9:09 AM: SPD says the missing woman has been found, safe.

Earlier:

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Four quick notes from local police, conveyed by Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Satterwhite:

PERSONAL SAFETY CLASS: Just announced for May 20, with registration open now:

Date: Tuesday, May 20th
Time : 5 pm – 7 pm
Location: Virtual
Register : Virtual Personal Safety Class May 20th 5-7 PM

About the Class

Learn proactive tips and steps you can take to enhance your personal safety taught by Seattle police officers and employees.

Training goals:

-Share commonsense safety tips to decrease the odds of being a victim
-Know the important role your instincts and gut reactions play
-Discover potentially dangerous situations and how to avoid them
-Learn to make a safety plan based on different environments

Notes:

-This is a facilitated discussion and lecture about crime prevention and safety.
-This is not a self-defense class.
-This class is open to individuals of all ages and most appropriate for those who are at least 14 years of age or older. For that reason, children should not attend.

(WSB photo: SW Precinct commander Capt. Krista Bair in foreground with Chief Shon Barnes at March’s SWPAC meeting)

NEXT COMMUNITY MEETING WITH POLICE: You’ll find police at most community-council meetings, but there’s also the quarterly Precinct Advisory Council meeting as a place to bring questions/concerns. The date for the next one is a day earlier than previously announced – it’s now set for June 3, 6:30 pm, at High Point Neighborhood House (6400 SW Sylvan Way). Here’s our coverage of the SWPAC’s previous meeting.

ONLINE COMMUNITY POLICE DIALOGUE: Another way to talk with local police, as announced today:

SW Precinct Community Police Dialogues –

Monday June 9th & Monday August 11th. Both at 5:30 pm via Zoom.

Sign up: publicsafetysurvey.org/mcpp-community-police-dialogues.html

DRUG TAKE-BACK DAY TALLY: The Southwest Precinct had the top tally in Saturday’s Drug Take-Back Day; the much-larger North Precinct collected 51.35 pounds of unwanted/unneeded/unusable medications, but SW received 60 pounds. Watch for the next date in October.

11:38 AM: As the saying goes, there’s a first time for everything, and this is the first time we’ve received an announcement like this for publication. Sent by Southwest Precinct crime-prevention coordinator Jennifer Satterwhite:

The SPD Training Unit will be hosting a DUI Green Lab on Friday, May 9th.

We are looking for volunteers (Age 21 and over) to consume marijuana and allow Officers to practice Standard Field Sobriety Tests on them.

This is a great opportunity for Officers to learn from consumers in a controlled environment; and for the volunteers to learn about their own tolerances, and learn about the testing process for DUIs.

Volunteers will consume marijuana in whatever form they prefer (edibles, vape, smoking, etc.) and will be paired up with an Officer in the class.

The Officer will observe how the volunteer’s impairment changes over time and the Officer will run some basic tests on the volunteer, to simulate DUI testing.

The volunteers would be asked to arrive at our SPD Training Facility in SODO at approximately 9:30am, and the training should be finished by about 4pm.

We ask the volunteers to provide their own product (with receipts, if possible).

We will provide lunch and snacks.

We also ask the volunteers not to drive to or from the training, but we can provide transportation, if necessary.

Anyone who is interested in volunteering can contact me via email (Jennifer.Satterwhite@seattle.gov) and/or via text 206-471-2849.

The training is relevant because an increasing number of DUIs involve this type of impairment.

5:04 PM: Jennifer says the volunteer spots are all full, adding, “Thank you, West Seattle!”

As noted this afternoon in updates on our original report, there have been two developments today relating to Wednesday’s incident in which police shot and killed a man outside the Southwest Precinct. First, in line with department policy, as reiterated by Police Chief Shon Barnes in his briefing at the scene, SPD has released some of the video from the incident (warning, graphic):

After an onscreen-text introduction, video from outside the precinct lot shows the man driving this vehicle up to a Home Depot parking space outside the precinct’s north/west lot.

(WSB photo, Wednesday)

He is seen getting out and climbing the fence to get into the lot, where department vehicles are kept. From there, the SPD edited video switches to officers’ body-worn cameras, as they encounter the man, tell him to leave the lot; he walks away from them for a while, even up to a gate, then turns to face their way. They repeatedly tell him to drop the knife; then he starts moving toward them, picking up speed at one point, and that’s when one officer apparently fires a “less than lethal” weapon shortly before another fires his gun. The video also shows what police say is the knife the man had.

Meantime, as noted earlier in an update to our original report, the man was identified this afternoon by the King County Medical Examiner as 36-year-old Urban A. Seay. His cause of death is listed as “multiple gunshot wounds” and ruled “homicide” (which doesn’t necessarily mean it’s been decreed a crime, pending further investigation, but it means a person has been killed by someone else). And in the post accompanying the video, SPD has identified the officer who killed him, saying that “Kyle Hay, 11 years of service, has been placed on paid administrative leave following this incident, which is standard procedure.” SPD says its investigation continues, and also included a reminder of resources for those with thoughts of self-harm, including the 988 hotline.

