West Seattle, Washington
25 Wednesday
If you’re wondering about a big police response happening at Westwood Village right now – it involves what was described as a man with a sword outside the Chase branch at the center’s southwest end. Radio exchanges between dispatch and officers indicate it’s resolving quickly, though – the man is reported to be in custody after dropping the sword.
1:43 AM: SPD and SFD have sent a sizable response to the gas station/mini-mart in the 7800 block of Detroit SW [map] after a reported stabbing. No word yet on the severity of the victim’s injuries. Dispatch told officers the suspect claimed it was a self-defense situation; they’ve radioed in that they are talking with him now.
9:27 AM: No additional details from police yet, but SFD reports treating a 56-year-old man who was in stable condition and then is reported to have gone to a hospital in a “private vehicle.”
12:31 PM: From SPD:
One man was stabbed early Tuesday following a dispute between a landlord and tenant in a rented motorhome … Around 1:30 AM, the landlord called police and said he’d been stabbed near Detroit Ave Southwest & 1st Ave Southwest.
The tenant had also called 911 and claimed he had stabbed the victim in self-defense during a dispute.
Officers found the victim, who was bleeding from his abdomen, and learned he had gone to the motorhome to contact the tenant, who had allegedly changed the locks and stopped paying rent.
The victim had asked to be let inside, had asked to use the bathroom, and then emerged to find the suspect armed with a knife. The tenant then stabbed him.
The tenant told police he believed the victim had previously stolen several hundred dollars worth of items from the motorhome and thrown water on his bed.
Officers arrested the tenant and booked him into the King County Jail.
We were forwarded an alert sent by Providence Mount St. Vincent to family members this morning, saying the campus was in “lockdown” because of an unspecified threat. We asked The Mount for comment/confirmation and just received this update, which we’re told was also provided to families:
This morning a verbal threat was made by a visitor toward a staff member at Providence Mount St. Vincent and we immediately called 9-1-1. No residents were in the vicinity of the incident. We have completed our assessment with the Seattle Police Department and they have released us from a brief lockdown status.
Following their assessment, we have no reason to believe there is any imminent threat to residents, patients, caregivers or ILC children on our campus.
The safety of our residents and this entire community is always our highest priority. As soon as we heard about this individual making threatening comments, we immediately launched our safety plan action steps. We are grateful for the quick response of our team and for the guidance from the SPD. We are following up on their recommendation to initiate measures that will ensure this individual is not allowed to return to our campus.
Additionally and as an added precaution, we are initiating additional security measures for the campus through the weekend.
No other details of the circumstances so far. (added) The Mount’s Molly Swain says in response to our followup question, “The person is known to the community, not a stranger who wandered in.”
Three notes in West Seattle Crime Watch:
CAR PROWLER: From Nancy:
(Monday) morning I found my 2017 Volvo, parked in front of my home, had been broken into.
Sadly, after rifling glove compartment and taking all CDs, they popped the trunk and took all my gifts.
Purchased from Costco … 2 sets of Queen-size sheets in black floral print, a black large Husky-brand tool bag with tools, 3 boxes of solar yard lights, and a set of garden gloves
I’m just sick about this. Last time the whole car was stolen & recovered in Everett full of drug paraphernalia.
If you find any items dumped in your neighborhood that resemble what Nancy mentioned, let us know and we’ll connect you.
BUILDING BURGLAR: Two Harbor Avenue residents said the person in the security image below (first shown here in November) has struck again. Carolyn wrote the accompanying report:
This naughty boy has broken into two neighboring condo buildings on Harbor Ave (Seacrest Park area) in the past month. The first brake in was in mid-November (where he wore no mask, thanks dummy!). The latest break-in was just last week. This time he wore a mask, however, the glasses, nose, jacket and there is some facial hair visible in the photo, has us believing it is the same perp. He is also believed to be the same person that pulled a gun on a fellow when caught acting suspiciously in an alley behind a fellow’s house on 35th (editor’s note: see this report).
Please keep an eye out for this person! Call SPD if you see him. Not even a lump of coal for you, this Christmas, you bad, bad boy!
BIG POLICE RESPONSE: Got a question this afternoon about a sizable mid-morning police response near 37th/Donovan in Upper Fauntleroy, We hadn’t heard anything at the time, so we asked SPD; a domestic-violence incident involving a handgun, we were told, ending in arrest. (No one was shot, though.)
