(2/1/09 photo by WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli)
An update on the unsolved murder of Steve Bushaw was part of what the Junction Neighborhood Organization heard during tonight’s lightly attended meeting – the many who have voiced concern about recent Junction crime, but didn’t attend the meeting, missed a chance for candid Q/A with the #2 boss from the Southwest Precinct, Lt. Steve Paulsen. One big question came from JuNO president Erica Karlovits: What if anything could he say about the Bushaw case, 5 1/2 weeks after the 26-year-old was shot and killed on Super Bowl night? Lt. Paulsen said, “This was not a random attack … homicide detectives have a lot of good leads and it’s progressing. Sometimes these take a lot of time, even if you know who a suspect is, to develop probable cause …” And he reiterated that there’s no evidence it was random: “Every indication is that these people knew each other.” The absence of stranger-on-stranger violence was a theme in his general discussion, and the Q/A, about Junction-area crime. Car prowls continue to be the top problem, but he said they were down in February – just under 90, compared to just under 130 in January, and the March rate is even lower so far, with just two reported to police in the past few weeks. He mentioned a couple of recent arrests may have played a part in getting the worst offenders off the street.
He also was asked about trouble with “night establishments” and drunk driving, especially given what happened last night:
(Monday evening photo by Mark Ammann)
Lt. Paulsen reiterated that DUI is suspected in last night’s crash, in which the 35-year-old driver of that pickup hit 13 other cars (mostly parked) along the east side of California SW in the heart of The Junction’s business district (previous WSB coverage here). It was also mentioned that a suspected drunk driver hit a pole on that same side of California just north of Oregon several hours later (911 logs confirm a motor-vehicle accident call at that location at 1:52 am today). More of tonight’s discussion about Junction crime, just ahead:
Noise complaints are more common in The Junction than most other kinds of calls to police, Lt. Paulsen said, and mentioned that the precinct’s supervising night sergeant, Sgt. Joel Sweetland, has worked to establish a relationship with area bars/restaurants.
He also corrected a misperception that The Junction has foot-patrol “beat cops” — the officers who patrol the sector do sometimes stop, get out of their cars, and go inside businesses to see how things are going, he acknowledged, but there’s no “foot patrol.”
The other myth Lt. Paulsen wanted to clear up: “Crime is NOT related to the economy. The people stealing out of your cars and houses are drug users, the same ones (that have always been around) – that’s how they barter for their drugs. It’s not the people that have lost their jobs and can’t feed their families – the people breaking in and causing grief are the same old drug users.”
That sparked a discussion about drug dealing in The Junction – with locations mentioned including the parking lot that is used on Sundays for the Farmers’ Market as well as the walkthrough by Puerto Vallarta, whose proprietor, Melrose said, has been known to go into it to clean up needles. According to Lt. Paulsen, they haven’t received many calls about that, so if someone sees it happening, he said, call 911.
Karlovits voiced concerns about crime in Junction residential neighborhoods, adding that “it’s hard to tell who’s suspicious and who’s not, because we have construction workers, residents, people who come to park and jump on the bus to go downtown.” Block Watches were discussed as well as added outdoor lighting.
Last but by no means least, Lt. Paulsen noted that strategizing is currently under way for summertime coverage, given current budget constraints. He says they’re trying to figure out how to do “emphasis patrols” without overtime as well as how to deal with summer’s “nighttime activities.” (Reminder, Lt. Paulsen and other precinct reps are usually in attendance at the monthly West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meetings, with the next one coming up next Tuesday at the SW Precinct, 7 pm).
ONE MORE NOTE – JUNCTION PARKING STUDY: We’ve been covering this one intensively, including the first “walking tour” weekend before last; tonight it was mentioned that the next tour – as reported here a few days ago – is coming up Wednesday 3/18 at 11 am, and Karlovits discussed hopes that better parking enforcement now might reveal that “meters aren’t needed” – turnover is just fine if people obey the rules. To that end, Lt. Paulsen mentioned that a third parking-enforcement officer soon will be based out of the precinct.
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