Helicopter search update: 3 arrested in car-theft case

ORIGINAL 12:06 AM REPORT: Have received several notes about a helicopter circling in south West Seattle – and a report that it’s related to a King County Sheriff’s Office search in northwest Shorewood. Nothing obvious on the scanner yet but we’re checking. Reports so far have come from 35th and Roxbury, near Westwood Village, and Arbor Heights, so far. (Aside – when you hear a helicopter at this hour, it’s 90% likely it’s Guardian One, the law-enforcement helicopter that belongs to the county but also assists various city jurisdictions sometimes; TV-news helicopters do not fly at this hour unless it’s a gigantic story for which a pilot has been called in.) 12:16 AM: One comment from Arbor Heights mentions police on the ground in their neighborhood. 12:48 AM: Several neighbors report the helicopter has stopped. If we don’t succeed in getting official information tonight, we will seek it out first thing in the morning and publish an update soon as we get it. 2:10 AM UPDATE: Lt. Ron Smith at the Southwest Precinct provides the details: It involved a stolen car; three suspects were arrested after a search involving not only the King County Guardian One helicopter but also Seattle Police K-9, Seattle Police ACT team, and SPD patrol officers.

TheHouse February 11, 2009 (12:11 am)

MAKE IT GO AWAY!! It’s been circling for 40 minutes!

D.j. February 11, 2009 (12:12 am)

Alas, another night with the whirley birds circling overhead. . .soon to be a sleepless night if they keep it up much longer. Here’s hoping they catch their suspect(s) soon.

Dave February 11, 2009 (12:14 am)

We’re near 34th and Barton and definitely hear it buzzing around. Very unsettling.

d in arbor heights February 11, 2009 (12:16 am)

Yep. The helicopter has been circling for a while now. A groups of cops just passed through our front/back yard on foot searching everywhere – even the recycle bin.

Mariah February 11, 2009 (12:18 am)

Thanks for posting this. I just sent WSB an email asking what it is. I came back to the home page and behold (!) you are already on it.

Seattlemodern February 11, 2009 (12:21 am)

We’re near 31st and 102 and hear them passing over head regularly. Cop car zoomed by awhile ago with spotlight.

Dave February 11, 2009 (12:22 am)

Hey D – what’s your nearest cross street?

ConcernedNeighbor February 11, 2009 (12:28 am)

I’m wondering if police would inform residents if they thought they might be in danger. Also, does anyone know if the helicopter is using infrared? It doesn’t seem to be shining a spotlight.

MargL February 11, 2009 (12:29 am)

We at 34th and 104th … hear the whirlybird but haven’t seen the cops…

WSB February 11, 2009 (12:31 am)

Generally they don’t go around broadcasting over loudspeakers or anything. We have tracked several searches like this and often they are for burglars/robbers … The search-related traffic on the scanner has gone away so we’re not getting any clues at the moment. Unless somebody sees something on the ground, we may well not know until tomorrow.

Gary February 11, 2009 (12:33 am)

Still buzzing around – no searchlight – I’m at 35th and SW 100th. I would think they’d run out of gas by now. Maybe its a hybrid.

Seattlemodern February 11, 2009 (12:35 am)

Hubby said he saw a red light hanging down and he supposed it was infrared.

pervis February 11, 2009 (12:42 am)

on 32 and 97. almost landed on the roof it sounded like

MP February 11, 2009 (12:42 am)

We can see police lights flashing from our window seems by Roxbury Lanes/ Safeway on Roxbury. We’re in Arbor Heights and the helicopter has been circling for at least a half hour but just suddenly stopped five seconds ago. ah silence.

WSB February 11, 2009 (12:46 am)

Scanner discusses an officer with K9 on 30th, currently.

Gawdge February 11, 2009 (12:47 am)

Oh joy…I think it stopped.

Jim February 11, 2009 (12:49 am)

Darn, they left…. I was just gonna breakout my old Sony camcorder, so I could see the infrared….

Kevin February 11, 2009 (12:51 am)

I’m at 100th and 42nd and would have to agree that the Safeway / Roxbury Lanes seems to be the center of attention. The east/west center line of their circle seems to be somewhere between Roxbury and 100th.

pigeonmom February 11, 2009 (12:54 am)

Dig the whirlybird graphic, is it new?

WSB February 11, 2009 (12:55 am)

We found it during an intense time of helicopter searches (click the word “helicopter” under the headline) some weeks back. So now, when this kind of thing happens, we have an icon for it!

Gawdge February 11, 2009 (1:03 am)

Your graphic is that of an Apache…which be super if the local PoPo had one of those. We’d all sleep right through these events.

WSB February 11, 2009 (1:12 am)

Actually we did use this for a non-law enforcement helicopter event or two, so it’s meant to be just generic helicopter. Perhaps I can rev up the volunteer graphic department to find a silhouette of Guardian One.

jl February 11, 2009 (2:16 am)

heard the heli, shortly after, saw the police with flashlights and a dog in my back yard. 9800 block 30th Ave. i just locked the door and hoped my lady and little girls would sleep through it. man, what a racket.

BP February 11, 2009 (6:33 am)

GOOD! At least our loud evening didn’t go in vain. I hope the guys they caught are the same punks that broke into our cars on 35th and Rox a few nights ago.

miws February 11, 2009 (8:07 am)

When I saw this headline, just now, I thought “Aw Nuts!! I missed personally witnessing the latest helicopter hover!”

