WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Police-gunfire followup; two bicycles stolen

| Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

Two West Seattle Crime Watch reports tonight, starting with a followup on last night’s Admiral incident:

ADMIRAL INVESTIGATION: The police photo above shows the gun found in a trash bin, mentioned in our coverage last night. Here’s what else SPD is now saying:

A plainclothes officer working in the 2300 block of California Avenue SW witnessed a fight in an alley and attempted to intervene. At least one of the participants in the fight drew a handgun and reportedly pointed it at the officer. The officer drew his own weapon and fired multiple rounds at the armed suspect. The group of assailants then fled the scene.

Officers detained several people at the scene, and continue to search for additional suspects. The CSI Unit recovered a firearm at the scene, believed to be dropped by one of the suspects. Detectives believe no one was struck by gunfire in the incident. The 45-year-old officer, a 5-year veteran of the department, has been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation.

The officer was working a plainclothes assignment and was not equipped with a body-worn camera during the incident. However, detectives are canvassing businesses in the area to recover any surveillance video that may have captured the incident, and are asking anyone with footage or information about this case to please call 206-233-5000.

And from the inbox:

TWO BICYCLES STOLEN: Lauren sent the photos and report:

I wanted to write in to report the theft of two bikes from our apartment complex, Upton Flats. My husband had two bikes stolen from the secure bike room in the lobby of our building. We don’t know exactly when they were taken, as my husband hasn’t been riding recently due to injury. We think it was sometime in the last few weeks. The bikes were a Pinarello Dogma F10 and a Rodeo Trail Donkey. There were other bikes in the room that were not taken, suggesting the thief knew what they were taking (the two bikes are pretty high end). I’ve attached photos of each bike. We have filed a police report and listed on Bike Index.

Possibly of interest as well: the package room in our building was broken into on Monday. Someone gained access to the building, and then pried open the door to the room. Packages were opened, and I assume items were taken. Our items were left (not interesting enough, I guess).

Swede. October 25, 2019 (8:52 pm)

‘Fired multiple rounds’ at least four from what people reported hearing) likely at very short range (in an alley, confronting someone) Zero hits…Standard.

Eric1 October 25, 2019 (10:59 pm)

I gotta say Swede, misses are expected but I don’t mean that in a bad way. They did report it was a plain clothes detective and they usually carry short barreled concealed carry guns as opposed to a standard duty gun. Not going to judge someone for shots from a sub-compact at night and under pressure. I sure as heck ain’t so accurate with a sub-compact even just shooting at paper at distance let alone with a perp with a gun facing me in an alley. I think it would be even worse at close range with the perp drawing and pointing first (as reported). Do you have the cool to pull out and bring your gun all the way up to line up the shot with a gun already in your face? If that was a the recovered firearm, that POS plastic gun doesn’t have a long double action first shot nor does it have a safety to disengage. It is way too easy for the perp to fire, even by mistake. I never want to be in that situation so I won’t butt in on a fight/robbery and I don’t carry guns (nothing I own is worth my life). Unfortunately, the police don’t have that option and that detective has got a lot of courage to pull out a weapon with a gun in their face. Even though they missed they might have saved a life by scaring off the perp.
- Nemo October 26, 2019 (6:57 am)
  
  You were doing good up until “If that was a the recovered firearm, that POS plastic gun doesn’t have a long double action first shot nor does it have a safety to disengage. It is way too easy for the perp to fire, even by mistake.” While the image isn’t of sufficient resolution to be 100% certain that appears to be a Springfield XD. That’s not a POS gun but a very popular and reliable gun. And while it’s not DA/SA striker fired guns like the XD have a long pull on EVERY shot. And most striker fired guns don’t have an external safety but follow the Glock Safe Action system which you’ll note this gun does with the integral trigger safety. It will not be fired my mistake. It will only discharge if the trigger is intentionally pulled.
- Bradley October 27, 2019 (1:47 am)
  
