County Won't Prosecute Student Kicked Out Of UW

A former University of Washington student expelled after trying to place an advertisement for an assault rifle in the university newspaper won't face charges of making harassing telephone calls to university officials, a Seattle District Court judge has ruled.

King County prosecutors asked Judge Philip Y. Killien to throw out charges against the student, Brian Brookbank, because of insufficient evidence. Prosecutors had charged that the 28-year-old freshman had made harassing calls to three UW officials who testified against him at a disciplinary proceeding.

Brookbank was expelled last spring after acknowledging he had tried to place an ad for an ``AK-47, like used in California schoolyards.'' He urged respondents to contact ``the Reactionary'' in a women's-studies class.

After his expulsion, Brookbank filed a $30 million damage suit against the university for allegedly denying his right to free speech, his right to due process and his right to bear arms. The suit is awaiting trial in U.S. District Court.

Brookbank said the ad, which was refused by the newspaper, was an attempt to assert his right to carry a gun and was not intended as a threat to anyone.

When the harassment charges were filed in March, UW police said Brookbank made about 15 phone calls to campus officials after a student-disciplinary committee voted to uphold President William Gerberding's decision to dismiss him. The officials who accused

Brookbank of making the calls were Eric Godfrey, chairman of the disciplinary committee; Nancy Kenney, associate professor of psychology and women's studies; and Steven Olswang, a vice provost.