We’ve been asked why police are out on Alki. Scanner traffic mentioned they were called because of “protesters.” Checking Twitter, we found out it’s the walking anti-racism demonstration that goes by the hashtag #blackbrunchseattle. Social-media clips show participants staging brief demonstrations inside restaurants, and then moving on; recognizable visuals included Cactus, Duke’s, and Alki Café, shown in this brief video clip that was tweeted:

Another tweet says there are 11 participants and six police cars. A few have tweeted photos of the SPD presence.

Following the hashtag shows past demonstrations in other Seattle neighborhoods including Capitol Hill, and one today on the East Coast in Princeton, NJ.

Just announced by the organizers of last month’s disruption-shortened West Seattle community conversation with Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole (WSB coverage here, with video): She’ll be back to “continue the conversation” next Wednesday (March 11th). When we spoke with Chief O’Toole right after her February 3rd visit, she promised to return for a second try at West Seattle Q/A, and that’s what this is intended to be. The meeting is set for 6:30-8:30 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle in The Junction (California/Oregon), co-sponsored again by the West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network and Southwest Precinct Advisory Council (flyer here).

(WSB file photo)
For more than a few months, two Southwest Precinct officers have been riding bicycles whenever possible, to patrol areas including Roxhill Park, Lincoln Park, and The Junction, as well as the Westwood area after the wave of robberies targeting students. It’s an experiment by precinct commander Capt. Steve Wilske, who has said repeatedly – as noted in our community-group coverage dating back to last spring – that it’s worked out so well, he was trying to get more officers on bicycles throughout the area. And he’s finally received official approval to do just that, he told community activists who posted to the South Park community mailing list, and we subsequently confirmed it with him.

Capt. Wilske says he expects to have the bicycle patrol set up within a month or so, as a few details remain to be worked out. He says, “We will have a total of 6 officers, with a maximum staffing of 4 per day (2 in Frank sector, 2 in William sector and 2 off duty). I have to admit I am pretty excited about this, I think it is going to be good for the officers and great for the neighborhoods.” He told the South Park advocates something we’ve heard him tell local groups: “My experience from being a bicycle officer myself is that this style of patrolling is one of the most effective ways to deal with street-level crime, and makes the officer approachable to those folks who may not want to call 9-1-1 but will walk up to an officer and talk to them.

P.S. If you aren’t familiar with the West Seattle/South Park sectors, here’s the newest map.

Eight reports to share. First:

(From Jordan via Twitter)
30TH/GENESEE INCIDENT TONIGHT: A big police response converged in this area after a report of gunfire. No one was reported to have been shot; we did hear, via scanner, an officer report finding one shell casing. Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams, responding to our inquiry about the circumstances, says it’s related to a recent assault; tonight “the victim fired a ‘warning’ shot up in the air to convince suspect to get away.” The investigation is still in progress. *

At mid-afternoon:

TRUCK VS. GARAGE: Thanks to Rob for the photo from 13th and Thistle earlier this afternoon. He saw the pickup truck hit the garage and says no one was hurt. Unlike last night’s crashes, in this one, the driver apparently stayed at the scene.

Reader report from overnight:

CAR BREAK-INS: Tori e-mailed:

We just wanted to let the West Seattle community know that both of our cars were broken into last night at 38th Ave SW & SW Oregon. They attempted to steal the car but were unable to, and instead, messed up the car and rendered it un-drivable. This is the third time this month that our cars, and other cars on our block, have been targeted. We are hoping that by letting the blog know, others in this area can be aware of car thieves and keep valuables out of their cars.

Another reader report, with photo:

BREAK-IN DAMAGE: Greg sent the photo to go along with his report of a burglary on Thursday:

My house near 35th and Charleston was broken into (Thursday) while I was at work. Burglars bashed in the front door, did some good damage to it. Electronics stolen, not much else, so feel lucky it was only that. I called the police and they dusted the house for prints.

Some incidents that aren’t as recent, but are detailed in police reports we just obtained:

STOLEN CAR IN CRASH BEFORE OWNERS KNEW IT WAS GONE: Early last Tuesday morning, police investigated a hit-run crash at 17th and Barton. The vehicle was registered to an Upper Alki couple who didn’t even know it had been stolen; it was still in the driveway when they went to bed several hours earlier. Police delivered the bad news that their vehicle was not drivable and had been towed.

ANOTHER SHOPLIFT-TURNED-ROBBERY: Another case of shoplifting that turned to robbery when the theft turned to violence. This one happened around 7 pm February 11th, according to a report we obtained this week as part of our ongoing public-disclosure requests. Employees at West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) told police a man and woman tried to steal food from the deli and candy from a Valentine’s Day display. They were intercepted while trying to leave without paying; they gave back the deli food but the woman denied having the candy hidden in her purse, even though the man yelled at her to give it back so they could leave. She refused and hit a store employee on the wrist, leaving a bruise, then swore at the store employees. Both suspects then bolted. She was described as Hispanic, early 20s, thin, 5-5, bright pink jacket and jeans; he was described as black, 30s, medium build, scruffy facial hair, 5-10, in dark clothing. Video surveillance was being checked.

CAR PROWL IN SUPERMARKET LOT: Same location as the previous item, but this happened around 10:30 am February 10th. Someone broke into a car while its owner was in Thriftway for a few minutes. A backpack and pair of pants were taken. Store surveillance caught the incident and it turned out one person seen on the video had been in the nearby cell-phone store, “trying to activate a stolen cellphone,” and his identity was known. Cross-referencing jail records, we note someone with the same name spent a day and a half in jail this past week in connection with an apparently unrelated case involving a stolen car. We don’t yet know the status of the case involving the car prowl.