4:12 PM: Thanks for the texts. So far all we know is that Guardian One is helping search for a missing person.
4:23 PM: Search over. The missing person, a child, was found safe at home.
Three reports spanning four incidents in West Seattle Crime Watch:
RELATED ROBBERIES: Police are investigating two related robberies early Wednesday. First, around 3 am, a man was having car trouble in the 9400 block of 30th SW when he was robbed. According to the SPD summary:
The victim saw a white vehicle drive slowly past him and make a U turn. The victim thought the inhabitants were going to assist him with his vehicle. Instead, the two suspects in the white vehicle exited and went to their car trunk. The suspects pulled out two handguns and pointed the firearms at the victim making threats. The suspects demanded the victim’s wallet, keys, and cellphone. The suspects demanded the victim’s cell phone PIN. The victim complied with all the suspects’ demands, and the suspects left on SW Roxbury St. Officers recovered a rifle round on the ground at the scene, so the suspects possibly have a rifle inside their vehicle.
Half an hour later, the robbery victim’s roommate got texts from the stolen cell phone saying, the report says, “he needed to be picked up because his vehicle isn’t working.” He parked in the 3400 block of SW Graham St when, the report continues, two people – possibly the same as the ones who’d robbed his roommate – pulled up in a white vehicle and pointed handguns at him, demanding his cellphone, wallet, and keys. He handed over the first two items but not the keys – and then ran. The robbers chased him for a bit, then gave up. But, the report says, “While the victim was trying to call 911, the suspects poured an unknown white powder inside his vehicle. Seattle Fire responded to check the unknown substance.” The report doesn’t say what it turned out to be, nor does it describe the robbers.
MAIL THEFT: Thanks to Matthew on Puget Ridge for the tip on this, after a neighborhood-group post reporting a letter carrier had been robbed. We talked today with a U.S. Postal Inspection Service spokesperson, who said the incident earlier this week was not a robbery – no force was used – but did confirm that some mail was stolen from a carrier’s truck. She said the USPS would be notifying the customers whose mail was taken,
WARRANT SUSPECT ARRESTED: Back to SPD summaries – just before midnight last night, an officer made a traffic stop in the 4100 block of SW Edmunds; the report says the officer “recognized the front seat passenger as a felony (state Corrections Department) warrant suspect and officers placed him under arrest.” The car’s driver, meantime, told police he had a gun in the back seat: “Officers could not determine ownership of the gun as the driver had no paperwork and the gun returned ‘no record.’ It was placed into evidence.” The passenger, wanted in an assault case, was booked into jail,
After seeing an SPD summary reporting another bone found at Alki – this time on Sunday, by someone swimming – we followed up on that discovery and the one a week earlier. In both cases, the finder(s) suspected the bones might be human, so they called police, who in turn took the bones to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. That office is part of Public Health-Seattle/King County, whose spokesperson Gabriel Spitzer tells WSB that “the bones found on Alki beach on 11/22 and 11/28 turned out to be non-human bones.” Spitzer adds, “We do appreciate residents bringing these to the attention of law enforcement, because it’s often difficult for people to spot the difference between human and non-human remains, and it’s better to be sure.”
Thanks to Ben for the tip. 35th and Barton is clear again after this crash involving two drivers, one an SPD officer. After the tip, we went over to check it out; a sergeant told us the officer hit the other driver, who was having trouble “trying to negotiate the intersection.” Nobody was hurt, and damage was minor – neither car needed to be towed. The scene cleared while we were there.
Police were at Alki Beach early this morning after someone found what the SPD summary describes as “a bone she thought to be of human origin.” One of the two people who found it near the west restroom building brought it home and contacted police around 2 am. Officers took possession of it and transported it to the Medical Examiner’s Office for further investigation. They then looked around where it was found, but, the report says, “A search for a scene was inconclusive.” No further description of the bone so far.
Police investigated possible gunfire in South Delridge last night, according to a report summary filed today. Officers were in the 8800 block of 17th SW around 8:45 pm Wednesday for a “civil standby” situation, as a man took his belongings and left an apartment. The report says he “walked to an alleyway, where he had presumably parked his vehicle. A few moments later, an officer heard a vehicle quickly accelerate out of the alley and then heard approximately six gunshots. Officers conducted a search for damage and shell casings, but nothing was found.”
