UPDATE: King County deputies serving West Seattle warrants

12:34 PM: Thanks for the tips about the police presence near 44th and Dakota on the north side of The Junction. Our crew went to the scene and found out it’s actually King County Sheriff’s Office deputies on a warrant service – NOT any incident that has happened or is happening. That’s all we know so far. Will add whatever else we find out.

12:43 PM UPDATE: KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West can only confirm so far that it’s a combination search warrant and arrest warrant. More details might be available later.

Brenden December 3, 2015 (12:44 pm)

I used to live 2 houses down from where things are going and in touch with old roommates there.

There are officers in tactical gear (camo/body armor) with rifles. I’d assume that’s pretty standard for the warrant their executing.

Roommate told me they had arrested as many as 4 people. He says they were put in an unmarked Cadillac and taken away.

Karla December 3, 2015 (12:52 pm)

Tracy – Tilden School is located a couple of blocks away from 44th ave sw and Dakota. They have notified us parents that they will keep the kids indoors today until the police presence is cleared.

Brenden December 3, 2015 (1:07 pm)

Apparently a Burley city Sheriff has arrived at the location…

WSB December 3, 2015 (1:10 pm)

Burley? Do you mean Burien? Burien PD is part of King County Sheriff’s Office, so that wouldn’t be surprising.

Gabby December 3, 2015 (1:09 pm)

I drove by at 12:32pm and there were no police cars at that time, though there were the three men pictured above plus 3-4 other men in civilian clothes. I noted that the tactical gear uniforms said US ARMY though I may have been mistaken, of course.

Brenden December 3, 2015 (1:27 pm)

Burien would make more sense. I am not certain it was a Burley Sheriff.

HelperMonkey December 3, 2015 (2:02 pm)

I don’t know, those guys look pretty burly to me.

mrsMarty December 3, 2015 (2:11 pm)

Burley as in Burl Ives!!!! It is Christmas soon so maybe he’s in the neighborhood playing Old St. Nick . LOL!

Brenden December 3, 2015 (2:33 pm)

I gotta give it up to @HelperMonkey. That was good. Props.

miws December 3, 2015 (2:41 pm)

Don’t know if it’s related somehow, but I was having lunch at Toshi’s Teriyaki at Westwood around 1:00 pm and a Newcastle Police cruiser cruised past in the parking lot.

Mike

Seattlite December 3, 2015 (4:12 pm)

Hats off to all law enforcement. Their jobs are dangerous and getting more so everyday as seen in San Bernardino.

Justin December 3, 2015 (4:54 pm)

Enough with the militarization of our police. Is it really necessary to send officers in military fatigues and face masks to serve a warrant? What is this, Mexico?

shbroe December 3, 2015 (5:38 pm)

Yes. I was walking my little dog down this block and noticed the Sherriff getting out of his car..as I was walking further down the block, some of the Swat Team commented on how cute my dog is….Tilden School is right on the corner across diagonally, where this was going down. No drama.
Thankfully.

Stinker December 3, 2015 (6:12 pm)

Was there a SPD presence at the scene? I only saw unmarked vehicles and the aforementioned Burien PD car. Seems a little uncool that KCS can waltz into the city in all their military garb and arrest folks regardless of who it is they are taking down.

D December 3, 2015 (6:36 pm)

I agree with Justin that’s un American

PSPS December 3, 2015 (6:39 pm)

I agree with Justin. The military garb is uncalled for and counterproductive. This just furthers the impression, in the minds of both the public and the police, that the police are really a hostile military occupation force.

Get real December 3, 2015 (7:34 pm)

Get a clue people this is not the world of old. The police put their life on the line every day. Look at what the “bad ” guys are packing. Our fistresponders need all the protection we can give them. Get a clue people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

935 December 3, 2015 (7:47 pm)

Barf.
I am HAPPY the elite forces wear different uniforms. It’s a very clear sign of force and unity – most uniforms want to communicate that.
Seattle is in King County, King County is in the State of Washington, jurisdictional boundaries follow – city, county, state. City of Seattle was certainly notified and probably given the opportunity to assist – but probably declined because they were either too busy monitoring bus only lanes or assuring road diets remain enforced (ie de-policing for fear of public reprisal ^^)
Or the simple fact that the county courts order bench warrants, and the county sheriff is the enforcement arm of the courts.

cruz16 December 3, 2015 (7:55 pm)

Justin,should they sneak up on felons in a different color? Hunting orange? Very few warrants are served via doorbell pal..these guys are heading into the criminals home,I don’t care if they wear camo and a Jason mask

mrsMarty December 3, 2015 (8:08 pm)

I totally agree with Get Real, get real people you try being a Police for just one day!
And as for Stinker’s comment…the KC Sheriff they can waltz into the city whenever they want to…because what County do we all live in??? KING COUNTY.

ltfd December 3, 2015 (8:18 pm)

How dare those law enforcement personnel be prepared to deal with violent felons! This is fluffyland, and we don’t believe in being prepared to use force against criminals.

erico December 3, 2015 (8:21 pm)

Get Real – you are right, it is not the world of old. It is safer to be a law enforcement officer this decade than it has ever been.

