A little over an hour before today’s deadly shooting outside the Southwest Precinct (WSB coverage here), Mayor Bruce Harrell and CARE Department Chief Amy Barden were in West Seattle to talk about the expansion of CARE Community Crisis Responders into the SW and South Precinct areas. At the media briefing after the shooting, SPD Chief Shon Barnes was asked if this was a situation for which they could have been called. He said he didn’t know, but pointed out that the situation unfolded very quickly. (The official description of CCRs is that they “typically respond to low-acuity mental health crisis calls that do not pose a threat of violence nor involve a medical emergency […] and will only respond to calls that do not require enforcement of any kind.”)
The CARE responders officially started responding to calls in this area last week, as we showed you on Friday. This morning’s event outside Delridge Community Center was meant to be celebratory as well as informative. Here’s what the mayor – who had announced the expansion months ago – said:
He was followed by Chief Barden, who noted that so far in the past year and a half, her responders have gone out on more than 1,700 calls, with only three resulting in calls for police to return to the scene:
As with many city-presented media events like this, they scheduled community speakers too – including Alki Community Council president Charlotte Starck:
And the city officials took Q&A, during which the mayor and chief were asked about further plans to expand the responder team, which would among other things be subject to negotiation in the city’s contract with police:
Since the responders told us last week that they’re working out of a Third Avenue location, we asked how soon they are expected to have a workspace at the Southwest Precinct, as previously suggested. Answer: As soon as next month.
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