Police summaries published today include an armed robbery at the 35th/Barton 7-11, second one there in three months (we reported on a holdup there in August). Police say it happened around 11:30 Wednesday night, and that the robber entered the store, “brandished a handgun, pointed it at the clerk, and demanded money … then fled the store on foot with money and the till.” A K-9 team was brought in for the search but the robber was not found; the summary does not include a description.
10:38 PM: Getting a few questions about this. The Guardian One helicopter crew was passing by when, they told dispatch, they picked up a Lojack signal indicating a stolen car, so that’s what it’s helping police with right now. They’re over Morgan Junction right now.
10:47 PM: They have the car in sight; police should be arriving on the ground momentarily.
10:49 PM: Officers have arrived; the car’s unoccupied, and the helicopter should be moving on.
7:13 PM: If you are voting at the last minute and want to avoid crowds, go to the South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor) dropbox! In contrast, the Junction box (SW Alaska west of California) is megabusy:
Workers at both. Get there by 8!
SW Raymond is a little backed up but if you’re driving, you can park in the library lot and walk over. (added) As of this evening, West Seattle/South Park had hit 40 percent turnout
1:01 PM: A Seattle Fire “rope rescue” response has been sent to the Stewart Manor apartment building at 34th/Morgan, for a report of a “person hanging out of a window.” Police have been at the building for the past few hours, for what we’re told was a “domestic dispute,” but we’re not sure yet if the incidents are related.
1:03 PM: The person has reportedly been brought back inside the apartment by officers. (Content warning: Photo here sent by Gay, shows officer hanging onto person.) Medics are evaluating.
1:11 PM: Dispatch has been told that one officer was injured as well. (added) We talked to medics at the scene; they say the officer’s injuries were very minor. The person who was rescued will be taken to Harborview.
ADDED WEDNESDAY: Here’s the SPD summary of what happened:
At 1246 hours, an individual involved in an earlier incident was causing a disturbance and removed to a friend’s apartment. As soon as they got into the apartment the individual attempted to jump out of a plate glass window that was on the fourth floor of the building. Officers were notified and responded. As they entered, they noticed the subject hanging out of the window with his friend barely holding on to him. Officers responded to assist and grabbed him to prevent him from falling. They held on for over 10 minutes while waiting for Seattle Fire to arrive. Officers attempted to get him to comply but were unable to. Once SFD arrived they devised a plan to pull him back into the apartment. Shortly after, they were able to pull him back into the apartment but not before he shattered a plate glass window. Medics arrived and gave the individual in crisis a narcotic to calm him down. He was then able to be strapped to a gurney and transported to the hospital. Several officers were injured due to the falling glass, however; no officers needed hospitalization.
Thanks for the tips. Harbor Avenue SW is reopening after a situation involving police. SPD tells us they were dealing with a “person in crisis” who jumped out of an ambulance and ran into traffic. The person is back in custody now and will be taken to the hospital, and the road is reopening.
Seattle Police, with a K-9 team, are searching in South Delridge right now after a reported street robbery. The victim told police that a man robbed her at knifepoint, getting away with her purse. This is reported to have happened in the 8800 block of Delridge and the robber is reported to have left the scene northbound in an alley. That’s all we know so far.
If you have something to say about public safety beyond what the stats show, here’s your annual chance.
The announcement:
Seattle University is administering the 7th annual citywide Seattle Public Safety Survey, which is accessible at publicsafetysurvey.org from through November 30th and is available in Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, English, Korean, Oromo, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Tigrinya, and Vietnamese. The purpose of the survey is to solicit feedback on public safety and security concerns from those who live and/or work in Seattle. A report on the survey results will be provided to the Seattle Police Department to help them better understand your neighborhood’s safety and security concerns. More information on the Seattle Public Safety Survey can be found here.
You can see past survey results here.
7:11 PM: Thanks for the tip. Police are at the 3295 SW Avalon apartment building. Here’s why, according to SPD spokesperson Det. Valerie Carson: They “were attempting to help the Department of Corrections contact a suspect who had violated his parole. Now he is barricaded in his apartment and says he has a firearm, so we’re trying to negotiate with him.”
7:27 PM: SWAT officers are part of the response, we’ve confirmed at the scene. The photo above shows a SWAT vehicle that’s parked at the 7-11 across the street. This is NOT affecting traffic in the area, though, our crew says.
10:19 PM: Not resolved yet, according to neighbors via comments below.
