4:23 PM: That’s the King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter Guardian One, which often assists other agencies. We’re working to find out what it’s doing right now – nothing big has been on the SPD frequency, though one officer radio’ed in that they’re “with county.”
4:50 PM: KCSO says it wasn’t them; we’ve been driving around looking on the ground, no sign of a response. So we still don’t know yet.
It just whizzed away straight over the horizon at a high rate of speed and isn’t coming back.
About a half hour ago I drove past the bus stop at 26th and Roxbury. There were 6-7 cars without ID stopped. One man was sitting in the ground. Two KC Sheriff officers were near him. I don’t know any more than this.
Interesting they said it wasn’t theirs. I looked up the tail number and an FAA site matched and said it’s owned by them: https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=N422CT
The ground crews, not the helicopter. There is no question that it was Guardian One. The question is whose operation it was supporting, on the ground. G-1 works with a multitude of agencies, including SPD.So far no one’s sent pics of who was seen on the ground, and I was unable to find anyone when I drove around looking. – TR
At the time the helicopter was flying overhead I saw unmarked two all black suburbans (or similar) with people in green/tan tactical helmets/gear sitting in the front seats. They were parked on 22nd Ave SW near Roxbury.
This is/was likely a coordinated effort/operation by HSI/ICE and possibly DEA.
Heard some scanner chatter earlier in the day about a possible “sweep” in SW Seattle.
I was driving home from Safeway on Roxbury (~4-4:10 pm) and saw about three unmarked Saburbans/ large trucks all windows blacked out parked on Roxbury with lights on. As aforementioned, all we’re wearing tactical gear and one IDd canine unit with Sherief K-9 patches and were detaining a person of color (around the 2400 block of Roxbury )as I was driving by. Two more unmarked vehicles made a right from 22nd going west bound on Roxbury when I heard Guardian One.
Hopefully it was the homicide suspect they’ve been searching for from Capital Hill murder.,
Not likely. SPD issued another media update in that case at 7 pm just to say they were releasing another photo of him.
May I ask if there was ever any final determination what, if any, action was being supported by Guardian One in this instance? I am very concerned that (potentially anyway) an operation took place that no one will admit to directing. If someone was taken into custody, as the comments here indicate, and we do not know the arresting agency, then this means we are now at the point where individuals are being disappeared right off the streets by unidentified/non-uniformed men and women using unidentifiable vehicles to take them to unknown destinations. This is unacceptable in a democratic society, which I must note, was until very recently built entirely on the rule of law. Due process is under attack, and these events are ignored at our own peril.
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