Police: 3 guns found after Fauntleroy SWAT standoff surrender

| Fauntleroy | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

(WSB photos from Saturday, by Christopher Boffoli)
We just checked with Seattle Police to follow up on the end of the five and a half hour SWAT standoff on Saturday in Fauntleroy (our as-it-happened coverage is here, our coverage of the arrest and aftermath is here). First, the status of the man police took into custody: What we believe to be his name (we’re not publishing it without 100% certainty) has not turned up on the jail register; according to police spokesperson Officer Mark Jamieson, he was taken to Harborview Medical Center for what they expected would be a 72-hour mental evaluation. We also asked Officer Jamieson if weapons were indeed found inside the man’s apartment; he says yes – a shotgun and two handguns. (Police were first called after neighbors nearby saw the man outside the building with what they described as a shotgun.) As for whether the man will be charged with a crime as a result of the incident, Jamieson says officers wrote up a “mental report” rather than one suggesting charges, at this point – even if he were charged with “obstruction,” for example, that’s a misdemeanor.

JimmyG April 27, 2009 (12:49 pm)

He won’t show up on the jail register because he isn’t going to be booked for anything if all they did was write up a mental report. A mental report doesn’t recommend charges, it just documents why someone needs to be seen by an MHP.
And he’s probably out of Harborview already as it’s very rare anyone taken there on a mental commit stays the full 72 hours.

WSB April 27, 2009 (1:03 pm)

Thanks … as I’m sure you know, that information is pretty much impossible for media to confirm because of HIPAA etc.

Sandra April 27, 2009 (2:02 pm)

This person obviously needs mental health treatment. How can we let these folks languish in the streets without help? We’d be better off with improvements in how we handle people with a severe and persistant mental illness. This ‘catch and release’ business does not get to the heart (source) of the problem.

Alkiholix April 27, 2009 (2:19 pm)

How can we be certain this person needs mental health treatment? Because he had weapons? I thought gun ownership is protected under the 2nd amendment.

WSB April 27, 2009 (2:38 pm)

According to police, a caller in the start of the incident reported “bizarre behavior,” and that’s at least part of the reason.

Alkiholix April 28, 2009 (9:02 pm)

Saw this guy getting into his truck earlier this evening. Doesn’t look like he got in any real trouble, and definitely didn’t look like he was in need of mental health treatment. Must have just been a bad day or maybe bad phone reception with that transmission tower on top of the salon that makes the radio go crazy every time you stop at the intersection.

Mustafa April 29, 2009 (12:25 pm)

The photo here of officers pointing a gun at a mentally ill man reminds me of photos of Auschwitz. We must remember that the nazis not only killed jews, but also rounded up retards, with the idea that social darwinism should weed them out. And here, sixty years later, our own local police point guns at a mentally ill man. Coincidence? You be the judge.

KateMcA May 1, 2009 (10:12 am)

Generally when a person is seen carrying a gun around a busy business district and neighborhood in broad daylight acting a little weird, then goes into an hours-long standoff with police, I really don’t care about his mental status at the time. I care that people who use those businesses and live in those neighborhoods don’t get shot. When the situation is safe again we can decide what should be done to either help or to punish the person who caused all the madness to begin with.

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