By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
As always, the WSBeat summaries are from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers, incidents of note that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports, but that might at least answer the question “what WERE all those police doing on my block (whenever)?”:
*A resident received two odd phone messages on his cell regarding a woman he doesn’t know: The first said, “I don’t know who you are, but if you’re looking for Ms. XXXX, she doesn’t own a phone anymore. She just got shot in the chest. Hope she’ll survive.” The second message relayed that the woman had died. The recipient called the number back, said he didn’t know the woman, and the calls stopped. He decided to contact police to provide information in case a woman actually had been assaulted.
*On Friday the 18th, a citizen reported a potential hazard in the 5200 block of 44th SW. A property owner had dug a 20-foot-deep hole but hadn’t shored up the walls. The caller was afraid the walls would collapse. The property owner/digger told officers he was working with an architect and a seismic expert and had permits. Looking up the permit, the officer found one that had expired in April. The man kept digging, saying, “If it collapses, it collapses on my property.” The officer planned to follow up with the Department of Planning and Development. He also noted that the location was not fenced off and could be easily accessed by children.
He wasn’t originally on the program, but Seattle Police Chief John Diaz was a last-minute addition to this afternoon’s ceremony at West Seattle’s Forest Lawn Cemetery, paying tribute to the 58 members of the force who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
The SPD Honor Guard carried the flags, and the relatively new Seattle Police Pipes and Drums made their first Forest Lawn appearance. The podium stood where a permanent memorial to Seattle’s fallen officers will be built, within a year or two, as Forest Lawn’s David Salove explained. Here’s our video of the entire 48-minute event:
Keynote speaker was retired Sgt. Frank Kampsen, who founded the Washington State Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation; the state memorial was dedicated in Olympia in 2006. In our photo below, he is second from right; second from left is Deputy Chief Nick Metz, who also spoke; Chief Diaz is between them:
Sgt. Kampsen recalled how his career in both the U.S. Marine Corps and SPD led him down a path of ensuring proper tributes for those who made the ultimate sacrifice. “Never forget these heroes – never,” he said, concluding with, for those who serve now, advice to remember: “Your profession is law enforcement. Your job is to come home at the end of your shift.”
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
As always, the WSBeat summaries are from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers, incidents of note that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports, but that might at least answer the question “what WERE all those police doing on my block (whenever)?”:
*A 17-year-old was attacked from behind while she waited for a bus at California and Hanford late Thursday. One attacker covered her mouth, walked her to a nearby alley, and slammed her head against a tree. When she fell to the ground, five peoplie began kicking and punching her. She was taken to Highline Medical Center for treatment. The attackers were described as two Hispanic males, 15-17 years old, wearing gray hoodies; one Hispanic female, 15-17, wearing a tank top, dark basketball shorts, with her hair in a tight bun; and two other Hispanic females.
*Around 4 p.m. Thursday, a junior high student was attacked from behind by three people described as older male teens near 35th and Thistle. He did not recognize the suspects.
*A 36-year-old Highland Park mom (described as having an anecdotal history of throwing underage drinking soirees) is facing charges of unlawful furnishing of liquor to a minor after officers responded to complaints about a party in the 7700 block of Highland Park Way SW on Sunday, April 29th. Five juveniles ran from the scene but were caught and sent home to parents. Fifteen others — ranging in age from 18-14, and all showing serious signs of intoxication — were released from the apartment. One officer stated, “I can’t express how strong the smell (of marijuana) was.” Mom copped to the alcohol consumption but had nothing to say about the pot.
Eight more summaries ahead, including dogs rescued from a car, and a theft that happened in a flash:Read More
(May 2010 photo from Seattle Police Memorial at Forest Lawn, by Christopher Boffoli)
Next Friday, you are invited to the annual Seattle Police Memorial on the grounds of Forest Lawn Cemetery (WSB sponsor) east of High Point, where the plan for a permanent memorial is finally moving forward. The Friday (May 18) ceremony will be at 1 pm, with the founding president of the Washington State Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation, retired Sgt. Frank Kampsen, as keynote speaker, according to Forest Lawn’s David Salove. SPD leadership at the ceremony will include Deputy Chief Nick Metz, and the Seattle Police Pipes and Drums will be there to provide ceremonial music. The site for the permanent memorial was dedicated in 2009 (WSB coverage here), with hopes it would be built within the following year, but the plan stalled for a while; now it’s proceeding, according to Salove, who says anyone interested in getting involved can contact Forest Lawn at 206-932-0050.