ITEMS FOUND: Maybe someone will be able to find the owner here, as “HelperMonkey” did with the items noted in a recent roundup. In this case, a neighbor in the 8800 block of 37th SW in Upper Fauntleroy found “property on the street that she suspected was associated with a crime,” per a report, which says police retrieved the items, described as wires, old clothing, and food, plus a debit card in the name of Ana S—–a. Police were not able to find anyone by that name. If you know Ana, have her contact police.

P.S. – NEXT CRIME PREVENTION/SAFETY MEETING … is this Tuesday (February 24th), when the West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network meets at the SW Precinct (Webster/Delridge), 6:30 pm, all welcome. The agenda’s still being finalized but police will have a presence there as always, so bring questions/concerns, and take advantage of the opportunity to strengthen/start a block watch.

(WSB photos by Christopher Boffoli)
11:25 PM: We’ve found out a bit about the sizable police presence, including SWAT officers, at an apartment building in Admiral, near California/College. (Thank you to those who texted/e-mailed about it.) Police on the scene tell WSB’s Christopher Boffoli that a man is barricaded inside an apartment. More as we get it.

11:55 PM: No change in the situation. We’re told police have been on the scene for more than two hours. Police confirmed to Christopher that this began with a domestic-violence incident earlier in the evening. The Seattle Fire 911 log shows an aid (lower-level medical) response to the area at 9:12 pm. Aside from the police presence outside the building on SW College, Christopher tells us there are no traffic effects.

12:51 AM: Now an assault-with-weapons response has been dispatched, and scanner traffic indicates a possible shooting victim.

Christopher reports hearing what could have been gunshots.

12:58 AM: Per radio, police and fire are going in.

1:09 AM: Christopher reports that the SWAT team is leaving and medics (above) have left without a patient.

1:58 AM: Still trying to find out how this ended. SW Precinct Lt. Alan Williams told us he can only say “there is no threat to anyone in the area at this time.” More information, we’re told, will come through SPD Public Affairs.

3:42 AM: Adding photos taken while the situation was still unfolding. Above, SWAT officers staged on the other side of California, though the incident did NOT involve businesses there. Below, at the building, the SWAT officers entered and exited over the course of a few hours; residents were not evacuated.

7:27 AM: Though we’re still awaiting an official police statement, sources including neighbors confirm the man was found dead. One neighbor says some residents were in fact evacuated for a time.

8:14 AM: SPD Det. Patrick Michaud confirms that police found the man dead of “a self-inflicted gunshot wound.” The victim in the original domestic-violence report was already out of the apartment when police first arrived around 8:30 pm, Det. Michaud confirms, and was taken to a hospital for treatment.

9:35 AM: One more detail from police, according to Det. Drew Fowler: “Police never made contact with the man until we made entry and located the deceased.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: As we always do in reports involving suicide, we want to mention the Crisis Clinic‘s 24-hour hotline: 206-461-3222. The state’s Domestic Violence Hotline is 800-562-6025.

(From left, Pete Spalding of the SW Precinct Advisory Council; Chief Kathleen O’Toole; Capt. Steve Wilske; Deb Greer of the WS Block Watch Captains’ Network)

7:44 PM: Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole‘s first “community conversation” in West Seattle was cut short after a woman concerned about police-brutality shouted down the chief and others before the meeting was an hour old.

Those who had come to hear Chief O’Toole talk about West Seattle community crime issues tried in turn to get the protester to stop so they could ask their questions, but after a few minutes of semi-chaos, host Pete Spalding announced the meeting was over. Some community members moved ahead to the front of the room to try to get the chief to answer their questions in a one-on-one type of situation, which continued for at least 15 minutes after the meeting’s official end, and is continuing even as we publish the first version of this.

We’ll add video of the truncated meeting a bit later. (9:54 PM: Here’s the link; 10:12 PM, it’s embedded below – note that our camera was fixed/pointed to the front of the room, so the shouting is off-camera:)

Below, our notes as it unfolded.

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We’ve included reminders in almost every West Seattle Crime Watch report since the original announcement two weeks ago, but in case you’ve missed them – Tomorrow’s the night that Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole comes to West Seattle for her first community conversation. It’s co-sponsored by the Southwest Precinct Advisory Committee, and the West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network, which published this reminder earlier today. 6:30 pm Tuesday in the precinct meeting room (off its public parking lot along Webster, just west of Delridge). No presentation – just your questions and her answers, promise organizers.

Seattle Police announced today that the department has redrawn patrol-sector boundaries, among other changes – here’s the official announcement. From it, above, that’s the new map of sectors/beats in the Southwest Precinct (West Seattle and South Park); compare it to the old one below:

From the SPD Blotter post that contains the announcement, as linked above:

SPD’s five precincts’ beats will also more closely reflect Seattle’s census tracts, to match officer allocation to the recent growth and shifts in Seattle’s many neighborhoods. Beat realignments are a common practice for law enforcement agencies throughout the country, allowing police departments to account for city growth and population density changes. The last time SPD redrew its boundaries was in 2008. Now, six years later, the department has again taken the opportunity to reevaluate and meet the needs of each of Seattle’s neighborhoods.

We don’t have detailed information on the boundary changes, but on first look, the ones we notice seem to involve the William sector in western WS. Meantime, aside from the maps, we don’t have specifics yet about exactly what that means to you, but we’re asking for more details and will add anything we find out.

P.S. If you didn’t read the full announcement, SPD also is taking Tweets by Beat and crime maps down until next week, to align the automated information with these changes. That means the incident list you see atop our Crime Watch page will be unavailable. It also means your tips are more important now than ever, since the tweets and maps are a key way we try to make sure we haven’t missed anything major – editor@westseattleblog.com or 206-293-6302 any time – thank you.