By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Knowledge is power.

That saying seemed to be the prevailing sentiment as dozens of North Delridge neighbors gathered tonight at Cottage Grove Park in hopes Seattle Police could tell them more about the gunfire incidents that even Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Krista Bair agreed were “horrible.”

And it was clear that community is power, too. They resolved to share more real-time information between themselves – house to house, street to street, micro-neighborhood to micro-neighborhood – in hopes that will help police make arrests, and might even deter people from using their neighborhood as “target practice.”

Bair, Community Liaison Officer German Barreto, and Community Service Officers Jamie and Helene were there. The captain offered a detailed briefing on where things stand and what police are doing. We captured much of it on video, in progress as we arrived a couple minutes late:

City Councilmember Rob Saka, who lives nearby, was not there, but his chief of staff Elaine Ikoma Ko and district director Erik Schmidt both were, explaining that Saka had conflicting family commitments. Ko and Capt. Bair both spoke about Saka’s planned May 14 community-safety town hall (first reported here Monday after he announced it during the City Council’s regular “briefing meeting”); there’s now a start time – 6:30 pm – but no location yet; Ikoma Ko promised that would be announced tomorrow. Ikoma Ko warned that “we don’t have all the answers” but hoped the town hall would at least be a positive step toward providing/obtaining some.

Bair did have some tidbits – for example, she said they don’t believe the gunfire suspect arrested after a neighbor grabbed him in High Point is related to the 100-plus-shots-fired incident in North Delridge, though she did observe that since his arrest, things have been a lot quieter.

As Officer Barreto had told last month’s HPAC meeting, SPD is doing “emphasis patrols,” and one attendee said that was likely a factor in the quieting down, too – “a heavy presence makes a big difference.” Bair agreed, although she also warned that when officers are assigned to “emphasis patrols” – not just in North Delridge, but in other SW Precinct areas such as Alki, Westwood, and South Park – that takes them out of the mix for some911 responses.

Much talk centered on the belief that the 100-bullet-plus gunfire was related to gang activity, and a vigil that night for an apparent gang member recently murdered in another part of the city. Why was that vigil held here? One theory in circulation, Capt. Bair said, was the fact that the park lends itself to an easy getaway route. She also affirmed that though SPD doesn’t currently have a Gang Unit in name, there are gang specialists in what’s currently known as the Gun Violence Reduction Unit.

Talk also turned to a problem house in the neighborhood that neighbors said had been raided repeatedly, and yet is still a source of crime. Focusing home security cameras on trouble spots like that might help provide police with the evidence needed to make arrests, some suggested. A fair amount of energy was displayed around the concept of flooding the area with home cameras, since new types of official police/government anti-crime cameras didn’t seem to be expected any time soon. Bair encouraged the discussion, saying police appreciate having video evidence.

One camera supporter, who said he’d lived in the neighborhood 26 years, said that on the night of the 100+ bulleets, “the last time I heard that many bullets was in Iraq.” Bair and Ikoma Ko indicated the city would like more camera coverage, with the partnership of community members, maybe finding new ways to feed community information into a “real-time crime center.”

Bair also cautioned that there could be higher standards for what’s considered evidence – if casings are collected, they check for their “fingerprint” to see if they could be linked to any other shootings.

Other proposed solutions were voiced – flooding a dark SW Brandon intersection with light (“they shoot there because it’s dark”), close problematic parks early (a la Alki). Some things are already being “worked on,” promised Capt. Bair.

This is why next week’s town hall will include city department heads empowered to take action, noted Ikoma Ko – from new Police Chief Shon Barnes to leaders from City Light and Parks, to the mayor’s public-safety director Natalie Walton-Anderson (a West Seattleite).

But grass-roots power would triumph, Officer Barreto insisted: “Because of you guys, we’re going to find out what’s going on.”

And organizer Doug suggested that simple community gatherings could reclaim the space too, and voiced the hope that more would follow, not just solemn-purpose get-togethers like this one.

A good motivation for that was in view on the park’s gentle green slopes all around the circle and tables where the neighbors gathered: The youngest members of the community, depending on the grownups to keep them safe.

WHAT’S NEXT: We’ll update the May 14th community-town-hall info as soon as it’s announced.