2:42 PM: Via Facebook and Twitter, we’ve been told of a police search in North Delridge. People in the area say they were told police are looking for a man who might be armed. They’ve blocked off SW Brandon in the vicinity of 26th SW on the boundary of Camp Long, and tow crews are there, reportedly because of a stolen car. We’re working to find out more. No report of any injury related to this so far.
2:55 PM UPDATE: Per the scanner, police are reopening SW Brandon.
3:30 PM UPDATE: A little more information from police – a car went into a ditch; a man and woman were heard yelling, and she apparently said he had a gun, then somebody reported hearing what sounded like a shot. A K-9 team was brought in to look for the man (no word at this point about the woman who was yelling) but couldn’t find him.
7:34 PM UPDATE: Lt. Alan Williams from the Southwest Precinct has a full summary of the incident tonight: “An adult male assaulted his 17 yr old girlfriend in an automobile, during which time he drove recklessly and crashed into the woods south of the West Seattle Golf course. The suspect fired a shot at the victim and then fled into the woods. The car sustained a bullet hole through the passenger door outward, but the victim was not hit. A large wooded area between the West Seattle Golf course and High Point was contained and 2 K-9 units tracked/searched the wooded area for an extended period of time without locating the suspect.”
When we stopped by the Southwest Precinct at midmorning Saturday to check on Drug Take-Back Day (WSB coverage here), we saw a steady stream of people bringing in their unwanted/unneeded/expired medication. Big enough turnout, in fact, that according to an update on SPD Blotter, West Seattle’s precinct netted the biggest “take” on Take-Back Day – 238 pounds! Here are the citywide results.
(Photo by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
That’s Officer Mike Hope, who’s at the front desk in the Southwest Precinct, where you can drop off unneeded/expired medication (liquid too, for those who have asked) till 2 pm, as part of Drug Take-Back Day. The lobby entrance is off the parking lot, which you enter from SW Webster, just west of Delridge, south side of the building, and the front-desk window where you’ll find him is right inside.
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
As always, the WSBeat summaries are from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers, incidents of note that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports, but that might at least answer the question “what WERE all those police doing on my block (whenever)?”:
*Around noon on Saturday, a male driver pursued and harassed a female driver from Avalon and 35th all the way to downtown. He employed a variety of methods: tailgating, honking, flipping her off, and swerving through traffic to first pass and then pull into her lane before slamming on the brakes. He followed her off the 4th Avenue off-ramp, toward downtown, continuing the honking, flipping, and tailgating until she was able to lose him on some side streets. He was described as a white male with brown hair. He drove a four-door black Lexus that is registered to an address in the Admiral area.
*Wednesday afternoon at Me-Kwa-Mooks Park, a Highland Park resident noticed that another park-goer’s “very large dogs” were off-leash. She asked that he leash them, especially because her own three (leashed) dogs could be aggressive. The 66-year-old responded to this request by raising his hand to her and saying “You need to be punched.” He later told an officer that the woman was a “busybody” who liked to tell people what to do. He agreed that his use of words had been threatening and was sorry about the incident. The report does not state whether the Beach Drive-area resident was cited for having his dogs off leash.
*Monday afternoon, an allegedly intoxicated man and his friend fled the scene of a Alaska Junction apartment building after arguing with (and head-butting) a woman for being too slow in getting off an elevator.
Five more summaries ahead, including a “Facebook flirtation” gone wrong:Read More
No need to have expired and/or unneeded prescription drugs around the house … they can be dangerous for a variety of reasons – theft, abuse, poisoning, even water pollution if someone mistakenly thinks it’s OK to flush them or throw them down the drain … Whatever you have on hand, there’s an easy way to get rid of it tomorrow via Drug Take-Back Day – drop them off at the Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster), 10 am-2 pm. Seattle Police precincts around the city are participating, and this update from their SPD Blotter website explains.
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
As always, the WSBeat summaries are from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers, incidents of note that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports, but that might at least answer the question “what WERE all those police doing on my block (whenever)?”:
*Medics declared a North Admiral resident dead after finding him in his apartment face down, without pulse. Per routine procedure, an officer was dispatched to survey the scene. Finding no signs of foul play, he lifted the victim’s arm and heard a sudden expulsion of air from the man’s mouth. The officer alerted the medics, who reiterated that not only had there been no pulse, but that rigor mortis had started to set in. But to placate the officer, they lifted the victim onto a nearby bed. As the cloth covering the “deceased’s” face slipped off, everyone was startled to see his eyes blinking rapidly. Medics quickly provided life-saving treatment and transported the man to the Harborview emergency room.