But, it turns out it’s not in my neighborhood. (Although I did live in the 102nd & 33rd area of Arbor Heights over 30 years ago!

d in arbor heights, Y’know, one would think that the Police have alot better things to do, especially when participating in an active search, than checking to see if you’re recycling properly! ;)

Mike

the_bridge_to_somewhere February 11, 2009 (8:23 am)

Sounds like effective coordination of multiple police units — way to go!

PP February 11, 2009 (8:41 am)

WSB – you rock – thanks for all you do to keep us in the know.

JR February 11, 2009 (9:37 am)

I hope they’re not flying the AH-64 pictured in your icon! :)

Fred February 11, 2009 (9:48 am)

I watched this helicopter for what seemed like an hour. I could not sleep and was tempted to call someone to complain. It flew in circles forever, no searchlights. So low and loud!

Eddie February 11, 2009 (10:29 am)

We want crime enforcement, but could you make it quieter? Turn down those pesky sirens too.

Amanda February 11, 2009 (12:30 pm)

I’m so glad to have found this website! I’m at 36th & Barton and couldn’t sleep last night because of this helicopter. Not just because of the noise, but from time to time you hear stories about fugitives on the run busting into people’s homes to take hostages. Although I know it’s a long shot, I always get a bit nervous when there’s a helicopter circling like that!

David Trotter February 11, 2009 (2:26 pm)

This is one more example of the police not giving a dam about the public safety. Running through people’s yards without warrants, et cetra, though legal in pursuit of a suspect, puts people at more risk, not less.

This is a continuation of SPD’s Gestapo tactics that have brought us mayor-ordered sweeps against the homes that the mayor has helped create, profiling, the public assassination of Perry Manly in a violation of jurisdiction, and the police abuses and police anti-constitutional activities during the 2002-2003 anti-war and anti-LEIU protests.

As of today, I have contacted Council Member Tim Burgess’s office on these matters and I have left a message with mayor assistant Shauna that this totalitarian use of a Gestapo police force, along with the willful isolation of the neighborhoods through such things as the 2008 Snow Fiasco, shall end, or the mayor’s totalitarian regime shall be brought to its knees in the course of the mayoral campaign.

David W. Trotter
206-931-9691

Creighton February 11, 2009 (6:38 pm)

Regarding the WSB helicopter logo, to be exact it’s a AH-64D “Longbow”. The pod on the top is a fancy radar type thing that really only good for missile guidance. Don’t think there’s a need for the in West Seattle, well maybe. Props to the 3ACR.

Vera February 11, 2009 (7:35 pm)

We certainly get enough helicopter visits, but this one was an extended visit, flying directly over my house and business-Village Green Nursery, in very tight circles, with no spotlight-which is usually typical for my neighborhood. The infra-red was a new thing.
Thanks for keeping us in the know!

alkigirl February 11, 2009 (10:51 pm)

Hmmmm…..helicopter and canine unit to find a stolen car…where were they February 1st, when Steven Bushaw was shot crossing the street on California Ave? Maybe if they’d sent out the helicopters and canine units immediately (but wait….they were NEVER sent out that fateful night), the killers would have been caught. There was a description of the car, the occupants, and the direction in which they headed. Where are the priorities here? A life was lost. I don’t get it. Why weren’t the helicopters sent out for something so important as a shooting, but sent to find a stolen car??? Something is really wrong here….

Seattlemodern February 11, 2009 (10:57 pm)

Well David Trotter as much as I dislike Mayor Quimby I’d rather have cops running through my yard after some crazed meth head car thief then so meth heading hiding in my yard and thinking of B&E my home! BP, we also had our car broken into last week over on 31st. Don’t know if you have seen but on 30th Ave SW few houses down from the new RUXBURY(LOL) gas station is a questionable residence. Hubby and I have seen people coming and going at all hours and the place is trashed!

MP February 12, 2009 (3:03 pm)

there were several car breakins on 32nd ave sw and 100th last night or rather early early this morn–(feb 12) nearly all the cars on the street were broken into and things stolen from them

BusinesOwner February 12, 2009 (3:57 pm)

David – I completely agree with you. People don’t understand how often SPD blatantly disregard our constitutional rights. I’ve witnessed it, over and over again.

Funny, people would rather have a false sense of safety rather then constitutional protected rights. SPD and their media ties would have you believe that if they weren’t clothed in tactical gear, sporting millions of dollars in uber-tech anti-crime gear and more units on the street than criminals that you’d be unsafe! What a joke!

David Trotter February 13, 2009 (1:12 pm)

Thank you, BusinessOwner — to Seattlemodern — Bemjamin Franklin, replying to the governor in the Pennsylvania Assembly on November 11, 1755, stated: — “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a lettle temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” — This quotation is slightly reworded on the plaque in the pedastal srairwell at the Statue of Liberty to read: — “They that can give up essential liberty, to obtain a lettle safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” — You have apparently made your choice and would rather live under tyranny, totalitarianism, and Gestapo-style contempt for the constitutional and general rights for which Franklin and others have fought. I make my choice for freedom and will gladly stand and win against those who would breach it, especially in the name of “safety and security,” as well as against Good Americans (like Good Germans) such as yourself, and I invite others to stand with me and take back Seattle.