Eric1 December 3, 2015 (8:26 pm)

The garb is all dependent on the person being served. I don’t think I would put on all that stuff if I didn’t have to. But warrants are issued to those who probably don’t appreciate being arrested. If an officer gets killed because he wasn’t appropriately prepared, people would complain too.
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It isn’t the fault of the police rather than the fault of the criminal. Having a warrant served shows that you are uncooperative because you could have probably come in peacefully before the warrant was issued.
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I’d rather have police than criminals in my neighborhood.

Seattlite December 3, 2015 (8:30 pm)

Great post Get real. Hostile, violent, hate-filled would be ISIS not USA’s first responders. Like “Get real” stated “get a clue people” and I would add get a grip people.

Stinker December 4, 2015 (1:16 am)

My question about SPD presence was regarding the procedure and policy with this type of operation.

If this was such a dangerous situation that required a team of this size/presence/response, why were pedestrians allowed to freely walk along the street in front of the house?

If this was something that required the full monty surprise storming by the infantry that it appeared to be, then I would have anticipated a little more of a perimeter established. If it wasn’t a big enough of deal to do that, then I’d say these gentleman might have been a tad overdressed for the occasion.

I’m all for a healthy police presence and for citizen support and respect of our law enforcement. It’s just surreal when it looks like the US Army is rolling up in City of Burien cars to a house at 44th & Dawson in the middle of a Thursday afternoon.

D December 4, 2015 (7:25 am)

Just keep buying them to that propaganda that police always just have their life on the line your life is on the line more just being a citizen exactly how many unarmed people were killed by police just this year get real

935 December 4, 2015 (8:42 am)

For 2015,D, by killedbypolice.net 1094

Drunk driving, over 31,000. Stat by http://www.romans322.com/daily-death-rate-statistics.php

Maybe we should do away with cars.

Take a look at all the titles, to find out who the *real* murders are.

unknown December 4, 2015 (9:30 am)

Stinker….did you want a notice mailed to you and everyone else first to let you/us know the police were going to serve a warrant in said neighborhood?
And I didn’t know there was a dress code in effect.

JTB December 4, 2015 (9:45 am)

I don’t like the increasing militarization of police. There is a difference between policing and soldiering—the first involves managing people and the second exists to kill people.

Those are neat distinctions. However, we now have an armed populace which I think makes the dynamic much, much messier for the police.

It’s one thing to show up to make an arrest wearing a bullet resistant vest. It seems to me that might be generally appropriate. However, it’s another matter to use a SWAT team to serve a warrant or even make an arrest. In the latter case, I’d think the subject’s possible criminal history or the nature of the warrant would inform the appropriate approach.

WSB December 4, 2015 (4:35 pm)

Just FYI if anyone is following this but hasn’t seen the followup we just published:
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They were there to arrest a murder suspect. https://westseattleblog.com/2015/12/followup-murder-suspect-arrested-in-44thdakota-warrant-operation/

2 much Whine December 4, 2015 (4:39 pm)

Say for a minute that I am a “bad guy” that has a warrant for my arrest. There is a possibility that I am armed, that I might be affected by drugs and/or alcohol and I’ve demonstrated in the past that I have the potential to make bad choices without thinking of the consequences. Now say that you’re the SPD trying to serve a warrant in a way that reduces the likelihood of casualties and results in a successful apprehension of the suspect without injury or collateral damage. I’m sitting at home looking for my friends on the latest episode of COPS. I hear a knock at the door. What is the likelihood that I will surrender peacefully if a single cop shows up at my door in a pink jumpsuit? How about in a regular cop uniform (remember, I’m a bad guy that hates and does not respect cops)? What if a SWAT team shows up in full gear and clearly demonstrates that I am out-manned and/or outgunned. Which of these scenarios is most likely to achieve the desired end result? While folks may object to what they view as militarization I contend that in the end the “shock and awe” that comes from seeing that they mean business results in far less opportunities for suspects to make bad decisions than regular business as usual. I’d suggest that if you don’t like the cops showing up at your house in full riot gear, take care of your warrants (or better yet, don’t get any in the first place). It’s amazing to me the number of “armchair quarterbacks” that second guess the boys in blue and think that they either don’t do enough or do too much. I know that cops are not perfect but neither are many of the people they get to deal with on a daily basis.
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I just read the update from WSB. I guess MURDER is so common that they should just send a guy in t-shirt and jeans to apprehend the suspect. My bad for jumping to conclusions. Never mind.