West Seattle, Washington
16 Monday
It’s one of the most fun nights of the summer – hundreds of neighborhoods around West Seattle, and thousands elsewhere, celebrating community and crimefighting as part of the annual Night Out Against Crime. Despite cuts in the Seattle Police crime-prevention-coordinator staff, Night Out is on, according to word just in from Mark Solomon, who’s the coordinator for precincts including ours. He says Night Out this year is on Tuesday, August 2nd, and you can register your block party (which means you get to close the street, as long as it’s not an arterial) right now! Just go here. There’s a Night Out page on Facebook, too – find that here. And as we say every year, we would love to feature your party as part of WSB coverage – if you wouldn’t mind a photojournalist stopping by, please let us know the address (here’s how to reach us) before party night! (And if we don’t make it, please share a photo, as it’s great to show everyone in West Seattle as many of the neighbors and friends they just haven’t yet met!)
Seattle Police have published another update on what the Aggressive Drivers Response Team has been up to. This one was a two-parter – one North Seattle, one West Seattle. For the latter, they worked on Highland Park Way yesterday – with the list of citations (see it here) said to include 11 uninsured drivers people driving without proof of insurance.
(Pete Spalding, Asst. Chief Mike Sanford, Chief John Diaz, Mayor McGinn pre-briefing)
Just back from the briefing at Don Armeni about this summer’s Seattle Police Citywide Late Night Public Safety Emphasis patrols. While the patrols will target what the announcement one-sheet refers to as “Designated Night Life Zones,” that doesn’t just mean places where you’ll find nightclubs: The two areas singled out in West Seattle are Alki and High Point (specifically, 35th/Graham and a one-block radius in all directions).
The new patrols – which Mayor McGinn and Police Chief Diaz repeatedly stressed will be taken from “on-duty resources,” not overtime or special call-ins – will start this Friday night, and continue Friday and Saturday nights through the summer, until a not-yet-determined date in September. Those on-duty resources, up to about 25 citywide on any given night, will come mostly from the Anti-Crime Teams, SWAT, and DUI officers who are on duty. They will not necessarily be in all the areas on the citywide “emphasis zone” map on each of those nights – if it’s raining, Assistant Chief Mike Sanford quipped, you won’t see them on Alki. And conversely, they might be deployed to areas not among the “emphasis zones,” if trouble seems to be brewing, Sanford said.
Pete Spalding of Pigeon Point has long been on the Southwest Precinct Citizens Advisory Council, and that was his reason for joining McGinn, Diaz, and Sanford in the brief speeches/Q-A event at a portable podium, set up at one of the lookout spots at Don Armeni’s north half, while numerous other SPD reps – including two Southwest Precinct Community Police Team reps on bicycles – looked on. “Extra officers patroling our neighborhoods is a good thing,” Spalding declared. (In the photo above, that’s the West Seattle section of the “emphasis zones” map – with Alki and High Point in red; full map added after the jump below.)
We asked Sanford why High Point, when it doesn’t have any conventional “nightlife.” He explained they are focusing on areas where “people are out,” not just places with nightlife-related businesses.
The point, Diaz said, was to meet one of his goals – to reduce fear of crime. While crime is down overall, he says, fear is up, and he believes seeing more officers on patrol can combat that.
(4:57 pm) The mayor’s office just sent the official news release – the text is after the jump (also, 5:57 pm, added our video of the entire briefing above, and the citywide map):Read More
If you’re in the Don Armeni vicinity around 3:30 pm tomorrow and see a knot of activity, probably including TV trucks, here’s what it’s about: Mayor McGinn, Seattle Police Chief John Diaz, and other SPD leadership (among others) will be discussing a new plan for “citywide late-night public safety emphasis patrols.” The media invitation that arrived minutes ago describes this as: “City will promote uniformed police visibility in areas with high concentration of people enjoying Friday and Saturday nightlife opportunities.” What does that specifically mean for West Seattle? We’ll have details as soon as that’s available. (This time last year, the mayor and police chief announced these types of patrols for several non-WS neighborhoods.)
Seattle Police have published another roundup of speeding (mostly) citations on their SPD Blotter site – Admiral Way, West Seattle Bridge, and a new wrinkle: the Arbor Heights Elementary school zone. (Numbers aren’t mentioned, just “five speeding citations” for that area.) See the details here.
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
From reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers:
*After being approached by a concerned citizen on Wednesday afternoon, officers spoke with a transient man who apparently has been sleeping in the dugout at a Lincoln Park baseball field. For several weeks, he had allegedly been leering at women and harassing the kids who try to use the facility. He was cooperative with officers and has been told not to return to the park to camp or sleep. Officers also confiscated an illegal 3.5 inch fixed-blade knife and are taking official steps to have the man trespassed from the park – meaning, formally told that he is not allowed there at all.