2:02 AM: No status update on this. We’re going off watch (always available via text 206-293-6302) and will check later this morning.
10:11 AM: No police visible outside the building; we’re waiting for info from SPD on how/when the standoff was resolved.
11:18 AM: Det. Carson tells WSB, “The suspect surrendered peacefully after several hours of negotiation, shortly before 11 pm. The gun in his possession was a BB gun pistol made to look like a realistic handgun. He went to the hospital for a mental health evaluation before being handed over to Department of Corrections officers for booking.”
3:54 PM: SPD’s summary has a few more details: “On 10-12-2021 at 1750 hours, DOC conducted a knock-and-talk at the residence of the girlfriend of a DOC warrant suspect, with SPD assisting. During DOC’s interview of a female at the apartment it became known that the suspect was in fact present in the apartment. The suspect barricaded in the bathroom and claimed to be armed with a gun. DOC & the SPD set containment, called for CRG, Hostage Negotiation Team (HNT), and SWAT resources, and began trying to establish a dialogue with the suspect. After an hours-long standoff, HNT was able to convince the suspect to surrender. At the time of this writing the suspect is under guard at the hospital for complaints unrelated to this event and will be booked into SCORE jail upon his release. His weapon was recovered at the scene and found to be a Co2 powered BB-gun full-size replica of a semi-auto handgun.”
After reader questions about two Saturday incidents, we were able to follow up with SPD today:
SWAT SERVES WARRANT: The SWAT team response near 3rd/Olson [map] on Saturday morning was a warrant service that traces back to a non-West Seattle cade, according to this SPD summary:
On 10-09-2021 at 5:30 am, during a temporary assignment with the Robbery Unit, an officer investigated a carjacking in the South Precinct. His thorough and tireless investigation ultimately identified a suspect (a violent, convicted felon) that was also possibly responsible for several other violent crimes in Seattle and King County. Officer secured warrants for the suspect and a residence in the Southwest Precinct. (Saturday) morning, SPD SWAT served those warrants and safely and effectively arrested the suspect. Multiple members of CRG assisted with the operation. Additional evidence, including ammunition and narcotics, was recovered. Incidentally, SW Patrol had an active project involving a vulnerable adult living in the residence. CRG and SW Patrol were able to resolve that matter peacefully following SWAT’s securing of the residence.
The suspect is a 32-year-old woman who remains in the King County Jail, bail set at $10,000 in connection with a previous assault case; we’ll be checking with the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on the status of this new case.
WINDOW-SMASHING & ASSAULT ARREST: This also happened on Saturday and involved multiple incidents in the late morning/early afternoon, according to the police-report narrative. SPD was first called about the suspect after an incident in the Whole Foods store (4700 block of Fauntleroy SW), reported as someone pulling a gun on someone else and threatening them. The person who pulled what he later called a “mace gun” called police to say he was the victim of an assault, giving the first name and description of the suspect, an acquaintance who he said had turned up in the store and punched him without provocation. A short time later, while an officer was following up on that incident, another nearby business – not identified in the report – called to report a man “throwing merchandise,” then “standing in street yelling,” appearing to be under the influence of something. The description in both incidents was similar. Officers found the suspect, a 42-year-old man, walking near 35th/Alaska, and in the meantime got a call from a third business, at 36th/Alaska, about someone pulling a knife after being confronted about breaking out the glass in that business’s front door. Police soon arrested the suspect and seized his knife. He was bleeding from a cut on his right hand and so was treated at a hospital before being booked into jail, where he remains. We’ll be following up on this case too.
The Southwest Precinct is changing commanders. Captain Kevin Grossman, who has been leading the West Seattle/South Park precinct since July of last year, tells WSB he is being transferred to lead the North Precinct as of November 1st. Captain Martin Rivera, who Grossman says has been a night-duty captain – a role that serves the entire city – will be taking over. Grossman says, “I had hoped to remain in West Seattle to see the reopening of the West Seattle Bridge, and to meet more folks as the pandemic recedes, but alas, that was not to be. In any case, I have certainly enjoyed my time in West Seattle. The strong, vibrant neighborhoods and the interested and supportive residents make this a great place to be.” He adds that newly appointed Operations Lieutenant Dorothy Kim – the second-in-command – will remain in that role, “which will also maintain the stability of the precinct.”