  Almost every SPD officer carries a Glock model of some caliber. The 2 standard-issue (officers buy their own sidearms) Glocks for SPD since the mid-90s have been the Model 22 full-size and Model 23 compact in .40 S&W caliber. These days, many have switched to the Glock Model 17 full-size and Model 19 compact in 9mm. All 4 models are easy to shoot extremely well. There are also many veteran SPD officers who carry other high-quality firearms on the approved list such as Sig Sauers and Smith and Wesson M&P models. Regardless of sidearm type, every SPD officer on uniform or plain clothes duty can shoot them very proficiently. Each officer will also choose the approved caliber that they feel they can most accurately shoot with. The Springfield XD pistol that was used by the suspect is a high-end, top-quality firearm that is used by the Springfield Armory shooting team as well as law enforcement throughout the world.
Nemo October 26, 2019 (6:51 am)

Swede – please regale us with stories of your extensive experience firing a handgun at night with multiple suspects present while one of them is firing at you.What’s your hit rate? What were your hit locations. If your shooting was scored on a standard B-27 target what would you have scored?
- Jim October 27, 2019 (3:41 pm)
  
  I interpreted Swede’s comment differently. I thought he was explaining that four misses in such a high stress situation was pretty normal. He might have been defending the officer’s shooting ability. Only Swede knows for sure what he meant by it.

East Coast Cynic October 25, 2019 (9:02 pm)

For the “high end” rents that you’re paying at Upton Flats, you deserve better security than that. My sympathies and hope you get the bikes back.

CAM October 26, 2019 (8:49 am)

I would assume, as at most apartment complexes I’ve lived at, that someone just let the thief in. People are far too afraid to be “impolite” and won’t confront someone who follows them through a door or tries to enter as they are leaving. That’s how must thefts happened in the apartments I lived in historically. Not much the managers can do about that.
- East Coast Cynic October 26, 2019 (9:26 am)
  
  I’m wondering if the doors to the complex are open during business hours and one can’t tell who is tenant, who is a visitor, who is a delivery person or a service person.In a condo I used to live in, our storage facility with closeted bins was located in the basement and could only be accessed by a person with a key to the facility, i.e., condo owner or tenant, which made it a bit of a challenge for a thief to gain access to tenant property. This was on top of the fact that you needed a key to get into the building or somebody to buzz you in. Putting a storage facility right in the lobby and a lobby that is easily accessible during the daytime probably makes theft much more easy.

Sixbuck October 25, 2019 (10:12 pm)

Apparently Swede has a crystal ball and is an expert marksman and warrior with a God complex.

Seattlite October 25, 2019 (10:49 pm)

Seattle’s and KC’s prosecutors have made a mess of Seattle with their unsafe law-enforcement policies that protect criminals. SPD’s police officers do the best job they can while working under ineffective law-enforcement policies that put Seattle’s citizens’ and their lives at risk 24/7.

Jort October 25, 2019 (11:08 pm)

“Veteran” is a word that is cavalierly tossed around in police PIO circles. “Veteran” 5 year officer? Would we call a receptionist at the dentist a “5 year veteran”? Or a firefighter a “5 year veteran”? Veteran is a pretty important word — it should mean something other than “been here more than a year.” Or does the definition change because the civilian police have co-opted the terminology of the military? This is just my humble observation.

WSB October 26, 2019 (12:33 am)

I think it’s one of those phrases people use without thinking. I try to look at my own work to catch such things but am not always successful; time or other pressures win out. – TR
numbers October 26, 2019 (6:25 am)

Jort, the definition is “a person who has had long experience in a particular field”. Considering most officers will have put in over 13,000 hours of active time on the job in 5 years, what’s your threshold of time needed to be a veteran? Also, this particular officer has been with SPD for 5 years, they most likely have far more in another department elsewhere. It’s not unlikely this particular officer has over 60,000 hours on the job already at age 45.
MG October 26, 2019 (12:43 pm)

Responding to Seattlite if the police were treated with respect and allowed to do their job correctly we would not have this problem. We need to get back to harsh punishment and stop treating criminals with respect. You broke the law you pay!!! Anyone that threatens the public with bodily harm or causes harm needs to be taken out.

Sorry, comment time is over.