to show Schwartz tried to brake.” That is, Schwartz was paying absolutely no attention while he was driving and he hit Tatsuo at full force.
Guess what, that was not the first time that Schwartz had struck someone with his car. In May 2005, when he hit Ilsa Govan, who was riding her brand new bike along Interlaken Drive East, Schwartz’s car was on the wrong side of the street. The resulting impact catapulted Ilsa through the trees and she ended up breaking her helmet and sustaining “huge gashes” on her hand and ankle. The injuries she suffered because of the collision put Ilsa in physical therapy for a year. When she testified at Rabbi Schwartz sentencing, Ilsa said through her tears:
“I just wish there was something that could have been done after he hit me.”
So what punishment did Rabbi Schwartz receive after hitting Ilsa Govan: He was only cited for driving on the wrong side of the road and the charge was later removed from his record.
Two months after killing Tatsuo, Rabbi Schwartz was cited for running a red light. As reported in the Seattle Post Intelligencer, he “argued that the road was icy, and the ticket was reduced to $69.”
According to the Seattle Weekly,
In a search of publicly available court documents, Schwartz’s name and birth date first pop up for a 1999 Ohio speeding offense. In the Norfolk area of Virginia, where the Schwartz family lived more recently, he was cited for disobeying a highway sign in March of ‘02, and for disobeying a stop sign seven months later. The next year, Virginia cops ticketed Schwartz for allegedly failing to yield the right of way and displaying expired plates. Then he was cited for allegedly driving the wrong way down a one-way street. Virginia court records show that the latter three citations were eventually dismissed.
By 2004, Schwartz had established himself in Seattle, where he continued to drive in a less-than-exemplary fashion. Since December of ‘04, Schwartz has racked up five traffic violations, according to Seattle Municipal Court records—meaning, at various times, he has disobeyed “traffic-control devices,” failed to wear a seat belt, run a red light, driven on the wrong side of the road, and manifested “inattention to driving” (an allegation that was reduced from speeding). One of those citations (the red light) occurred two months after the Nakata incident. (Washington state drivers have to amass six moving violations over a 12-month period before their licenses get—temporarily—suspended.)
Here is the list of citations relating to Rabbi Schwartz i found from the Seattle Municipal Court:
12/2/2004: Citation 10649793 - DISOBEDIENCE OF TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES
1/14/2005: Citation 10637454 - SAFETY BELTS REQUIRED
5/27/2005: Citation 10621846 - DRIVE ON RIGHT (this is the incident where he drove on the wrong side of the street and struck Ilsa Govan)
6/12/2006: Citation 10755914 - INATTENTION TO DRIVING (LESSER THAN NEGLIGENT)
1/18/2007: Citation 0700006872 - RED LIGHT CAMERA VIOLATION
Given his reckless driving record and his complete disregard for the safety of others sharing the road with him, a saint person can come to no other conclusion than the fact that Rabbi Schwartz must be taken off the road and should never be allowed to drive again.
But incredibly, Municipal Court Judge George Holifield not only did not give any jail time to Rabbi Scwartz for snuffing out the life of the 29-year old Tatsuo, he only suspended Rabbi Schwartz’s license for two years, in addition to requiring him to pay any funeral or medical costs from the accident and to perform 500 hours of community service outside his Jewish community.
In explaining his decision not giving any jail time to Rabbi Schwartz, Judge Holifield said that “no amount of money or jail time will bring Mr. Nakata back” and that “Rabbi Schwartz is a lousy driver when you come right down to it.”
Judge Holifield is absolutely right that no amount of jail time is going to bring Nakata back. But suspending Rabbi Schwartz driving privilege for only two years ??? Assholes like that Rabbi should have their driving privileges removed for life.
The sense of outrage and injustice was common in almost all the comments left by readers of the article on the Seattle Post Intelligencer, including one by a friend of the victim:
Words cannot describe my disgust and disappointment in Scwartz’s lack of sentence. I sat through parts of Scwartz’s trial and had a hard time stomaching the graphic description of Tatsuo’s death. I was at the hospital visiting Tatsuo and witnessed the result of Schwarz’s “distracted” driving.
And while Schwartz may be a “nice guy”, he has a problem. He cannot drive safely. Tatsuo was not the first person he hit. The red light he ran two months after killing Tatsuo was not the first moving violation he had received. It was the 8th.
Scwartz claims he feels guilty and keeps Tatsuo’s obituary in his wallet and the DVD of Tatsuo’s memorial by his bedside. If he truly felt bad after hitting two people - killing one and hospitalizing the other - and eight moving violations, Scwartz should have voluntarily given up driving or at the very least drive carefully! Apparently Schwartz needs a legal system to impose a sentence on him. His community did not help either. They bought him a car after he totaled his hitting Tatsuo. A bus pass would have been more appropriate.
As a pedestrian, I feel safer knowing Schwartz does not have a driver’s license for two years. I would have felt even safer knowing he was in jail and unable to drive for a year.
I was hoping Schwartz would receive a stiff sentence not just because he deserves it but also because it would send a message to other drivers. Pay attention to pedestrians!
And am I still mad and upset Schwartz killed my friend? YES! I miss Tatsuo.
Did Judge Holifield cave in to the pressure by the hundreds of letters sent to him by Rabbi Schwartz’s Jewish community in giving him an extremely light sentence? Only Judge Holifield himself can answer that question.
Josh Larios wrote a very touching open letter to Rabbi Schwartz’s community, pleading with them not to allow the Rabbi to ever drive again.
Update: Richard Silverstein of Tikun Olam agrees with me that the Rabbi got off scot-free and that his Orthodox community’s behavior is reprehensible.
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