From SPD Blotter: Why police were called to Delridge P-Patch

Didn’t hear about this one until it turned up this afternoon on SPD Blotter:

Police were called to a dispute at a West Seattle P-Patch on Wednesday after a gardener hosed down a man who tried to treat the patch as his personal compost bin.

Just before 4:30 PM, officers responded to the 5000 block of 25th Avenue SW and met with the gardener. The woman told police she was working in the P-Patch when she saw a man dumping a tarp full of leaves, collected from his yard two houses away, onto P-Patch property.

She confronted the man and accused the man of illegally dumping the leaves. The man shrugged, walked off, and returned a short time later with another pile of leaves.

The woman told police she squirted the man with a garden hose as he was dumping the leaves, and that the man then started coming toward her. She alleged the man tripped her, knocking her to the ground.

Police contacted the man, who was sitting on a bench in the P-Patch, and he disputed the woman’s account, saying he had pursued her because he was trying to get the hose away from her. Officers noted the man’s shorts appeared wet.

The man said there was no sign regarding dumping, and agreed not to enter the P-patch again.

And now a PSA regarding dumping compostable items at P-Patches: “I would say it’s frowned upon,” says Department of Neighborhoods spokeswoman Lois Maag. “While we can’t condone spraying your neighbor, you should just use your own compost bin.”

31 Replies to "From SPD Blotter: Why police were called to Delridge P-Patch"

  • Matt April 18, 2019 (3:10 pm)

    Good for her.  Sounds like dude deserved it.

    • Mike April 18, 2019 (5:48 pm)

      Really?  I think he should file charges against her.  He did nothing illegal or wrong.  She, on the other hand, did.  She can dislike his leaf dumping, but when she decided to go and spray him, she broke the law.

      • KBear April 18, 2019 (6:46 pm)

        Excuse me? Dumping on someone else’s property IS illegal. 

      • Luke April 18, 2019 (7:09 pm)

        File charges for getting wet after being a jerk while commiting a minor crime? Get outta here with that weak sauce. How much of a sensitive baby do you have to be to want to litigate against someone for some water? He should try not being a horrible human being. 

      • ttt April 18, 2019 (7:28 pm)

        It is wrong to dump yard waste in a pea patch. The people that use the pea patch know what compost they need. If everyone did that it would be just a giant compost pile. He didn’t get hurt by the water.

      • megonnasue April 18, 2019 (8:04 pm)

        Can we sue the rain, too?  

  • KBear April 18, 2019 (3:33 pm)

    “The man said there was no sign regarding dumping”—So he thought it would be OK? By his logic, would it be OK anywhere there’s not a “NO DUMPING” sign?

  • flimflam April 18, 2019 (4:40 pm)

    give me a break “there was no sign” is a pretty lame excuse. lazy and rude and more.

  • Jim P. April 18, 2019 (4:43 pm)

    The guy sounds like a truly arrogant and lazy (Not nice word).Better if he goes back to dumping in his neighbors’ yards when they aren’t home.One should not need a sign reminding one to act civilly.  There isn’t a “NO public ur****ing here” sign either I will bet, so keep an eye on him.

  • Wendell April 18, 2019 (4:56 pm)

    Bit late to be rakin’ leaves, dontchya think? It’s almost Spring.

  • DB Coop April 18, 2019 (6:40 pm)

    Well there us a good chance we could find out where he lives easy enough. I have a trailer full of garbage I could dump on his yard. Just so he gets the idea what it feels like. 

  • The King April 18, 2019 (7:40 pm)

    Uh oh, it sounds like we need to send them both to their rooms and no more p patch until we learn to play well with others. 