ADDED: For those interested in data, we found SPD’s dashboard here for data about past incidents in which officers shot people.

12:23 PM: Developing story at the Southwest Precinct: According to emergency radio, officers were dealing with a man armed with a knife in the Southwest Precinct lot, after a report of a possibly suicidal man in the area. They were trying to get the man under control with a non-lethal “40,” but reported that he continued to approach them with the knife, and they shot him, calling “officer-involved shooting” over the air. Medics are on their way.

(Added: WSB photos)

12:28 PM: Police told dispatch that no officers are hurt. … Over SFD radio, responders describe the man who was shot as about 30 years old, with three gunshot wounds, now getting CPR.

12:33 PM: Officers have told dispatch that SW Webster is being blocked at Delridge (that’s the main street for access to the precinct).

12:45 PM: WSB’s Anne Higuera at the scene reports that the medic unit with the man who was shot has left, with lights but not a siren. The perimeter to keep media and community members has been moved further back, too.

12:59 PM: We’ve confirmed that new Police Chief Shon Barnes has arrived at the scene. He was just at thr precinct last night for what turned out to be his first Seattle community meeting (WSB coverage here).

1:33 PM: In our photo above are CSI detectives who just arrived at the scene. A few moments after our photo, they put up a tarp blocking that view. No confirmation yet of whether the man survived – nor whether he was indeed in the medic unit that left. SPD promises an eventual media briefing at the scene.

2:13 PM: The chief has just finished briefing media. He says the man has died. We’ll add the briefing video upon return to HQ.

2:40 PM: Above is our video of Chief Barnes’s seven-minute briefing, including Q&A (added: he confirmed, in response to our question, that this happened in the secure area of the precinct lot, where the department vehicles are parked, but didn’t know how the man got in). The only other notable update besides the confirmation that the man was killed is that the shots were fired by one officer. (SPD also has posted to its Blotter website, noting something else the chief said, that per department policy, video from the incident will be released within 72 hours.)

4:11 PM: A reader called to point out that SW Webster is still closed at Delridge.

ADDED 3:38 PM FRIDAY: The King County Medical Examiner identifies the man who was killed as 36-year-old Urban A. Seay. Cause of death is listed as “multiple gunshot wounds” and ruled “homicide” (which means a person was killed, not necessarily that it was decreed a crime).

4:39 PM FRIDAY: SPD meantime has released video from the incident. Here’s the direct link; we’re also writing a separate story.

(WSB photos by Dave Gershgorn)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Standing in front of a packed community room at the Southwest Precinct tonight, Shon Barnes revealed that it was his first community meeting since becoming Seattle Police Chief a month and a half ago.

He also revealed a working title for the style of crimefighting and crime prevention he intends his department to practice:”Seattle-Centric Policing.”

It’s a cup-half-full sort of style – he closed by saying that he doesn’t think about SPD being hundreds of officers short, but rather “1,000 officers strong.” Here’s our video of his entire speech:

Barnes began by introducing himself as a former public-school teacher (US history and world civilization for high-school students). “I felt like that was my calling.”

His path into law enforcement began when he lost a star student to gun violence – not as a victim, but as a perpetrator. In trying to debrief what had happened, Barnes said, a school resource officer suggested he should go into police work. Inspired by the community-policing emphasis in Greensboro, North Carolina, he moved there and worked there for 20 years, then to Chicago to work in “civil oversight,” and then he was recruited for the job in Madison, Wisconsin, where he had been working for four years when recruited to come here, getting a call from a longtime friend, former SPD Chief Kathleen O’Toole.

In considering Seattle, Barnes said, he looked at “do they believe in community, are they resilient, what kind of support would I get from the mayor and council?” He was impressed with the answers, and even though he was “one year from retiring,” he took the leap. “This is where I want to end my career.”

He laid out priorities, while insisting “these are not the chief’s priorities, they are the department’s priorities”: Crime prevention, community engagement, retention/recruitment topped the list. (He said he’s always recruiting, everywhere he goes. And he noted that the first officer he swore in here was a transfer from Madison.) He said he’s insistent on continuous improvement, “every single day getting better and better.”

His “Seattle-Centric” concept seems to be deeply local-focused – he gave an example of fighting the Kia/Hyundai thefts in Madison by setting up a “crime-pattern tracker,” triggering a different kind of response if four cars were stolen in 10 days within a half-mile area. Understanding how crime “operates” helps police “understand significant incidents a little better.”

Precinct captains are going to be “very very important in Seattle-Centric Policing,” he said, with a nod to Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Krista Bair (photo above; she spoke earlier in the meeting, and we’ll have that information later in this report).

Then he took questions. We recorded that separately:

First question, from Alki Community Council president Charlotte Starck (photo below)\, was about dealing with juvenile offenders.

