3:25 AM: Police investigating reports of suspected gunfire along Harbor Avenue SW have found at least four shell casings, according to radio communication. We haven’t heard exactly where; their search had included the Salty’s/Seacrest vicinity.
3:35 AM: Officers also have reported finding an unoccupied vehicle that might be related, and blood nearby, but so far no victim.
That area is a popular place for people to gather who drive cars that have over sized mufflers. They do little spins in the parking lot of the Don Armeni boat ramp. The police will occasionally go and roust them around 10.30pm but I’m not sure that occurred last night. I’ve lived here for three years so I witness this quite frequently. The police should be down here maintaining order, writing tickets, arresting people. It’s not hard to recognize the need for some sort of authority; it seems lawless down there at night. Developers have built luxury condos across the street and further around Duwamish Head, that will cost anywhere from 2-3 million I believe. In any other city, this area would be patrolled regularly by the police. It’s bothersome that in Seattle this doesn’t happen. The police budget needs to be increased. Officers on the street patrolling prevent shootings, which cost more to investigate.
I find it disturbing that you think that people who own multi-million dollar condos deserve more police patrolling than any other neighborhoods with less costly residences.
QA, exactly how I feel too. The multi million dollar condos have thick enough glass to also block out such noises. It shouldn’t matter who owns what’s on Alki. And police can’t be everywhere, I’d rather see them responding to real crime not petty stuff like this.
I think anywhere something like this occurs deserves more policing. These developers are the ones providing jobs, putting up millions in investment. What’s the point if the city can’t even police some of the best land? That area is known for shooting film, commercials, you name it….I find it disturbing Seattle is so politically correct when in fact, it’s not at all. Love you but I actually live here and would love to see some patrols.
Seriously, you expect more police presence because you’re rich? Can’t you afford to get personal security? Or just arm yourself. If you’re actually rich, you’ll get off if you shoot someone.
Innocent bystanders can be killed from senseless acts of violence. We should strive to have zero gunfire reports. Keep it at the shooting range people.
You are so right about how this wouldn’t be tolerated anywhere else. I cannot believe people are paying millions for their beautiful condo and having that kind of crap going on.
More police would be great, where shall we get them?
The police department is authorized to hire a significant number of officers but they can’t find any. Now that they finally have a contract and reasonable pay they have been able to add a few but are still well below their authorized headcount. Some additional recruiting effort should be made so they get staffed up to their authorized headcount. Then we can see if more are needed. I think most of us feel more police presence would help. While we don’t live in Alki we too would appreciate more police visibility as a deterrent to crime.
More officers would be great-if city can truly find & afford to pay enough officers to make a difference. Let’s say all that happens-those officers are quite a long way away from being on the street in a capacity to make that difference ( even lateral transfers have to have some training) in other words-it will be awhile .
Given the level of taxation in this city, there is no excuse for the police department to be understaffed. The mayor and council also need to let the police do their jobs. If the police weren’t handcuffed, and some of the millions (some say a billion) wasted on failed homelessness bureaucracy were instead diverted to law enforcement, we’d all be better off. And I mean all, not just rich people on Harbor Ave.
It is a myth that we are overtaxed. Unless you’re very low-income, in which case, as concluded here, the tax burden smacks you far harder than those who are not because of the oft-cited regressive tax system:
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/data/seattle-taxes-among-nations-kindest-to-the-rich-and-harshest-to-the-poor/
You can find a variety of other sources. Here’s one in which Seattle ranks #6 in the “top 15 low-tax cities”
https://smartasset.com/taxes/lowest-taxes-in-america
DABR=WW Lived on Harbor Avenue many, many moons ago, in the late 80’s/early 90’s. The boat ramp has been a gathering place for all kinds of car enthusiasts for a long long time. Chat up an old timer who ‘s lived on Alki or in WS since the 60’s and you will truly get a feel for how crazy it was back in the day. May make you think again how awful the big muffler folks doing donuts in the parking lot really are.
I love seeing the knee jerk reactions of people who instantly assume an area is not being properly policed just because they read a report of a crime taking place there. Go take a look at a crime map and get a real sense of how many things the cops have to respond to. News flash: there are over 750k people living in Seattle and there are less than 1.5k police officers, and they’re not all on shift at the same time. And there’s only 1 station in West Seattle. So, there’s not always going to a cop sitting across the street when a shooting takes place. I’m pretty confident they are doing their jobs to the best of their ability.
The map does not show non-crime calls, so those should be taken into account as well. Right this moment, for example, officers from the SW and other precincts are being pulled away to what is apparently a non-planned sizable protest/demonstration on the other side of the bay – I’ve been listening for a while and searching for info and haven’t yet found what it’s about, but all the radio traffic indicates it caught police quite by surprise. – TR
(Added: Mystery solved, thanks to Justin @ CapitolHillSeattle.com. Jawar Mohammed, a controversial Ethiopian leader, is/was scheduled to appear at the Filipino Community Center and is the subject of the protest.)
I’m pretty sure the first comment was NOT insinuating that the condo owners deserved more police patrol than others people…don’t jump the gun-just think a little! Unfortunately, this area has always been a spot for the punks to hang out but that doesn’t mean it should just be accepted . It’s really unnerving when you just want to sit there in your car and eat some lunch or just take in the scenery and you’ve got some idiot close by blasting his “music” not giving a crap about respecting others and drug dealing going on right in front of you..yes, seen that too many times- and I’m sure I’m not the only one.. Seattle is drawing in so much tax money it’s ridiculous and they could easily afford better patrolling in this area and elsewhere so what is the problem?? Just to say that Seattle is a big city and they can’t be everwhere is a cop-out and someone else saying that these are “petty crimes” should get their head examined! “Acceptance” or” turning your head “is a very dangerous precedent and is the opening for more societal chaos. They should have “reserved for Police Parking Only” signs in some of the parking spots as a warning or deterent and maybe even park a “dummie” police car in the parking lot somewhere. We the people deserve Peace and Respect!!!!!
Sorry, comment time is over.
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