Woman punched by officer in jaywalking stop pleads guilty to assault

An 18-year-old woman involved in a videotaped jaywalking stop that resulted in a Seattle police officer punching her pleaded guilty Wednesday to assaulting the officer.

Angel L. Rosenthal, who was 17 at the time of the June 14 incident, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault, a gross misdemeanor, during an appearance in King County Juvenile Court, said Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. Superior Court Judge Helen Halpert sentenced Rosenthal to one year of probation and ordered her to complete 80 hours of community-service work.

Rosenthal originally pleaded not guilty to a charge of third-degree assault, a felony, stemming from a confrontation during which Officer Ian P. Walsh punched her in the face in response to a shove from Rosenthal.

Under the lesser charge, Rosenthal admitted to unwanted physical contact that doesn't result in an injury.

Prosecutors allowed Rosenthal to plead guilty to the lesser charge with the support of the Seattle Police Department and Walsh, Donohoe said.

The incident began when Walsh attempted to stop a 19-year-old friend of Rosenthal's, Marilyn E. Levias, for jaywalking at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Way South and Rainier Avenue South in the Rainier Valley.

In a clash caught on videotape, Rosenthal intervened and shoved Walsh, who responded by punching her in the face. The incident unleashed a torrent of public reaction and captured national attention.

Four days after the clash, Rosenthal apologized to Walsh in a private meeting arranged by James Kelly, president and chief executive officer of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle.

When Rosenthal was originally charged, King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg issued a written statement, saying, "The law is clear, you can't shove a police officer, period."

Levias, who was charged with obstructing Walsh, in August entered into a dispositional sentence with the City Attorney's Office, in which she agreed to serve 24 hours of community service. The gross misdemeanor charge will be dismissed a year from the agreement if she has no new criminal-law violations.

A separate jaywalking infraction was dismissed as part of the agreement.

Seattle Times researcher Miyoko Wolf contributed to this story, which includes information from Times archives.

Steve Miletich: 206-464-3302 or smiletich@seattletimes.com