*Early Tuesday, officers pulled over a van in the 3200 block of Harbor Ave. SW. It had originally been spotted on Murray Ave. SW, and the occupants were thought to be casing the area. The driver, a Port Orchard resident, claimed he was in the middle of a pre-purchase 2 a.m. scenic test drive along Beach Drive. He refused to let officers search the vehicle, which was lined with racks and shelves and bags of items. A records check showed the driver was a convicted felon with an extensive criminal history (burglary, auto theft, theft, vehicle prowling and property damage) and that two women had active anti-harassment orders against him. He has been known to assault officers and to own illegal weapons, handguns, rifles, knives and grenades. He also had a history of substance abuse. His female passenger (who waved and called one of the officers by name) is also a convicted felon with a similar criminal history. There was a large knife at her feet. She had two warrants, one for misdemeanor assault in Burien ($7,500) and failure to appear on a theft charge ($5,050). Thinking that the van contained stolen property, the officers decided to impound it. The driver was released and walked away southbound on Harbor Ave. The woman was driven to Tukwila and transferred to the custody of the King County Sheriff’s Office.
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
As always, the WSBeat summaries are from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers, incidents of note that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports, but that might at least answer the question “what WERE all those police doing on my block (whenever)?”:
*Around noon last Thursday, officers were dispatched to the 9200 block of Delridge Way SW to look for an “armed and dangerous” man wanted on a California warrant. After seeing a man fitting the general description enter a convenience store, they watched from outside and spotted unique identifying tattoos on his neck. As the man stepped up to the counter to pay for his drink, he was arrested without incident.
*Then on Thursday afternoon, members of the Pacific Northwest Fugitive Task Force arrested a man in the 4700 block of 44th SW. He was wanted in Orange County, California for felony stalking. The 45-year-old was booked into King County jail to await extradition.
*A savvy citizen called 911 after midnight last Tuesday to report that a suspicious person was looking in car windows in the 7500 block of Dumar Way SW. The suspect tried to evade officers who arrived at the scene, but was caught in a nearby greenbelt. His front pockets were full of bank and credit cards with a woman’s name. His backpack contained two digital cameras, two cell phones, two cell chargers, a video game, two controllers, an MP3 player and a folding knife. The suspect—a downtown resident—was booked into King County Jail for investigation of felony possession of stolen property.
8 more summaries, including the case of the hidden gun that led to an apology, ahead:Read More
Several people reported this via the WSB Facebook page and Twitter feed overnight, so we’re looking into it this morning: one or two loud noises in the Luna Park (Avalon)/North Delridge area. A few thought it sounded like gunshots, but the time-delayed police log (which doesn’t list calls until a few hours after they happen) classifies the call as “noise,” which tends to indicate no evidence of gunfire was found (and there are no local weapons calls on the medic log, either). We’ll update if we find out anything definitive.
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
As always, the WSBeat summaries are from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers, incidents of note that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports:
*If you and your significant other are tying the knot and collecting gifts in a public place, assign someone to guard the checks-and-gift-cards pile. Last week, a suspicious person was seen wandering around a local reception, wearing what looked like a homemade dark blue sweater with a “security” patch sewn on it. Someone later tried to use gift cards from this wedding at a Westwood Village store. The suspect was described as white, male, age 22-29, about 5’8”, with a slim build and light brown hair.
*Just after 2 a.m. Friday, officers were on routine patrol in an alley in the 3000 block of SW Avalon, when a man spotted their car, raised his hands in the air, and walked toward them. He twice provided false names but finally came clean, admitting he was wanted on a warrant ($15,000 for residential burglary). Officers confiscated two knives, two wallets (not his), a key chain with keys for several cars, gloves, and spark plugs (commonly used to break car windows). The SeaTac resident was booked into King County Jail for the warrant.
Two incidents of note, with sizable police responses you might have noticed Friday afternoon/evening:
THREAT INVESTIGATED: Police were in The Junction in the 10 pm hour investigating a report that a restaurant/bar proprietor was threatened by a man with a knife. We don’t know yet what transpired in the interim, but the search for suspect(s) eventually led to Fauntleroy/Edmunds, alongside the south end of the vacant Huling property on the southwest corner. According to scanner traffic, someone at that scene reportedly had cuts and abrasions, but was not believed to be the original suspect; we were not able to talk with officers at the scene, but saw a fire crew and private ambulance. We’ll update this if/when more information becomes available.
