The matter has been set for trial. Pertinent documents appear below. Note that the PEO states (under penalty of perjury) that I was "unpleasant". This may well be his interpretation, so no charge of perjury can be brought in this instance. However, the PEO may try to state in court that I said more than I did. If so, a polygraph will get to the bottom of it. A polygraph is not generally admissible in court in Washington (unless both side agree to it---yeah, right). However it can be used as an investigative tool, to to lend significant credibility to a complainant's allegation. The PEO mysteriously omitted his own smart-ass remark. Once again, that's why polygraph technology was invented. PEO states that vehicle drove off. This is true. At no time did the PEO state that I was going to receive a citation (I didn't believe until the following day that even this sociological prize would actually go ahead and write the citation); therefore, there was no reason NOT to drive off. My hunch is that this man will lie on the stand. If he does, I will go ahead with a polygraph, I will post that on this site, and I will use it as evidence to launch a criminal investigation. Of course the city of Seattle will either refuse to investigate, or will "accidentally" botch the investigation so that charges will not be filed. It is then my alternative to petition for due process and force the charges to be filed. We'll see how this shakes out in court. If the man perjures himself on the stand, we'll have a lot more to work with. Any polygraph testing will be done after we see what this guy comes to court with---in that way we can consolidate all the issues into one statement-type test.
Is this all a lot of trouble and expense to go to? Of course it is---But the $50 at stake is not the issue. The issue is that a few (or more than a few) of Seattle's PEO's have been bullying the city for years. I'm tired of it, as are tens of thousands of others. They push and push and push, and get away with the most outrageous behavior, and the continue to do it because no one every pushes back. I didn't like bullies in 3rd grade, and I don't like them now. Win or lose doesn't matter in this case---the point we're hoping to make is that Seattle's citizenry is sick to death of petty, anal, dishonest, counter-productive government, and while the cards are stacked against us (the city owns the system, after all) some of us at least have the strength of character and conviction to stand up and push back. In this way perhaps the city can eventually be molded into something more closely resembling a system of simple human decency, as opposed to one that snatches, and grabs, and cheats.
