22 Replies to "Officer attacked in High Point: Two updates"

• Creighton June 21, 2008 (11:01 am)

  Every time I read this I get more sickened by it. It’s unbridled violence and disrespect for the police by everyone involved. I hope the SHA boots everyone and anyone associated with this crime out of their house as soon as possible. Until the families suffer, and they should as it was their raising of the kids that resulted in this behavior, the kids won’t really feel the pain of what they did.

• PSPS June 21, 2008 (11:32 am)

  What a joke. The Highpoint press release says, “We will take swift action to deal with the tenants involved, who appear to be in serious violation of the lease. We are consulting with our attorneys and intend to vigorously pursue our legal options.”
  .
  What’s with the bureaucratic quagmire? Since this is a lease, why not a 24-hour evicition notice? There was a lot of taxpayer money spent to raze and build these new houses in Highpoint. Why tolerate this or leave it to “attorneys … to vigorously pursue legal options?”

• thomas June 21, 2008 (1:28 pm)

  Totally laughable. I’ve witnessed beatings and gang violence and still the tennants involved remain in their units. SHA will never do anything. So much for their promise of three strikes and they’re out.

• Paul June 21, 2008 (1:34 pm)

  PSPS I suggest that you go to the state of Washington’s web site and review renters rights under the WAC. Renters have rights, just like owners have rights. You cannot kick someone out of a rental agreement without first taking all legal steps. Many leases protect both the renter and the property owner, and without knowing what the lease says one cannot just say kick out the tennant in 24 hours. I am a landlord and a tennant so I am very familiar with how leases are written and followed. If I had to evict my tennant legally I have to give a 15 day notice, and if I am evicted from my location I rent, I have up to 30 days depending on the situation that would cause the eviction. If someone was tossed out with a 24 hour notice, I can guarantee you we would see it all over the news and the management company would be put to fault, not the renter.

• cw June 21, 2008 (1:49 pm)

  again i ask, what race are they. i can belive the police are so potical correct, we can not find out, whatgroup of kids to watch out for. wonder where they will strike again? if the go after the mayor, it will soon stop.

• PSPS June 21, 2008 (2:40 pm)

  Paul: I understand what you’re saying, but what kind of lease doesn’t include a clause for immediate eviction in circumstances that pose an immediate deanger or criminal activity? If Highpoint doesn’t have such a clause in their lease, their attorneys need to pursue their true calling at McDonald’s.
  .
  Back in the day, I was living in a neighborhood that had a house with an absentee landlord. The renters were a group of thugs selling crack through a slot in the door. We finally got fed up with the landlord’s inaction and decided to do something about it. A group of about twenty of us banged on the door and told the creeps that they had five minutes to be out of the house or we’d burn it down. They left and we boarded it up. The funny thing is that the landlord left it that way, unoccupied and boarded up, until we left the neighborhood two years later. Maybe he was never aware of what happened!

• thomas June 21, 2008 (7:56 pm)

  In response to the question from CW, those arrested were African American as were those that committed the assault witnessed last summer.

• RG June 22, 2008 (11:07 am)

  I expect we’ll see no action taken by SHA or anyone else in authority for fear of exposing just how poorly people have been screened for placement in High Point. I’m totally amazed at the lack of oversight that goes on here. Every weekend we witness another example of domestic violence and drugs being sold right in front of the rental units, though my neighbors have now moved their business to the back corner of the Walgreens parking lot. There’s no way around it – High Point is a disaster waiting to happen. This past week’s brawl with the police was just an example of what we have to look forward to this summer. Thank goodness for the always quick and professional response of the West Seattle PD.
  Anyone know an editor at the Seattle Times we could talk to about this? Going full-on public is probably the only way to get action.

• M June 22, 2008 (2:49 pm)

  Response to CW and Thomas – what does “race” have to do with this? If you want a physical description, then just ask for that, not just their race! I swear people in some parts of W. Seattle are so paranoid about other races and cultures – pretty soon they’ll want to change the name from “West” Seattle to “White” Seattle. Why don’t you focus on WHO did the crime and the conditions that allow those crimes to occur in the first place?
  Oh, and BTW, would you want to lose your house because of the actions of one of your kids? Think about that especially if you are poor, undereducated and overwhelmed. They rebuilt High Point for rich white people, not for the groups that really need it. We should spend more energy trying to help the few lower income families that remain there succeed, not take away the roof over their heads. Maybe the guardian just can’t handle the kid – should they lose their home or should the community and law enforcement work to help turn the kid around and make a difference?

• RG June 22, 2008 (5:27 pm)

  “Rich white people?” Do you even live here?

• Paul June 22, 2008 (10:04 pm)

  I don’t think we should be focusing on race here. What would be the difference if the family that is at point here owned their home and not rented it? If they owned, they could not be evicted… I am not familiar with the law and the tennants rights when it comes to low income housing, but there are some pretty strict ones in place. I agree with M, these are the children, and parents can only do so much. As I stated earlier, one wrong move from the housing authority and it will be all over the news. They have to make sure that they are following the law. Don’t forget innocent until proven guilty….even if its a witnessed case.

• GreenSpaces June 22, 2008 (11:50 pm)

  The “tenants” living in High Point are professionally screened – the “owners” are not (most people completely forget this fact).

  Tenants right are so liberal that it could take weeks and months to legally evict a tenant. Due process has been put in place to protect all tenants so that discrimination and protected categories is not a factor in eviction.

  In addition to local tenants rights union, etc., there is The Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. From http://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/aboutfheo/aboutfheo.cfm

  FHEO creates equal housing opportunities for all persons living in America by administering laws that prohibit discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, and familial status.