KNIFE CONFISCATED IN SCHOOL PARKING LOT: We checked with police after a note from Gary about several police cars at Chief Sealth International High School right around the time school let out today, 3 pm. Southwest Precinct Lt. Ron Smith says police were called by school security staffers who tried to get a group of about 40 people gathered in the parking lot, including a few who were arguing, to disperse – school security was worried a fight might break out. They told police that four people in the group were not identifiable as students from Sealth or adjacent Denny International Middle School. Police discovered that a girl who was among the four was in possession of a knife. No one was arrested, no one was hurt, but the girl was questioned and the knife, which she said she kept for protection, was confiscated.
Two days till a special meeting to help North Delridge residents find out about crime trends and how to mobilize to protect themselves and their families. We first reported on the meeting plan on March 7th, the night Southwest Precinct operations Lt. Pierre Davis announced it at the SW District Council meeting. We checked back with precinct leadership for more details; Capt. Steve Paulsen explains that the focus is on Delridge and its neighboring streets, from the West Seattle Bridge to reopening-this-fall Boren School. Capt. Paulsen and Lt. Davis will provide crime information, and will introduce community members to the Community Police Team Officer for their area, Jon Kiehn, and precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon. Everyone in North Delridge is welcome at the meeting, 7 pm Thursday (March 29th) in the precinct’s community room, along SW Webster just west of Delridge Way SW.
(Photos by Christopher Boffoli for WSB) 12:17 AM: Police have stopped what they believe to be a suspect in a case of gunfire reported on Alki a short time ago. No injuries reported at this point, but it is still an active investigation with at least two locations – where the gunfire happened, and where the suspect was stopped.
12:30 AM UPDATE: WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli is at the scene where police stopped the suspect in his car, which matched the description we’d heard via scanner, a Subaru with spoiler. They also reported recovering a .45-caliber handgun. Back in the 2800 block of Alki SW, they are looking for evidence of gunfire.
1:08 AM UPDATE: Police have published a short summary of this on SPD Blotter. One additional detail from their report: This involved two people in “an altercation” outside, not IN a bar. We heard scanner traffic regarding the reported target of the gunfire saying it happened in the alley behind Cactus; one officer reported finding a “live round” in the area.
In the SPD Blotter item, Gang Unit detectives are mentioned, and Christopher indeed said he saw them at the arrest scene, which was near Salty’s.
ADDED SUNDAY AFTERNOON: A few followup details from Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams: The suspect is 26 years old and had been escorted out of an area bar before all this happened, following a “disturbance.” Lt. Williams also clarifies that while Gang Unit detectives were investigating, that unit “investigates incidents of this nature even if there is no indication that those involved are associated with gangs” – so don’t assume that just because the Gang Unit shows up, it’s definitely gang-related.
ADDED SUNDAY NIGHT: The SPD Blotter report also now includes these additional details, and one new one: The man who was shot at was 28 years old. We can’t confirm whether the 26-year-old suspect is still in jail, since at this point we don’t have his name, but we’ll look into that tomorrow.
(Sgt. Joe Bauer shows neighbors a map of burglaries reported in the past month) By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
JoDean Edelheit‘s neighbors might have wondered why police cars were in her Arbor Heights driveway Monday night – if not for the fact the neighbors were all in her living room with the uniformed visitors.
The Seattle Police Department has been offering the opportunity for these “living-room conversations” for a while – explaining them as opportunities to explore community concerns in informal settings. Monday afternoon, in fact, the SPD Blotter blog-format website published a short story about two recent ones. And that was not long after we got the call from JoDean, inviting us to the one scheduled to happen at her house hours later.
She hosted a dozen neighbors and four SPD reps. The questions weren’t surprising, but some of the answers were.
Thanks to Jason for the first tip on this: If you happen to see the Seattle Police SWAT team trucks on the east side of The Junction, no, there’s nothing scary going on – they’re using a future development site for a training exercise.
They told us they’ll be there till sometime this afternoon. The site where they’re working, at 42nd/Oregon, is the future site of a 7-story apartment building (the city website indicates the permits aren’t all finalized yet, though).
ADDED 2:36 PM: Wider view, showing the SWAT vehicles on scene.
Southbound 35th SW was blocked for a while at Cloverdale late tonight because of the latest case of a moving vehicle hitting a parked vehicle. Like the crash we covered two weeks ago and two blocks away, no injuries reported this time around – the Fire Department wasn’t even summoned. But two patrol cars and electronic “flares” were being used to block off the scene till it could be cleaned up.
(Thanks to Anthony for the photo) 3:03 PM: Police are looking for a bank robber after a holdup at Washington Federal Savings at California and Fauntleroy. Only description so far: Black man in his 20s, “tightly pulled hoodie.” The bank is closed for a while as investigators work.
