Man toting 'sheriff's badge' from Freedom is a man without a county
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Tukwila police did, and even checked out his star-shaped badge. But they're not buying it.
Now, the man who says he's the top lawman of what he says is Washington's newest county is on trial in Tukwila Municipal Court, charged with second-degree criminal impersonation, obstructing an officer and giving false or misleading information to an officer.
With the trial, South King County is getting a taste of a citizen rebellion that has vexed Snohomish County officials for years.
Lnu, 58, is among the leaders of a movement claiming the northern half of Snohomish County is actually Freedom County, which they say was created in 1995 when proponents took a bus to Olympia to present the Legislature with petitions signed by 8,913 registered voters.
Thus far, Snohomish County and the state have refused to recognize the breakaway county — but that hasn't stopped its supporters from appointing a board of commissioners, coroner and sheriff.
In fact, Lnu claims his court battle hinges largely on the refusal of Tukwila police to recognize Freedom County.
Though Lnu's name — a law-enforcement abbreviation for "first name unknown, last name unknown" — is well-known at the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office because of the breakaway effort, Tukwila police officers had no idea who he was when they encountered him in September.
According to a police report, the officers thought the car he was driving was speeding. It also had expired license tabs.
When Lnu pulled into a gas-station parking lot on South 144th Street, the officers followed and turned on their patrol car's flashing lights.
Police give the following account of what happened:
Lnu got out of his car and started walking toward the gas station's convenience store, so an officer called out to him and told him to get back in his car.
Instead, he began walking toward the police car, and kept approaching even after officers repeatedly ordered him to get in his car. When one of the officers gripped his shoulder and tried to move him toward the car, he resisted.
A struggle ensued, and the officer eventually pushed Lnu to the ground. Lnu then yelled, "I'm a sheriff." Another officer who had arrived on the scene then cuffed him, and Lnu was told he was under arrest.
Lnu, using his mouth, pulled a wallet from his pocket. On it was a badge that read, "Sheriff County of Freedom." Inside were two cards that appeared to be Freedom County identification cards. He told police those were his only identification, and when they asked for his driver's license, he said, "You don't need a license to drive."
They couldn't find any record of Lnu when they ran his name. But they got in touch with Snohomish County sheriff's officials and learned his name was actually Robert V. Bender.
Lnu's identification and badge were confiscated, and he was locked up in the King County Jail.
Lnu insists he legally changed his name when he got a divorce several years ago. He also denies telling the police that people don't need a license to drive.
Lnu, who is representing himself in the trial, says he simply stopped to buy a newspaper, and when he noticed the police "raving about something," he walked over to ask what was going on, assuming something was happening in the store. He says he didn't hear police yelling at him until one of the officers grabbed him.
"He rushed me and assaulted me ... basically pile-drove me into the pavement," Lnu said, adding that he has had to go to the emergency room because of injuries he received during the incident.
Lnu has clashed with Snohomish County Sheriff Rick Bart over his assertion that he is a law-enforcement official in Freedom County. Bart has threatened Lnu with jail for impersonating an officer if he tried to exercise police authority in the would-be secessionist county.
The effort to establish Freedom County is part of a crusade in some rural and semirural parts of the state to break away from urban-centered county government and restrictive land-use regulations.
The state Supreme Court set back the movement in 1998, however, when it ruled that the Legislature did not have to create new counties, no matter how many people signed petitions to establish them.
But Freedom County supporters are undaunted.
To Lnu, the charges he faces — a misdemeanor and two gross misdemeanors — are essentially the result of what he describes as a simple fact:
"I'm the sheriff of Freedom County," he says, "and they claim Freedom County doesn't exist."
Janet Burkitt can be reached 206-515-5689 or jburkitt@seattletimes.com.