West Seattle, Washington
05 Thursday
1:09 AM: Police are in The Triangle right now, investigating reports of gunfire involving vehicles near 37th/Alaska. The vehicles are reported to have left the area but one person at the scene is reported to be hurt, with an injury described as a “laceration,” not a gunshot wound, so far. Officers just told dispatch they’ve found shell casings at the scene.
1:14 AM: Alaska is closed between 36th and 37th while police continue investigating. They also are looking into a report that an injured man might have walked away from the scene.
(WSB photo)
7:59 AM: Thanks for the tips about a police response at The Whittaker (4755 Fauntleroy Way SW). One texter mentioned “the bomb squad.” We got there just as police were wrapping up a short time ago. Officers getting ready to leave told us a “suspicious package” had been removed. No damage/injuries reported, and no other details so far.
(Added Wednesday evening: Photo tweeted by MTK)
11:31 AM: We’ve just received answers to our followup questions from SPD: “Officers responded and requested Arson/Bomb squad detectives to respond as well after seeing the items on a table in a common area. As a safety precaution, the immediate area was evacuated. ABS arrived and determined the items to be non-threatening, and removed them for further investigation. The owner of the items was contacted and interviewed. It does not appear that there was any malicious intent on the subject’s part, and no charges will be filed.”
ADDED FRIDAY: Just posted today in the SPD Blotter Significant Incident Report files, a summary that explains exactly what the “items” were:
On 11-11-2020 at 0537 hours, a janitorial staff member in a business in the 4700 block of Fauntleroy Way SW called 911 when she discovered several suspicious items inside a freezer located in the 7th floor apartment common area. Among those items she described a hand grenade and a metal pipe. SW patrol personnel arrived, interviewed the apartment staff member and evacuated the immediate area. The Sergeant notified the Arson Bomb Squad. ABS arrived and determined that the grenade was a novelty item filled with ice and that the other items were also benign. SW patrol personnel later located and interviewed the owner of the items, who apparently didn’t understand why those types of items would raise someone’s concern as he uses them to create art and furniture.
10:01 PM: We didn’t hear an initial dispatch on this, so details are few, but police have SW Holden closed right now at 26th Place SW [map] for a gunfire investigation. They’ve told dispatch that they’ve found multiple shell casings of different calibers, stretching several blocks westward. A witness is reported to have told police someone was shooting out of a westbound vehicle’s window. No report of injuries.
10:29 PM: Per radio exchange, they’re reopening Holden. They’ve also heard from someone who lives elsewhere in West Seattle and says their vehicle was shot at and has bullet holes.
Three items in West Seattle Crime Watch this afternoon:
CAR PROWL ALERT: Received from Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Danner:
The SW Precinct has recently seen an increase in car prowl incidents in our William 2 (W2) patrol beat area, specifically on and around Beach Drive SW. These incidents are mostly occurring in the night time hours.
Here is the link to our Patrol Beat/Sector map. In order to address this increase, we would like to remind our community about the following car prowl prevention strategies:
• Check vehicle regularly (especially important during COVID times)
• Never leave valuables in plain view
• Hide chargers and accessories that indicate an electronic device may be in the vehicle
• Remove garage door openers, key cards and other keys from the vehicle
• If possible, park vehicle in a busy, locked, monitored and/or well-lit area
• Install anti-theft devices
• If possible, activate alarm
And from the SPD “significant incident” file, two summaries of note about arrests this past Sunday:
SHOPLIFTING TURNS TO ROBBERY: This happened in the 7300 block of Delridge:
On 10-25-2020 at 1632 hours, a subject was contacted by store security after they witnessed him shoplifting inside of a local business. Security attempted to contact the subject about merchandise taken when the subject pulled out a knife and threatened security staff. Subject left area on foot as officers arrived in the area. A student officer spotted a subject matching the description a block away and detained him for investigation. A witness from the store positively identified the subject as the person that pulled a knife. He was placed into custody and booked into King County Jail.