Published on SPD Blotter this afternoon, this report on how a car stolen on Capitol Hill wound up in the southeast West Seattle industrial zone on Saturday:
Police arrested the driver of a stolen vehicle Saturday afternoon in Southwest Seattle after he fled from officers, rammed patrol cars, and caused significant damage to a gas station convenience store.
At 3:39 p.m., a food delivery driver called 911 to report his vehicle had been stolen near 10th Avenue and East Pike Street. He had left his car running when he went into a restaurant to pick up an order, and when he came back out his Toyota sedan was gone. The victim told officers he could track the location of his car and provided updates on its location.
The suspect later became caught in traffic for a Mariners baseball game near Edgar Martinez Drive South and Occidental Avenue South. Police attempted to pull the vehicle over, but the driver sped away, entering lanes of oncoming traffic and endangering the many pedestrians and other motorists in the area.
Nearly an hour after the car was stolen, the victim reported it had stopped at a gas station in the 7800 block of Detroit Avenue SW [map]. The suspect had backed into a parking spot along a wall of the station’s convenience store. Arriving officers parked their patrol cars in front of the stolen car, boxing it in. When the officers stepped out of their cars and instructed the driver to exit the vehicle, he attempted to flee again, repeatedly driving the car forward and backward, alternately ramming the patrol cars and the building. Officers pulled the suspect out of the vehicle after a struggle and arrested him. Officers also interviewed and a female passenger in the vehicle and released her at the scene.
(SPD photo)
Police booked the 22-year-old driver into King County Jail for vehicle theft, eluding and property damage. Police also processed the suspect for DUI based on statements he made about recent narcotics use, and requested charges for violation of a protection order, as he was not supposed to be in contact with the female passenger. Lastly, officers notified the Department of Corrections they were booking the man, since he had a warrant for escaping community custody.
2:38 PM: Thanks for the tips. Police tell us they are dealing with a person in crisis, possibly armed, near 36th/Roxbury, and have blocked Roxbury in that area. They tell us nearby Summit Atlas middle/high school is in lockdown as a result. No injuries reported thus far but avoid the area.
3:27 PM: Not resolved yet. A dispatcher recapping the situation described it as having started when the person “brandished a rifle at a neighbor’s window” and was then seen by officers with “a pistol.” They are reported to be inside a house.
4:06 PM: As noted in comments, Summit Atlas has since let out for the day. Meantime, SWAT team officers have joined the response. The person who’s the focus of all this is reported to be a man in his 60s.
5:04 PM: Not resolved yet. Note for traffic purposes that Cambridge also is blocked west of 35th SW.
5:34 PM: Officers are continuing to use a PA system to ask the man to surrender.
5:58 PM: If you just heard an explosion in the area, that’s a “flash-bang” deployed by SWAT. … Shortly after that, another one.
7:13 PM: They’ve now advised the man via the PA that they have obtained a search warrant and if he doesn’t come out, they’re going in.
7:31 PM: Still trying to convince him to surrender, with another flashbang, in the standoff’s sixth hour.
8:01 PM: Now seventh hour. Police report the man has been firing a “pellet” gun among other erratic behavior.
9:01 PM: Eighth hour. SWAT officers are continuing to try different tactics, and continuing to tell him via PA that he’s under arrest and needs to surrender.
10:02 PM: Ninth hour. No change.
10:14 PM: SWAT officers reported to dispatch that they’ve moved in and are taking him into custody. They’re calling for SFD to come check him out for exposure to gas (which they used multiple times earlier) and for “Taser deployment.”
10:26 PM: Officers tell dispatch he’ll be taken to the hospital.
With two weeks until voting begins, the candidates are in the midst of a blitz of campaign forums. Candidates for Seattle city offices appeared in two more Thursday night – both specifically to address the topic of homelessness, On Wednesday, Seattle Mayor candidates debated the topic twice. We covered the first one, presented by the Resolution to End Homelessness; the second one, Wednesday night, kicked off a two-night series presented by The Seattle Times (here’s their coverage) and We’re All In. On Thursday night, the series included two half-hour forums. We watched both. Below are our notes on the first one, with Seattle City Attorney candidates Ann Davison and Nicole Thomas-Kennedy, moderated by Times reporter Sydney Brownstone. (We’ll have a separate report on the second one.) Note that everything below is our paraphrase/summary, not a direct quote unless it’s within quotation marks.
QUESTION: What role should the City Attorney play in addressing homelessness?
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