9:50 PM UPDATE: We have some additional information, from Southwest Precinct Lt. Ron Smith responding to our inquiry. He says the robber “presented a note to the teller” and got away with “an undisclosed amount of cash.” We also asked him about a van that we photographed in the West Seattle Thriftway parking lot across the street, being guarded by multiple officers:
Lt. Smith says they were tipped to the van when “witnesses contacted officers and advised that they had seen a suspicious male leave a vehicle in the lot. Their description closely matched that of the suspect. The vehicle was impounded to SPD Processing. The suspect has not been located.”
SATURDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE:SPDBlotter just published a short item about the robbery, but the only thing it mentions that we didn’t already report here is a bit more descriptive info about the robber: “black male, 40 years of age, last seen wearing a blue hooded jacket under a dark blue jacket, and khaki pants.”
P.S. THANK YOU to the WSB’ers whose texts/phone calls were our first word about the robbery shortly after it happened on Friday afternoon. We are not always in earshot of the scanner and your tips help immensely, so we can get out the info and get busy finding out more. (206-293-6302, voice or text, any time, day or night, weekday or weekend.)
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
As always, the WSBeat summaries are from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers, incidents of note that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports:
*In the 4100 block of 25th SW, a woman let her dog out into her fenced yard. A stranger approached and began taunting the dog and causing it to bark. When told to leave, he responded “What are you going to do about it?” “Call the police,” the woman replied. Fortunately she took her dog inside, because the suspect quickly returned with a large dog, opened the gate, and came into the yard. He began yelling and kicking the fence but left before officers arrived. Based on the subject description, the dog description, and the fact that he could return so quickly, officers thought they knew both who they were looking for and where he lived. When they went to his home, the suspect refused to answer the door, said he hadn’t done anything and invited them to “F*#@ off” if they didn’t have a warrant.
*A local couple fell victim to a scam and wired $5,600 “bail money” after receiving a phone call claiming their granddaughter had been arrested. Before sending more funds, they discovered that their granddaughter was fine and was at home in her college town.
Though we apologize for not having heard about it while it was happening (not everything’s on the scanner, so your text/call to 206-293-6302 is always helpful!), we DO now know why a sizable police response spent a while on Pigeon Point yesterday afternoon: Seattle Police media-relations Det. Mark Jamieson looked it up for us. Someone reported a suspicious item in a mailbox in the 4100 block of 20th SW (map). The police report says it was described as a plastic milk container with a screw top and foil, and it appeared “burnt.” Officers called in Arson/Bomb Squad specialists to have a look. The eventual determination, according to Det. Jamieson: It was “a device used to smoke marijuana.”
(Scroll down for updates, including video interview with new information from police)
ORIGINAL 8:18 AM REPORT: A body has just been recovered from the water off the 3700 block of Beach Drive – near Cormorant Cove Park and Harbor West Apartments (the complex that juts out on pilings) – is under investigation right now. No word on identity or how the person died. We have a crew at the scene finding out more.
(Photos by WSB’s Patrick Sand unless otherwise credited) 8:24 AM UPDATE: We’re told the body was found about 100 yards offshore, but don’t know yet who spotted it or how. Adding a photo of some of the emergency response at the scene. Police have put up yellow tape to cordon off the area where the body was placed, until the Medical Examiner arrives.
(This photo courtesy area resident who didn’t want to be identified) 9:14 AM UPDATE: Seattle Police have shared a bit more information via SPD Blotter:
On 3/12/12, at approximately 7:30 a.m., officers responded with Seattle Fire Department to the 3800 block of Beach Dr SW., to a report of a body floating in the water approximately 100 feet off shore.
The victim is a white female, 30-50 years-old. The cause of death is unknown at this time. Homicide Detectives have responded to the scene out of an abundance of caution. This is all the information available at the time. Additional updates may be added as more information becomes available.
10 AM UPDATE: Just talked to SPD spokesperson Det. Renée Witt at the scene in a video interview we will upload here when our crew’s back in house. She says they’re considering the death “suspicious,” until and unless proven otherwise, so the area remains sealed off while detectives investigate. (added) Here’s the video; she also told us the woman hadn’t been in the water for long:
As always, the WSBeat summaries are from reports on cases handled recently by 
2:42 PM: Via Facebook and Twitter, we’ve been told of a police search in North Delridge. People in the area say they were told police are looking for a man who might be armed. They’ve blocked off SW Brandon in the vicinity of 26th SW on the boundary of Camp Long, and tow crews are there, reportedly because of a stolen car. We’re working to find out more. No report of any injury related to this so far.
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