WEST MARGINAL CRASH FOLLOWUP: We briefly reported on this crash in realtime early Sunday. The “significant incident” summary reveals it had a backstory:
On 10/25/2020 at 0131 hours, the Washington State Patrol was actively pursuing a vehicle which exited SR599 and continued northbound on city streets, eventually heading north on W Marginal Wy SW. The suspect vehicle came upon a large gathering of vehicles and, after performing a U-turn, continued southbound on W Marginal Wy SW. The suspect vehicle entered the intersection of Highland Park Wy SW against a red light and subsequently collided with a motorist. The suspect driver fled on foot. WSP notified nearby agencies requesting a fast back. SPD SW and S units, Port of Seattle and King County units responded. WSP was able to capture the suspect and take him into custody. SPD assisted further with traffic control while SFD cut two passengers out of the victim vehicle. WSP is conducting the follow-up investigation.
(Reader photo, last March)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Are parking-enforcement officers part of the solution to the reinventing-public-safety problem?
Nanette Toyoshima hopes so. “We’re public servants – let us serve.”
She is president of the Seattle Parking Enforcement Officers’ Guild, representing almost 100 people who work as Seattle Police parking-enforcement officers (PEOs)- a job she has done for 14 years.
As part of Seattle public-safety reform, there’s a proposal to move PEOs out of SPD and into SDOT.
Toyoshima’s group – with the support of West Seattle/South Park councilmember, and Public Safety Committee chair, Lisa Herbold – proposes instead moving them to the new department that will also include the 911 center after it moves out of SPD.
Four notes:
ALLEY HOLDUP: From the SPD “significant incident reports” file – this happened Thursday night in Arbor Heights, in the 4300 block of SW 100th::
On 10-15-2020 at 1924 hours, the victim was in his alley taking out his trash when the suspect came up behind him and pressed something in his back (believed to be a gun). The suspect demanded his cell phone or he would shoot him. He didn’t have his cell on him so the suspect told him to turn out his pockets. The victim had nothing in his pockets. The suspect told the victim to run down the alley and not look back or he’d shoot. The suspect left the area in a vehicle.
No description or other details, but we’re requesting the report. (TUESDAY UPDATE: Police say the victim believes he knows the would-be robber, and that it’s related to an ongoing dispute.)
STOLEN CAR: From Byron, just south of the city-limits line:
Our red 2007 Honda Civic 4-door, license plate 867WSD, was stolen from our driveway. Sometime between 9pm last night and 11:15 am this morning. (10600 block of) 27th Ave. SW. There’s a car seat in the back and a brand new Yakima rack and kayak carrier on the roof.
If you see it, call 911.
LICENSE PLATE FOUND: From the “possibly stolen/dumped” file, Desiree spotted this plate in the greenery alongside the front parking at Junction TrueValue (44th/Edmunds):
CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY: Got crime/safety concerns, or questions for police? Tomorrow (Tuesday, October 20th) night at 7 pm online, the next West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting is your chance for updates from, and Q&A with, local police. Here’s the link (via Teams).
Early Saturday, we reported briefly on two incidents. Today, we obtained the report narratives:
SOUTH DELRIDGE GUNFIRE: This was reported at 16th/Trenton after 1 am, in connection with a reported gathering of about 20 people. A caller said someone wearing white pants had a gun tucked in his waistband. The officer who wrote the report arrived to find several people wearing white pants “standing on the sidewalk,” then walking away, while “yelling at SPD stating that the person that had fired the shot had already left the area.” None of them wanted to provide details or go on record as being a victim. “The group entered several parked cars and began to leave the area. A 45-cal shell casing was found in the roadway of 16 Av SW.” The report also notes that officers heard a car in the distance “driving at high speed,” then the sound of a collision, and evidence of a hit-run crash taking down a sign at 12th/Trenton, but no indication whether that was related.
