18 Replies to "UPDATE: Police response on Alki"

• A. February 4, 2016 (9:45 pm)

  So one patron that is beligerant to one officer requires a “double digit turnout of Seattle Police cars” but when someones house is robbed, or a traffic accident happens, you will be lucky if an officer shows up within an hour. I think there may be some adjustments that need to be made in protocol. 

  • Curtis Martin February 4, 2016 (10:18 pm)

    Yup! An active situation that portends violence will bring a bigger police response than a situation that is in the past tense. Go Figure.

    • A. February 4, 2016 (10:26 pm)

      Then there should be differentiation between ONE suspect vs. MORE THAN ONE suspects. Come on. 

      • Maria February 5, 2016 (6:55 am)

        One suspect can impart injuries to others and the officer.   An accident or any incident with potential injuries will generate police presence quicker than one that simply needs paperwork for your insurance.  Regardless of your line of work, if someone in your group is in danger of injury I sure would hope you would drop what you are doing and go to help.

  • Z February 5, 2016 (12:10 am)

    Obviously you know nothing about what happened during this incident. Nor do you know anything about  the police….And an unoccupied residence that is unlawfully entered is a burglary  not a “robbery”.  The crime of robbery has a victim (person), and no, a house or car is not a victim.  If a traffic accident occurs where there are no injuries and it is not blocking, pull over and wait. The next AVAILABLE officer  will be sent to the scene.”Adjustments in protocol” aren’t you special.

• willbehonest February 4, 2016 (10:00 pm)

  Don’t mess with SPD!

• Lissa J February 4, 2016 (10:08 pm)

  I was jogging by when I noticed the incident. I would love to give the officer a huge thank you, and well done on the job he did!!! I would not have had the patience he did in that incident. 

• JanS February 5, 2016 (12:21 am)

  a thought…if patron was belligerent  because of an excess of alcohol, maybe patron shouldn’t be served that much. I don’t know if that was the case as I wasn’t there. It just always seems to go along with these kinds of things

  • WSB February 5, 2016 (12:25 am)

    No idea why the person was out of control or whether they’d been at the bar for five minutes or five hours. I’ll be asking for the report tomorrow but those have been tough to get lately, so we may never know. We headed out simply because it was clear that a large police response had been sent there for some reason or another and we weren’t hearing anything about it on the scanner so we had no other way of finding out why. – TR

  • lc February 5, 2016 (6:34 am)

    The individual involved was calm and appeared normal when he entered. He hadn’t been in the bar long when he stepped outside for a smoke, propped the door open, and was asked to please stand away from the door. In response, he walked directly into the bar holding the cigarette and continued smoking. He was asked multiple times to leave and refused. A good samaritan intervened and was able to get the man to leave and talk outside (whoever you are, thank you for expertly handling a volatile situation good sir). During this time the man revelead he was suicidal, apparently due to a recently diagnosed serious illness, asked for police to be called, and his behavior became increasingly erratic (crying to yelling to crying to urinating on the front porch and so on). An officer arrived and tried to speak with the man, at which point the man became very agitated and began acting violently toward the officer. The man who was able to get the suspect outside managed to hold him off from attacking the officer while backup arrived. Once backup arrived, the man became even more violent, picked up the Celtic Swell a-frame sign, and made a move to swing it at those around him (including the responding officers).  He was restrained and an ambulance arrived to handle the medical side of the issue.That’s all I witnessed. He was not over served by the  bar staff. I’m not even sure he was inside long enough to order more than a single drink (you’d have to ask the staff) and, as stated above, he was behaving completely normal at first. The heavy police response was likely due to his erratic, suicidal, and violent behavior toward the responding officers and the danger he posed to bystanders and himself.While your assumption is not illogical, it is also not in line with the circumstances and events that took place. This was simply a case of someone going through what must be a difficult, dark time in his life taking it out on himself and those in his path.-local

    • lc February 5, 2016 (7:21 am)

      Edit: revealed* phone typing, sorry

    • JanS February 5, 2016 (11:26 am)

      LC…thanks..I was just surmising. Hoping he gets the help he needs to get through his illness.

• cj February 5, 2016 (12:23 am)

  Nice job!  Thanks for keeping our home safe!

• Steve February 5, 2016 (7:25 am)

  Thanks for the whole story, LC.  Really like Celtic Swell and the folks that work there…must have been a bit traumatic for all involved. 

  • lc February 5, 2016 (8:46 am)

    You’re welcome Steve. Overall things went much better than they could have. The man that intervened really helped keep a bad situation from turning deadly and he deserved the massive thanks he got from all of us that were there; also, his tab was covered and he received a much deserved extra round or two on the house. It takes a special kind of person to show compassion to a stranger acting violently.I also want to thank the officers for their restraint and professionalism. Thankfully no one was injured and hopefully the troubled individual receives whatever help and support he needs to get through this hard time. I am proud and lucky to have such amazing neighbors. Be safe all!-local

• Peter February 5, 2016 (7:31 am)

  Wow.  Sounds like potential for suicide-by-cop?  Kudos to the responding officers for handling as well as they did, leading to the best possible outcome given the situation.  And, major props to the good samaritan for stepping in to assist.  Someone who doesn’t get paid to deal with this stuff.  Sure, I’d like the cops to respond ASAP to my own personal property crime too, and I’ve been on the receiving end of indifferent precinct desk sergeants, but I understand the difference in urgency.  Part of the reason for a large response is that a combative person will often reevaluate the situation when faced with overwhelming force.

• Robert February 5, 2016 (7:40 am)

  when a call for “back-up” comes across the air, any police officer will respond, some more agressive than others,usually because of earlier experiences with the address in question.one person when in confronted by a bar full of drunk-or agressive people needs quick help ,your traffic accident has a slim chance of needing more help.  so give the police a break.

• melissa February 5, 2016 (10:10 am)

  Well done.Two weeks ago, 7 police vehicles drove down my street and parked in front of a house down the way. I asked what they were doing and one officer told me he’d stop by after and let me know. It was a dv incident, he later explained, and because the man involved had a history of violence, they wanted to convey to him that coming with them quietly and without resistance would be wisest. And it worked. There was no fuss and he was off. I’m grateful that they avoided a violent confrontation. I’m thankful. If we want police to show up in greater numbers to traffic accidents and robberies, then we’ve got to fund them. We currently refuse to sufficiently fund our police force. People need to understand that there are direct consequences to social services and infrastructure that result from the most regressive tax structure in the nation.

Sorry, comment time is over.