Seven more summaries ahead:Read More
The big police response in Highland Park this past hour, around 9th/Henderson, is linked to a family-violence case, according to police. They say a father and son clashed after one showed up at the residence with a gun. We’re told one is in custody and the other was still being sought, at last report.
Just in from WSB/White Center Now contributor Deanie Schwarz – More than 20 law-enforcement vehicles, including several from Seattle Police, rushed to help a King County transit deputy after an attack attempt this past hour in WC. A Sheriff’s Office supervisor told Deanie that the deputy tried to make a routine traffic stop, pulling over the vehicle in a business parking lot at 106th/16th. As the deputy approached the vehicle, the driver threw it into reverse, gunned it, and tried to run over the deputy, according to the KCSO supervisor. Deanie says the call for backup brought cars from Seattle, Burien, and Sound Transit as well as the Sheriff’s Office. The deputy wasn’t hurt; one arrest is reported, and three more people were detained for questioning.
After something of a lull, the Seattle Police SPD Blotter has resumed updates on the Aggressive Drivers Response Team, and the latest update published minutes ago has some stats from today – read on:Read More
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
From reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers:
*Around 5:30 Tuesday evening, a citizen called 911 to report that someone in a passing car had fired a shot toward a home in the 6500 block of 34th SW. As it turns out, a person on the sidewalk had been the target. (And the target wouldn’t answer any questions.) Officers did, however, have a description of the car, which — along with its driver— turned out to be well-known to gang detectives. It was spotted and pulled over in Rainier Valley later in the week. The 17-year-old driver, a Kent resident, was booked into the Youth Service Center for investigation of the drive-by shooting.
Eleven more summaries – and it’s a little grittier than usual this time, so beware – after the jump:Read More
(Photos added 6:36 am)
6:01 AM: We’re near 38th and Oregon, which is blocked to traffic because of police activity including the SWAT team.
6:10 AM: Police on scene won’t comment, but whatever it’s about, it’s ending, and they’re leaving. We received a few notes saying people in the area heard loud explosion-type noises within the past hour; there’s no indication from the Fire Department’s 911 log of anyone needing medical attention, but SWAT officers do use devices creating noise as a diversion – we’ll be asking if that’s what happened.
7:09 AM UPDATE: Det. Mark Jamieson with the SPD media-response unit confirms it was a warrant situation – a “high-risk search warrant” with the hopes of finding a particular (not publicly identified) suspect. As for whether they did or didn’t, he’s still checking, so we’ll probably have yet another update here later.
(Click image to go to YouTube video page, where you can watch the video)
If you want to keep a burglar from kicking your door in, what matters is “not the deadbolt, it’s the door frame.” That potentially surprising advice was part of a briefing on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, presented Tuesday night by Southwest Precinct Community Police Team Officer Jonathan Kiehn for the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network.
Officer Kiehn had briefed the group on CPTED principles back in March, and recapped that briefing last night before attendees headed to the local home chosen for the on-scene review. Once there, we rolled video on his entire outdoor-and-indoor review, which you can watch above, unedited and nearly an hour long – looking at everything from landscaping to lighting to doors to the back yard to the alley, and yes, the door-frame issue.
(Even if you’re not a Block Watch Captain – yet! – follow the group on Facebook and the Web for invaluable crime-prevention advice and meeting announcements.)
Just in case you’re wondering: K-9 is helping with a police search that is related to at least two complaints in the Fairmount Park/Fairmount Springs area. WSB contributor Katie Meyer heard the early scanner traffic and reports that two people were reportedly seen in at least one backyard, one possibly with a ladder; the 5400 block of 41st SW was mentioned. There has also been a report of someone suspicious seen east of the park. We’ll add more information when/if we get it.
1:47 AM UPDATE: We haven’t heard back from police yet, but we have it from a neighborhood source that one suspect was taken into custody, believed to be the man spotted going through a car.
2:07 AM UPDATE: Confirmation from Lt. Alan Williams at the Southwest Precinct: “At about 11:54, a citizen who lives in the 5400 block of 42nd SW [map] saw someone inside his (unlocked) car. The suspect ran when the victim yelled at him. The victim called 9-1-1. Several patrol units and one K9 unit responded. The dog and handler were able to locate and detain a possible suspect in the 5600 block of 41st SW. The victim identified the suspect as the person he had seen inside his car. The suspect, a 20-year-old man, was booked into jail for Car Prowling.”