JUNCTION ROBBERY: Just before midnight Friday night, officers responded to a report of a robbery at the Junction 7-11 (California/Erskine). The report clarifies that the store itself wasn’t robbed. The victim had been standing outside the store and told police he decided to clean the area, though he is not a store employee. He left his backpack by the store entrance while taking trash to a receptacle behind the store, and saw someone pick it up. He told that person to give it back. The thief refused, and then he and two people with him all took out pocket knives, the victim told police. They then got into a red, older-model, 4-door Cadillac with body damage and started to leave; the victim tried to open one of the car’s doors and was knocked down, but, he told police, unhurt. He described the three as “all black males in their teens … 16-19 years old, approximately 5’8”, and medium builds … the driver was wearing a white tank top (and the others) were wearing black pants and tops.” Police didn’t find the car or suspects. The backpack, in case you find one discarded, was black, JanSport brand, containing clothing and medication.
12:16 PM: Per SPD tweet, this missing woman’s been found.
Earlier:
1:17 AM: Seattle Fire has a ‘scenes of violence” response headed to a report of possible shooting victims at a home in the 7200 block of Dumar. Updates to come.
1:27 AM: Per radio communication, no one has been found at the house but one victim turned up at Harborview Medical Center. The SFD response has been dismissed. No info yet on that person’s condition, nor on the circumstances.
2:28 AM: As police continue to investigate, there’s word they’ve found at least one shell casing in the street.
Today’s West Seattle Crime Watch notes:
POLICE @ SCHOOL: A few readers mentioned early-morning social-media chatter about a police response at Arbor Heights Elementary. The call was ultimately classified “trespassing.” We checked with SPD this morning; they confirmed there was no evidence of burglary or vandalism, adding, “Patrol officers hailed using their PA system but weren’t able to locate anyone.”
CAMPING GEAR STOLEN: Scott‘s car was broken into overnight in his driveway near 39th/Olga:
Thieves made away with my brown Alps tent (but left the poles), and a large tan tote with a bunch of camping gear including a mess kit. Also in the tote was a silver zippered case with a battery and charger for a Serfas headlight. Also look out for a WALL-E fleece blanket, which was covering up the stolen items.
Police report # is 2020-922548.
CAR-THEFT ATTEMPT: Jason‘s car was also broken into, early today:
My work van was the victim of an attempted theft this morning on 28th Ave SW in High Point. They did get away with some power tools and broke the ignition switch but did not get away with the van itself. This was at 4:15 am this morning and it looks like a minivan cased the block, dropped someone off then a sedan came back and picked up the guy and loot! Also, the neighbor at the end of the block had their Audi broken into and they also tried to steal the car unsuccessfully. All beware, thugs are running rampant!
BICYCLES FOUND: From the dumped-and-likely-stolen file, two more abandoned bicycles. First, from Tiffany:
This bike, which I assume stolen and ditched, has been leaning against my building for a couple weeks now. 4050 California Ave SW
This one was via text:
Nice commuter bike dumped in EC Hughes park [earlier this week]. Northwest corner of park.
CATALYTIC-CONVERTER REMINDER: Last but not least, we’ve had multiple reader reports in recent weeks about catalytic-converter thefts, and Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Danner has sent this notice:
The SW Precinct has noticed a string of catalytic converter thefts over the past few weeks. In an effort to decrease future incidents, we would like to provide the following prevention suggestions:
-Speak with your vehicle manufacture to inquire about specific devices that can be added to shield or lock the catalytic converter
-If possible, ensure your vehicle is parked in a busy, locked, monitored and/or well-lit location
-Check on your vehicle regularly to ensure no damage has been done
-Work with neighbors to establish or maintain a Block Watch group to increase “eyes on”
-Report all suspicious and/or criminal activity to the SPD by 911 immediately
Please feel free to reach out to me directly [jennifer.danner@seattle.gov] if you are interested in discussing this further and/or if you would like to schedule a free safety/security assessment.
And a reminder that the precinct commander will be part of the public-safety discussion in the first hour of tonight’s Town Hall, starting at 5:30 pm; more info here. We’ll be covering it live.