  • LyndaB April 18, 2019 (8:25 pm)

    For some reason,  I initially thought he was doing his business (#2).  🤣Man, if you waited this long to rake leaves,  why even bother period and then take it down 2 blocks to dump elsewhere?  🤦‍♀️

    • AJ April 19, 2019 (9:22 am)

      LyndaB – That’s where I thought they were going, too, with “personal compost bin”! :-D

  • EBN April 18, 2019 (10:26 pm)

    Ha! Good on her! I sprayed my crazy neighbor down with a hose and while I know it wasn’t my finest decision, the satisfaction was glorious..!! Watch out for women and hoses, just sayin.. 😁

  • aa April 19, 2019 (8:44 am)

    What is wrong with people?  Did anyone ever consider that he raked the leaves and naively thought the p-patch might be able to use them?  He obviously chose to dump them in the garden area rather than just in an alley or even in the park adjacent to the garden.   And according to the quote from Lois Maag “it’s frowned upon”, she did not say it was illegal. As a long-time p-patch gardener, I understand the importance of knowing where your compost ingredients come from and I have experienced the loss of vegetables from my plots due to theft  so I understand the desire to protect our gardens .  I have also come across people who visit p-patches who have no idea what the rules are, who will stroll around and snack on fruits and veg.  I think its unfair to assume this person knew there was a rule about leaving your leaves there.  Sure its seems obvious, but since I have had many veggies stolen, plants ripped out, dog crap in the paths and plots, dogs running through gardens, kids running through gardens, garden  gnomes broken, leaves seems like a very small infraction.  Certainly not worth the venom expressed here.

    • KBear April 19, 2019 (9:47 am)

      AA, it’s wrong (and in Seattle, illegal) to dump your leaves anywhere you don’t have permission. So OBVIOUSLY, that includes the P-Patch. That’s what yard waste bins are for.

    • KM April 19, 2019 (12:21 pm)

      “it’s frowned upon” is the Seattle way of saying something is technically illegal. They prefer wishy-washy non-direct language in this neck of the woods.

    • CAM April 19, 2019 (2:08 pm)

      I can see your logic up until the point where she told him he was doing something wrong and then he proceeded to keep doing it anyways. At that point it isn’t an innocent mistake anymore. 

  • Mj April 19, 2019 (9:42 am)

    Spraying someone with water is assault and you risk a person responding harshly in self defense!

    • Q April 19, 2019 (10:47 am)

      Spraying someone with a water hose is definitely not assault. Assaulting someone for spraying you with a water hose however, is. I’m disappointed that this man wasn’t arrested.

  • lincoln park mom April 19, 2019 (10:47 am)

    You sympathizers are pathetic.  He dumped once and the gardener told him not too.  That should have been enough but instead he shrugged her off and did it again.  I’d hose him down too.  Take care of your own yard waste and leave community spaces alone.  You are not the only one in the universe you know. 

    • Brickhouse April 19, 2019 (11:18 am)

      The leaf dumper was in the wrong but then the hose lady was also in the wrong for spraying the man, she could had just said her peace as she did but even after when he returned with more leaves she should had just said if you do not stop I will call the police… very childless if I say so myself.  

  • Rick April 19, 2019 (11:01 am)

    Spraying someone with a water hose is definitely not assault. Assaulting someone for spraying you with a water hose however, is.  A really big “HUH?”.

  • Fine Mist April 19, 2019 (11:55 am)

    Imagine spraying a police officer with a hose?That would generate what type of offense this is.

  • Mj April 19, 2019 (12:20 pm)

    Assault is any unwanted contact and spaying someone with water would be considered assault if it was not wanted.

  • Brickhouse April 19, 2019 (12:28 pm)

     Now this would had been fun!      

  • EdSane April 19, 2019 (6:13 pm)

    4th degree simple assault would apply to the woman had the man not been in the act of committing a crime. One could argue that she was using the most minimal amount of force to stop a crime in progress. Citizens have the right to do that and because the man freely admitted to the criminal (minor) activity that’s not in question. Police can apply force based on the ‘suspicion’ of crime. Citizens are held to a higher standard (crime must actually be occurring). The man in this instance could not have pressed charges had he wanted to. Police should have issued him a fine.

  • Duff April 19, 2019 (7:47 pm)

    The leaf dumper hails from household with a “colorful” history. And the use of that word is being very generous. 

  • SMH April 20, 2019 (5:53 am)

    Only God has the power to judge :

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