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
From reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers:
*Around 4:30 last Friday afternoon, a 13-year-old was walking home from school when a car pulled into a driveway, blocking the sidewalk. A young passenger demanded money and the boy’s iPod. The boy said something to the effect of, “I don’t think so,” and added “I live near here. How about if I just get my parents instead?” The chagrined suspects drove off northbound in the 3400 block of Walnut SW. Both driver (aged 16 or so) and passenger (12-13 years old) were described as white males wearing white t-shirts; they were in a Nissan Frontier pickup truck.
4 more summaries (quiet week!) ahead:Read More
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
At the heart of a meeting tonight in Fairmount Springs was not a victim, but a person – a neighbor in the hospital, for reasons not yet understood, fighting to recover from serious injuries she suffered in some kind of attack.
She’s in stable condition, reported neighbors at the meeting’s start. Then at the meeting’s end, a prayer for her physical and emotional recovery was offered, by the pastor of the church where about 50 neighbors gathered.
And the neighbors’ condition was a source of concern too. Don’t be frightened, exhorted police. “It’s not the one who did this that’s the powerful one – you are,” asserted Mark Solomon, the Southwest Precinct‘s Crime Prevention Coordinator.
He spoke along with the top two Seattle Police leaders from the precinct, its commander, Capt. Steve Paulsen, and operations Lt. Pierre Davis. Before the meeting was out, City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen had offered a few words too.
The gathering at West Seattle Church of the Nazarene was the first major neighborhood meeting since another one sparked by crime concerns a year and a half ago (here’s our report from that night). And as it concluded, neighbors agreed they would like to meet more often – maybe quarterly – though they already are bound by strong Block Watches and a much-used mailing list. But first: What police said tonight about the Sunday morning attack, reported in the 5900 block of 41st SW – ahead:Read More
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
From reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers:
*While working on his car in the Alaska Junction-area, a man needed to move his vehicle for just a few moments. When he pulled into an apartment lot across the alley, he was approached by a suspect who said, “You can’t park here.” The victim explained that it was just for a moment, but the suspect pulled a pistol from his waistband, flashed a badge that said, “concealed weapons permit,” and said, “You are trespassing and need to leave.” Bystanders intervened, and the suspect drove off before officers arrived.
*At West Seattle Golf Course one recent afternoon, a golfer approached the men ahead on the course and asked the obviously intoxicated pair if they could play faster. The response was a flurry of cussing and threats of “we’ll be waiting for you.” The suspects did, indeed, wait for the victims to return to their cars. One suspect stepped from behind a pickup truck and belly-bumped the victim several times. When the victim shoved back, the suspect began swinging. Medics had to be called to treat the victim, who suffered a severe laceration to his lip and nose and a serious injury to his right hand and thumb, which required a trip to the hospital. The suspect (described as white, heavyset, in his late 50s or 60s, ruddy complexion, reddish/balding hair, and glasses) drove off in a red pickup truck. But it’s his fashion sense that might make him easy to identify: Look for the man who golfs in a green hat, orange t-shirt, a purple vest, and multicolored checkered “clown pants.”
8 more summaries ahead:Read More
6:12 AM: At least one TV helicopter is hovering because of reported police activity. We’re working to find out what’s up. 6:44 AM UPDATE: Chopper left (its home base decided not to use its picture). We haven’t found the reported ground activity yet but have messages out to police.
7:26 AM UPDATE: For those still wondering, whatever it was happened fast. Sounds like classic early morning raid/warrant activity. Commenters saw in Gatewood and High Point. SPD media unit is working to gather info on whatever they can officially tell us news types, and we will update when that info is available. We have reported recently on raids in West Seattle also involving federal agents (there was a drug raid a week or so ago) – “ongoing investigation” was all that they could say back then – no indication yet on whether this was that type of thing.
10:01 AM UPDATE: Police say the 37th/Thistle vicinity activity (the one that initially drew the TV chopper) was a drug warrant. Then there was activity in High Point that some have mentioned; that was described by SPD as assisting the FBI – a commenter has shared information on that one which we are working to confirm with the federal authorities. As for Arbor Heights after that – SPD had no new incidents, so likely related to something from earlier. Thanks for the on-the-ground police sightings – in cases like that, that may be the most significant information we ever get.
4:12 PM: After a few notes and calls, we checked out major police activity this past hour near the Fauntleroy ferry dock. According to police on the scene as well as scanner traffic, a possible burglary in progress was reported. However, police say, no burglary after all – but they were still trying to find the people who had been seen possibly trying to break into a house; the only description we heard was white, male, early 20s, one in a red hat, last seen possibly eastbound on SW Director (which is the street that’s just north of the Fauntleroy Creek overlook across from the dock). 4:28 PM UPDATE: There’s a new call of a possible prowler, maybe related, just a bit east/uphill. Meantime, we’ve added a photo from the earlier search. 4:50 PM UPDATE: Scanner traffic indicates a possible suspect has been detained. We’ll be checking for more information on whether that led to an arrest.