We received multiple questions last night about a police/fire response on SW 104th last night because SFD classified the call as “scenes of violence, aid.” The last word is key – it’s a lower-level medical response than the usual “scenes of violence” callout; the “scenes of violence” designation is usually because of how a victim was injured, generally involving a weapon of some kind. We don’t automatically go out on the “aid” level of calls but with all the questions, we went over to try to find out more. The response was already wrapping up and officers on the scene wouldn’t comment. We found out from SFD later via email that a 30-year-old man had been taken to a hospital, in stable condition, but had to wait until this morning to ask SPD media relations for more information on their part of the response. The response: “This was a crisis call and a domestic-violence assault. One person was arrested.”
5:43 PM: Another major emergency response, this time in High Point, near 32nd/Juneau. A 24-year-old man is reported to have suffered a gunshot wound inside a home. Police are trying to sort out the circumstances, while SFD tends to the victim. (The call classification “scenes of violence” applies generally to injuries or deaths involving a weapon.)
5:58 PM: The wounded man is being taken to Harborview Medical Center.
6:05 PM: We went over to check, as there was early radio communication that this might have been self-inflicted; officers on the scene are not commenting but they’re wrapping up, so thus far it’s not being treated as a crime scene.
Three notes this afternoon:
TRIANGLE POLICE RESPONSE: Thanks to the reader who sent a tip about that big police response in the alley between Link and Lien Animal Clinic a short time ago. We went over to find out what was going on; police at the scene told us they had detained a suspect they had been seeking in relation to an assault on an officer. No other details so far.
STOLEN ROLLERBLADES: Tracey emailed this report this morning:
Reporting a car prowl at 30th ave SW and Holden evening of 9/13. Hoping readers could keep an eye out for my stolen rollerblades. I imagine they will get dumped. Sunglasses and prescription glasses too.
ABANDONED BICYCLE: From Amy:
I found this ditched bike near my apartment (Alki area) this morning.
Yours? Let us know and we’ll connect you.
Two West Seattle incident reports just sent by the Southwest Precinct:
CAR ARSON: The Seattle Fire log shows a car fire at 3:30 am today. According to the precinct, this is an arson investigation, and the car turned out to have been stolen from Bellevue. “A male suspect was seen running away from the vehicle,” the precinct reports.
STOLEN GUN FOUND: An officer assigned to patrol Alki on Labor Day “noticed two vehicles illegally parked in a trailer-only parking stall of the Don Armeni Boat Ramp.” The first, with four people, was told to leave, and did. The second had no one inside; when an officer looked through its open windows, he “observed a handgun with an extended magazine on the driver side floorboard.” The report says he “discovered the serial number of the firearm, which returned stolen out of Utah. The SW Precinct Sergeant instructed the Officer to photograph the vehicle and location of the handgun.” The vehicle subsequently was impounded and remains under investigation.
PARK SEARCH: Right now police are searching the Roxhill Park vicinity, with K-9, after a report of gunfire – called in as someone saying they were shot at. No injuries reported, and we don’t yet know if police have found evidence of gunshots. We’re continuing to monitor this.
PROWLER: Emailed by C:
Today 9/4 at 6:15, I caught a sketchy guy sneaking in the garage door at my apartment building on the 3600 block of aw Avalon way. He was a light build, white male, about 5’7”, dark baseball hat, dark long sleeve shirt and dark pants, dark bandana (facial hair underneath). He was carrying a black duffel bag. He hid in the garage for a bit then tried leaving out a locked door. When confronted, he tried some dumb story about delivering medicine to a relative in the building, then got defensive and left. Called the cops.