Barnes said “we have to be mindful” of the fact that sometimes incarceration can do more harm than good. Second question, staffing: Barnes said it was improving, with 20 new officers in the academy now and 15 in the next class. He also said he’d like to make “some changes” in the recruiting process but he has to “consult with the union contract” first. Academy capacity is no longer a problem, though, Barnes said, noting he’s been told “SPD is a priority” at the academy. Next question was about traffic enforcement, particularly speeding; Capt. Bair spoke extensively about street concerns and the fact there is some traffic enforcement going on between dispatches.

Rebuilding trust with police was at the heart of a comment made by an attendee from South Park, where people remain wary about any relationship between SPD and ICE; Barnes declared that there is none, and mentioned his recently posted statement to that effect. Building trust “is like building a sandcastle 1 grain at a time,” he said.

On the flip side, another attendee wanted to know about showing appreciation. “Can we bring cookies?” Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Satterwhite said any “donations” can be made through her. The wide-ranging questions and comments continued, fron where officers live – one who lives in Delridge said the SW Precinct has more officers “who live where they work” than others – to gratitude for the data SPD puts on line.

Speaking of data, earlier in the meeting, Capt. Bair recounted precinct-wide crime stats as part of her opening remarks to and about the newly relaunched group:

*Crimes against people (assault, for example) are down, 75 so far this year compared to one year earlier
*Homicides are down 100 percent, since West Seattle/South Park have had none so far, compared to one by this time in 2-24
*Robberies down, 26 year to date compared to 31
*Aggravated assaults, 41 compared to 58
*Property crimes such as arson have doubled – 2 compared to 1
*Burglaries are down, 117 compared to 189
*Motor-vehicle thefts are down, 132 compared to 21
*Confirmed gunfire (the subject of weekly SPD commander meetings, she noted) is down, 19 this year, 25 last year
*One category that’s up – theft “and all larceny,” 431 vs. 411, though Bair said, “we are doing really good stuff at Westwood Village, working with the loss-prevention group.”

Also from the meeting:

PRECINCT ADVISORY COUNCIL’S NEW STRUCTURE: Ella McRae, community builder in High Point, is the new community co-chair. Members, as introduced during the meeting, are mostly leaders or members of established community groups in West Seattle and South Park (which have dwihdled in number in recent years, as some disbanded without new leadership to carry the torch, though a few have found it and gained new energy and momentum). They hope the group will be able to meet quarterly.

EVENTS COMING UP: Westwood Village Resource Fair 11 am-3 pm Saturday in the ex-Bed Bath Beyond, with more than 40 service providers participating; Coffee with a Cop at High Point QED Coffee 10-noon Monday; Drug Take-Back Day at the precinct, 10 am-2 pm Saturday, April 26.

For those who were wondering: A briefly big “water rescue response” at Don Armeni Boat Ramp this morning turned out to be a false alarm of sorts. SFD and SPD converged on the park around 6:15 am to check out a possible car in the water about 50 yards out. According to incident audio, divers/swimmers arrived, went into the water, and discovered it was not a car, but instead a rental scooter “with all its lights on.”

(Seattle Police Department-provided photo from January)

New Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes will make his first public community-meeting appearance in West Seattle two weeks from tonight. The Southwest Precinct is relaunching its Precinct Advisory Council, a group that will now have open-to-all meetings, unlike its previous incarnation. First one will be at 6:30 pm Tuesday, March 18; the precinct’s Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Satterwhite says that in addition to a speech and Q&A with Chief Barnes, “We will be introducing our new SWPAC Community Chairperson, and our SWPAC Community Leads, representing our various neighborhoods and community organizations.” This will be in the community room on the west side of the precinct, off the public parking lot, 2300 SW Webster.

(Added: Photo sent by Jason)

ORIGINAL REPORT, EARLY THURSDAY: Big police response to the 3200 block of SW Avalon Way, and some are asking about it, so here’s what we know so far: The call was for some kind of disturbance in a residential unit; police who got there called for backup, and that led to a “help the officer” dispatch, which more or less means everyone drops what they’re doing and rushes that way. The officers on scene quickly got somebody into custody and radioed that they were “under control” so that canceled the backup dispatch. At least two people are reported to be injured, though, from whatever was happening that led to police being called in the first place, so SFD is responding for medical assistance.

UPDATE ADDED FRIDAY NIGHT: We obtained the report narrative from SPD; here’s our summary of what it says happened:

The person who called 911 “heard a female yelling for assistance and a male yelling for her to get out,”then yelling ‘please stop,’ saying the door handle is broken and she can’t get out.” Somebody else called; they also heard breaking glass. Arriving officers also heard “multiple people screaming and breaking glass.” Police tried to get into the unit where all this was happening but were told they’d have to break the door down, which they did. The people they found in the apartment included a man, woman, and “two small children.” Police talked to people to try to figure out what had happened; it started with two other people coming over for a barbecue. Later some sort of misunderstanding erupted and that’s when the yelling started. Jealousy-related accusations were involved. People were told to leave, but the door handle stuck and they couldn’t, so that’s why window-breaking ensued. Two people jumped out of the apartment and down two floors to get away. Due to redactions in the narrative, it’s not clear who did what to who, but one person was arrested for investigation of assault, harassment, and property damage. We don’t have their name so we can’t check their status.