5:53 PM UPDATE: Just talked with Brian, the nearby resident whose tip appears to have led police to the suspect. Brian lives near Fauntleroy Creek and was startled to look out a window and see “this guy walking through the back yard.” After seeing the guy walk on to open the gate, Brian went out and asked the man what he was doing. The man claimed to have been lost in the woods. Brian went back in the house and called 911 to ask if they were looking for anyone in Fauntleroy; and of course, they were. He then called some neighbors to alert them – and the neighbors told him a whole bunch of police had just rolled up, and found the suspect. (Brian says he was told they were going to detain the suspect on warrants that were out for his arrest; we’re still working on getting official information.) “I was impressed,” Brian told us. “From the time I saw him walking through the back yard, it was maybe five minutes (till they arrived) – they were right on top of it. There’s no reason for anybody to be in my back yard!”
7:26 PM UPDATE: Police confirm this all started with someone reporting “2 suspicious males attempting to enter a residence in the 9100 block of Fauntleroy Way SW.” Police talked with one suspect shortly after that 3 pm report, according to Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen, who says it all wound up with one arrest. Since no actual burglary happened, that arrest was for criminal trespass plus “miscellaneous warrants” including one for escape. Capt. Paulsen adds:
The Southwest Precinct would like to thank all of the citizens who called 911 when they observed the suspicious behavior at the residence as well as calling 911 after observing one of the subjects running through yards. It was your watchful eye and knowledge of your neighborhood that helps keep West Seattle as one of the safest places to live.
A similar sentiment from Lt. Alan Williams: “Once again, the Community-Police partnership has made life difficult for criminals in our area!”
ADDED 11:30 PM: From area resident Natascha:
I wanted to respond to your story and also provide my feedback and strong support for the Seattle police department. I had left my patio door open while working in my home office. After my dogs did not stop barking for quite some time, I left my conference call to find 6 police officers surronding my house and asking if they could search the premises for the suspect who was seen in my backyard. I was very impressed with the action of the police officers and response to the calls from the neighbors. Nice to know that everyone takes prowlers seriously and want to keep our amazing neighborhood safe. Having relocated from LA this is definitely refreshing!
Results of yet another speeder roundup are on the Seattle Police SPD Blotter this morning – and the Saturday roundup is of note for two reasons: First, it’s not just West Seattle. Second, in West Seattle, the patrols included Highland Park Way, which some WSB commenters have suggested needs attention – details ahead:Read More
9:01 AM: We’re receiving multiple reports that the “low bridge” is closed to car traffic, with police presence. We don’t yet know why but are on the way to find out. (Thanks to Bill for the original tip – he says he did get through via bicycle.)
9:23 AM UPDATE: We’re at the low bridge and can confirm, it’s closed to cars. One officer says it should reopen within the next 45 minutes or so. If you approach from the West Seattle side, you’ll be detoured onto Harbor Island. Police at the scene will only say this is “part of an ongoing investigation” – they are clearly looking for evidence of some kind; we’ll keep checking for details.
3:29 PM UPDATE: Still no additional information available, except that it was indeed the CSI team, following up on “an investigation,” and no one can say so far whether the investigation even relates to a West Seattle case. (And yes, the bridge has long since reopened.)
The Aggressive Drivers Response Team‘s latest report just turned up on SPD Blotter, with top speeding tickets mentioned including 54 mph on 35th SW, 58 mph on Admiral Way, 66 mph on the West Seattle Bridge, among other spots. Full list here. (P.S. The speed-camera van also has been spotted on 35th SW today, according to a phone call we received. And no, police do NOT mind if we warn you.)
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
From reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers:
*At an apartment in the 2600 block of 42nd SW, tenants must display a parking permit in order to use the rear parking lot. Tuesday morning, a tenant heard a tow truck and saw it preparing to tow his roommate’s car. The tenant ran downstairs, opened the car door, found the permit on the floor and showed it to the driver. But the tow truck driver ignored him. The roommate came down as well, and when she stood in front of the rear tire of her vehicle, she claims the driver deliberately struck her bare foot with a metal crossbar. The car was towed, and the residents have been advised to contact the building’s management company about the incident.
*Someone entered a fenced yard in the 5600 block of 35th SW last week on Wednesday and stole a number of metal parts from a restaurant-quality barbecue grill. The estimated loss is $2,000.
11 more summaries – including more details on a case we’ve been following outside WSBeat, a bus-stop robbery, a potential case of tree poisoning, and more – after the jump:Read More
Another day, another Aggressive Drivers Response Team report on SPD Blotter. This one was an “early morning” patrol (borne out by a tweet we received very early this morning). Beyond what our headline mentions – read the details here.
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