(WSB file photo)
More news released by the city just before the holiday weekend: From SPD Blotter, we learn that the question we and others asked earlier this week has been answered – in part, anyway. When interim Police Chief Adrian Diaz announced that about 100 officers would be redeployed to patrol/911 response, he didn’t offer specifics, though he noted that many would come from “similar” responsibilities – like the Community Police Team and Traffic Enforcement. Later that day, SPD explained it couldn’t offer specifics until all the affected personnel had been notified. Now, that’s been done, so here’s the citywide breakdown:
Precinct CPT [Community Police Team] officers/sergeants – 29
Traffic and TCI [Traffic Collision Investigation] Detectives/officers/sergeants – 21
Precinct Burg/Theft Detectives/sergeants – 20
Community Outreach officers – 2
Crisis Intervention/SHA [Seattle Housing Authority] Liaison officers – 4
Drug Court Detective – 1
DV Unit Detectives – 5
Intelligence Unit Detectives – 5
Narcotics Detectives – 1In addition to these 88 officers resuming responsibilities in Patrol, the department is also forming the Community Response Group, made up of 100 officers and 10 sergeants whose priority will be to address the increased response times to 911 calls throughout the city.
The announcement did not include any precinct-by-precinct numbers, so we won’t be able to follow up on that until next week. There are five precincts citywide, including the Southwest Precinct in West Seattle (which also handles South Park). Also of note, this reallocation does not resemble the list of units from which the City Council wanted to see cuts, as specified in the budget-rebalancing plan that the mayor vetoed. (Whether the council will vote to override the veto has not yet been announced – it’s not on their agenda for Tuesday, when they meet for the first time following a two-week recess.)
Hours after interim Police Chief Adrian Diaz‘s media briefing about staffing changes, Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Kevin Grossman spoke with the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle, online. He said he has no further details, yet, about how the 100 “redeployments” will affect his staffing levels, but of course he’s hopeful it means more officers headed this way. Right now, Capt. Grossman said, the precinct staff is 10 percent below what it was when he started, due to attrition – retirements, officers moving to other parts of the city, or moving to other cities’ departments. In addition, this precinct and the others all have to contribute to the “task forces” that deal with some of the ongoing protests on Capitol Hill. On another note, he and operations Lt. Sina Ebinger, who also was at the meeting (as was Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Danner), will not be regularly attending community meetings as they have since taking over two months ago. Grossman says he wants patrol officers to attend the meetings in the areas they cover, so they can build relationships. (That was part of the reason Chief Diaz cited on Wednesday for moving more officers into patrol.) A special focus of the Kiwanis’s community work is mentoring youth, particularly via Key Clubs, so some Q&A last night focused on that; Danner will be working to set up meetings where she and officers can talk with high-school and middle-school students and hear their concerns.
P.S. Another Kiwanis note – they’re expecting this year’s Pancake Breakfast, usually the first Saturday of December, to be a “virtual” event, so stand by for more on that.
11:06 AM: As previewed last night, interim Police Chief Adrian Diaz and Mayor Jenny Durkan are briefing reporters on plans to move 100 SPD staff into patrol operations. You can watch live above (we’ll substitute the archived video later); we’ll also add notes below, as it goes.
This will “enable us to respond to 911 calls … on a more-rapid basis,” says the mayor. She also says this is a move toward saving some money on overtime, with “more, shorter shifts” being added. She also says this “lays the groundwork for future changes” in SPD. But ‘we know we still need police,” she declares, saying they’ll evaluate what 911 calls require “traditional armed police response” and which don’t.
11:15 AM: Chief Diaz takes the microphone. He says the department currently has the lowest number of officers in patrol operations “in recent memory.” The moves will address a concern consistently voiced by community members, he says – the lack of police presence in neighborhoods. He hopes this also will enable officers to get out of their cars and make connections with residents, delivering a “neighborhood-based style of policing.” This also means less reliance on “emphasis patrols” to address ongoing problems.
11:20 AM: No further specifics, so it’s now on to Q&A. First one: How do they anticipate the council (which recently voted to cut 100 officers) reacting? “Positively,” says the mayor. How will the moves affect ongoing detective work? 40 percent of the moves will come from units already doing similar work – community police teams, traffic enforcement, etc., Diaz says. Will it encourage more attrition if those who haven’t been on the street for years are asked to move back? Diaz says it will actually affect more younger, newer officers than veterans. In response to another question, he mentions one of the new shifts will be a 4-day 3 pm-1 am shift, covering the time when call levels are at the highest.
