WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: 2 bicycles stolen; car break-in; police leadership change

| Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

Three notes tonight:

TWO BICYCLES STOLEN: From Evan:

I’m reaching out to share an incident that happened sometime between 11:00 pm and 3:30 am at 5640 SW 35th Ave Monday night. The shed in our back yard was broken into and two bikes were stolen.

One is a Fuji Le Club Road bike (silver with red accents and red handlebar tape, older picture below).

The other is a newer Scott Cyclocross bike (dark blue with yellow lettering on the down tube). Doors to the shed were ripped clean off the frame. If you have any information, please text Evan at 617-875-0914.

CAR BREAK-IN: From Samantha and Mark near 49th/Forney:

Someone broke into my car sometime over the last couple of weeks. Unfortunately it’s our second car that we have parked in front of our house and rarely use. The car might have been unlocked, but I noticed it when I went to use it to pick up our child from day care. Nothing of value was taken, but all compartments were rifled thru.

POLICE LEADERSHIP CHANGE: Speaking to the Fauntleroy Community Association board last night, Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Sina Ebinger announced she’s retiring. So today we asked precinct commander Capt. Kevin Grossman who’ll succeed her as second-in-command. The role will not be filled, he said, explaining that the units Lt. Ebinger oversaw – Community Police Team, Anti-Crime Team, bicycle squad, detectives – “have been eliminated.” (Police Chief Adrian Diaz reorganized the department last year to assign more officers to patrol/911 response.) If Capt. Grossman is out of town or otherwise unavailable, his backup will be new second watch Lt. Dorothy Kim.

Blbl January 13, 2021 (7:45 pm)

Not the police change I was hoping to see.

Rara January 13, 2021 (7:47 pm)

Very upsetting over our police leadership change. We need them. Bummer 😞

CarDriver January 13, 2021 (7:51 pm)

WSB. Any updates on the Alki(61st SW)shooter that shot his neighbor? Also, any updates on how the victim is doing?

WSB January 13, 2021 (9:19 pm)

This is the time when cases move slowly toward either a plea or trial, with a status hearing every four weeks or so. Nothing new. As for the victim, I don’t know.

Graciano January 14, 2021 (4:42 am)

Daycares are open?

KAS January 14, 2021 (7:45 am)

Yes, many are open.

Sillygoose January 14, 2021 (7:49 am)

So sorry for the loss of your property.Am I reading this correctly we no longer have detectives at the southwest precinct?

shotinthefoot January 14, 2021 (8:21 am)

for people bringing up the “police change”, I wasn’t aware that we had and defunded a precognition unit? The police do not prevent crimes. Bikes are stolen all the time and even before the talk of defunding, the cops never did a thing about bike theft. Stop trying to insert fearspeak into the narrative – it’s unhelpful.

WSB January 14, 2021 (8:33 am)

This is not a “defunding” result. This is, as noted, a result of the chief’s order last year – pre-budget – to reassign officers to patrol. Also, it’s not true that police “never did a thing about bike theft.” Yes, they have arrested bike-theft suspects, and have found and returned stolen bikes, among many other types of crime. – TR

wseaturtle January 14, 2021 (9:51 am)

I have a video of a car (with plate number) smashing into my car, hit and run. 2.5k of damage. I took it to the precinct and they said there’s NOTHING they can do. Wouldn’t even run the plate and give me a name.

Medium January 14, 2021 (11:50 am)

Seattle Police have been doing crime prevention for years. Mostly through educating the public about recording serial numbers, not leaving valuables in cars, block watch, lighting, cameras etc. , They also used to do visible patrols in hotspots as a deterrent, and undercover operations to arrest prolific offenders, The reason for reorganization is because of the defunding rhetoric. SPD has lost 200 police officers last year alone, and the exodus is ongoing. Murders have doubled and police units are being slashed. West Seattle lost a lieutenant because they have nobody to supervise. This is all horrible news.

GreenSmoothie January 14, 2021 (2:59 pm)

Thank you to SPD officers who are still here for putting up with the moral panic of the last year from elected leaders and the activist revolutionaries (one in the same among some councilmembers). It’s been hard to watch the livability in this city continue to decline for the average Seattleite as the city prioritizes the social-media fueled outrage of the few at the expense of everyone else. One can only hope that cooler, more rational heads soon prevail and we rediscover the commonsense notion that crime is bad for everyone and a police force/criminal justice system that works is vital for a functioning society.

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