  The Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity administers federal laws and establishes national policies that make sure all Americans have equal access to the housing of their choice.

  Particular activities carried out by the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity include implementing and enforcing the Fair Housing Act and other civil rights laws, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 109 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, and the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968.

  And to answer anyone’s question, YES I DO live here. After 10 years in West Seattle I intentionally picked this neighborhood to move to and be active in. I am PROUD to live here. It’s a lot of work to be a proper neighbor in support of this little “village” (remember the saying it takes a village to raise a child). On top of engaging anyone I cross paths with on my 3x daily walks with my dog, I also signed up to be a Summer Reading Program tutor. I am childfree by choice and I don’t have a lot of appreciation for kids in general, so I am trying to learn what makes them tick, how to communicate with them, and how to bridge the gap caused by all of the misfortunes that may have befallen their families to bring them to this neighborhood. Generally everyone living here feels quite lucky to be here and most are very respectful of the community and the neighbors – all of them. (But if we could just teach the kids to use the trash cans and not litter…)

  You can have incidents like this take place anywhere and I get sick of the focus put on this neighborhood under these circumstances. I would love to hear what people would be saying if it happened on Alki, Fauntleroy, or Westwood. All of these areas are made up of PEOPLE. And also people who visit these areas from outside of the neighborhood. A family shouldn’t be condemned just for the kinds of friends their unfortunate minor child has picked to hang out with. AS IF YOUR PARENTS knew everything YOU did as a kid. NOT.

• Doug June 23, 2008 (8:04 am)

  The city is planning a similar community in Magnolia. Is this crime a pattern? What is the turnaround of people buying houses then leaving when they find it is not that desirable. I note the High Point website does not mention homeless or “affordable” housing.

• nunya June 23, 2008 (8:59 am)

  SHA has always done a poor job enforcing their onw rules in their communites. I have relatives that live across the street from two SHA houses, one is fine without any issues, the other one is loaded with abandoned cars, garbage and lots of police activity. King county housing authority does a much better job with the same guidelines, it all comes done to enforcement; or lack of it.

• Alison June 23, 2008 (10:11 am)

  West Seattleites are incredibly race concious. In the minds of many of the residents here-and I have lived here for 15 years-there are the “good” parts of West Seattle -read upper income and white- and the”bad” parts- read lower income and black, hispanic, etc.
  I am an upper income resident of African American descent and I can personally attest to being stared at, looked at questioningly by white people and being followed around West Seattle stores by the “loss prevention” person due to nothing other than my race. There can be no other reason as I’ve never stolen anything in my life and have no intention of doing so at this late juncture.
  I was quite pleased with the racial diversity I saw when I moved to West Seattle from Ballard and held out hope for some sort of racial understanding or unity. No such luck.
  Whenever there is a crime in West Seattle, people want to know the race of the perpetrators. This goes beyond the need to identify them for the police. At the heart of the question is the assumption that they will be people of color and can therefore be categorized as “they” or “them” and white folks will know who to look out for and be suspicious of.
  The people who assaulted the police officer were wrong and malevolent and should be punished to the FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, but their race is irrelevant as are accusations of “political correctness” based on their race or ethnicity. Some bloggers seem to hold income level and race against poor West Seattleites of color. But the reality is most of these folks work hard and try to raise their families and want to be safe in their neighborhoods just like you.
  So stop looking askance at me when you see me at the store and remember that while you’re busy staring at me a white person who has gone unnoticed is probably in the meat department stuffing a steak down her shorts.

• WSB June 23, 2008 (10:19 am)

  Note from the editors – if suspects are being sought, race is relevant as are other aspects of the physical description. That was not the case in this report (nor our original reports on this) so it wasn’t relevant and wasn’t in our reports. If there’s no search and no need for a description to be circulated, the only cases in which race would be a relevant part of the report are racially motivated hate crimes. No indication of that here (I don’t even know the officer’s race and I can’t even confirm the accuracy or inaccuracy of the commenter who posted alleged information on the suspects’ race, as I did not write down that info from the police report, because, again, it was irrelevant without an active search).

• BORN&RAISED WEST SEATTLEITE June 24, 2008 (7:33 pm)

  I agree that the race is not relavant of the suspects that injured this police officer. I was told that the bystanders were all yelling “Kill the Cop” and luckily other police officers got there in time before this happened.This information was given to me by a S.P.D. officer and a friend and this is a sad state of mind for these people to have towards cops!!!

• Heather in Sunrise Heights June 27, 2008 (3:56 pm)

  Cheers to you, Alison!! Color has nothing to do with ethics, morals or behavior. Thanks for your post. Everyone wants a nice place to live – race has nothing to do with that. I’d love to replace my white neighbor that has 10 dogs and three cats, throws her trash in the yard, and neglects her home with a responsible home owner of any color or persuasion.

• sean June 28, 2008 (6:59 am)

  Hey CW, Thomas, and M. I will put my money on they were from the Human Race! Everyone is capable of doing bad things.

• thomas June 30, 2008 (9:01 pm)

  Bad things? Trying to take a gun away from a police officer qualifies as something more than just a “bad thing.” Sorry for the negativity, but I live here and have to deal with the same problems every single week. Unfortunately it’s the two percent that are ruining it for the rest of us. And SHA refuses to accept responsibiity for dealing with this.

• thomas July 20, 2008 (9:56 am)

  anyone aware of any action taken by SHA?

• RG August 1, 2008 (11:02 pm)

  anyone know what precipitated the brawl that just went down over by the new high point park? Kids came running by saying a bunch of people were going at it (though they used a different word) and there were police officers with AK 47s out. Unlikely re the AK 47s but I did see five police cars coming rolling in. just another friday night in high point.

Sorry, comment time is over.