By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog

As always, the WSBeat summaries are from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers, incidents that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports, but that might at least answer the question “what WERE all those police doing on my block?”:

*The phrase “art walk” took on a new meaning on Gatewood Hill early Monday, where officers responded to a report of a suspicious person in a backyard and found signs of a break-in and theft at a home that had been staged for sale.
A K-9 dog led an officer through the yard, through a hole in a fence, through a neighbor’s yard, back onto a sidewalk and finally to the side of a home further down the block. Lying on her side was a woman. Lying on her back deck were the two missing pieces of art. The 52-year-old was booked into King County Jail for investigation of burglary.

Three more incidents (including one that’s not for the squeamish) – ahead:

*This past Monday around 2 pm, citizens reported that a naked man was walking down 35th SW near SW Manning. When officers found the fellow, he was wearing pants but lying on the ground with his arms and hands extended upward, flipping off an invisible bird in the sky. Hopefully it was the man’s face that an officer recognized from two previous “strolling in the buff” incidents. The suspect was also wanted on a $10K felony warrant for dangerous drugs. Adorned with a “spit sock” to prevent him from showering the officers with saliva, the 40 year old was booked into King County Jail for investigation of indecent exposure.

*At Riverview Park on Thursday afternoon, a man walking his dog was approached by a fellow who made hand gestures suggesting that he was interested in a sexual encounter in the woods. The invitee declined the offer and, he told police, later spoke to a Parks Department employee about the incident. She said she had seen the suspect hanging around the park for the past year and was concerned. He was described as about 35 years old, 5’8” with a beard, and bad teeth.

*On the 5th, a woman called 911 to report that a man was standing in her front yard on S. Donovan in South Park, relieving himself into plastic bags and then throwing said bags—which contained both semi-solid and liquid matter — into people’s yards. She said he appeared to be in a trance and didn’t seem to care that she had called police. Officers spoke with the man, who was wearing socks over his shoes and had various shirts and socks tied around his body. A pat down search also revealed a padlock, which he….well, let’s just say that he keeps it on — uh — hand to wear for “pleasure.” He was booked into King County Jail for investigation of indecent exposure (with a referral to mental health court). He may also face another charge: Illegal dumping.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Remember, the CRISIS LINE is a resource for those in crisis, including thoughts or acts of self-harm: 206.461.3222 … WSBeat roundups are archived here. We also publish crime reports when we get tips or otherwise hear about noteworthy incidents – they don’t all turn up on the scanner, so please don’t be shy about letting us know when you see/hear something happening = calling or texting 206-293-6302 is the best way.