The timeline, the chief says in response to another question, is “within the next few weeks” – as soon as the week of September 16th.
11:44 AM: The briefing is over. We are following up to ask for more specifics on the reassignments, including how individual precincts will be affected.
2:13 PM: The archived video is now available above. Meantime, SPD says it can’t comment yet on details of the reassignments because it’s “in the process of making notifications to employees in detective and other units about redeployments to enhance our 911 response. Once employee notifications have been completed in the coming days, the department will provide further information about the units impacted by personnel redeployments.”
Two notes tonight:
STOLEN CAR: From David in Arbor Heights:
My car was stolen last night.
2019 Kia Optima, White, License # BRL4508
Stolen from in front of my house: (10000 block of) 40th Ave SW
If you see it, call 911.
POLICE CHANGES: Interim Police Chief Adrian Diaz and Mayor Jenny Durkan plan a media briefing at 11 am Wednesday on Diaz’s announcement late today of a change in assignment for more than 100 SPD personnel – moving them out of specialty units and into patrol. That just happens to be the same number the City Council voted to cut, also mostly from specialty units, in the budget-rebalancing package the mayor vetoed. What will it mean for our precinct? You can watch the livestream here.
(WSB photo)
1:09 PM: On its way to the Seattle Police evidence room as of a short time ago – what’s believed to be one of two vehicles sought in connection with the Monday hit-run homicide near Longfellow Creek that killed 34-year-old Derrick Lacomb. A WSB reader spotted the damaged car along SW Thistle near 13th SW this morning and contacted us as well as police. Here are two photos the reader sent – the covered-over front light was a telltale feature:
Once police got there for a look at the car, they radioed in that it indeed appeared to be the one they were looking for, so they impounded it. We are checking to see if the other one (as seen in Wednesday’s report) has turned up yet.
4:50 PM: Thanks to the texter who pointed out an SPD update we missed, that the other vehicle was found late yesterday.
That video is part of an update today in Monday’s hit-run homicide near Longfellow Creek:
SPD Homicide detectives are seeking the public’s assistance in locating two vehicles believed to be connected to this homicide. Both vehicles were captured on a surveillance camera near the scene. Detectives have asked anyone who might have known the victim – identified as Derrick Lacomb – or have information about the incident to call the Violent Crimes Tipline at 206-233-5000.
Here’s another look at the two vehicles:
As first reported here Monday evening, Mr. Lacomb’s body was found near 24th/25th SW; police said on Tuesday that they believe he was hit and killed by a driver who then left the scene.
(WSB photo, Monday night: Evidence markers placed during investigation)
We first told you last night about an investigation near Longfellow Creek after a man was found dead. Today, we followed up with police, and they’ve just released this update:
SPD Homicide and Traffic Collision investigators were called to West Seattle Monday evening after a 34-year-old man was struck and killed by a driver.
Around 6 pm, a resident in the 6500 block of 25th Avenue Southwest called 911 and reported a possibly deceased person in some bushes on the street. Police arrived, located the 34-year-old man, confirmed he was deceased, and contacted witnesses in the area.
At this point in the investigation, detectives believe the driver intentionally struck the victim, killing him. The driver then fled the scene.
If you have any information about this incident, please call 206-233-5000.
This happened near where 24th/25th meet, west of Delridge Way – here’s a map.
ADDED 12:30 PM: The not-yet-publicly-identified man is West Seattle’s second homicide victim of the year (not counting the suitcase-bodies victims, who were killed in Burien); the first was 41-year-old Jana Layman, whose roommate is awaiting trial in her January murder.
Police are investigating the death of a man whose body was found near 24th/25th SW [map], by Longfellow Creek. We just went to the scene after a tip from a neighbor (thank you) about a big police response.
SPD at the scene included Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Kevin Grossman, who told WSB that this all started with an investigation after a report of a hit-run crash in the area earlier today; near some debris left behind, the body was found. Capt. Grossman said they don’t know yet if the hit-run and death are connected; detectives are at the scene to see what they can find.
| 34 COMMENTS