(Photo added 12:17 am, thanks to Katie for sharing it)
11:50 PM: An allegedly drunk driver has been stopped after reportedly speeding westbound on The Bridge. It all started on The Viaduct, according to a tweet from @SeaCrime – we came in on the scanner traffic toward the end. A fire unit’s being called in to check on the driver’s condition. We’ve received multiple calls/notes/tweets about the major police response – thanks! 12:17 AM: Added a photo taken by Katie, who says the driver was in a maroon Subaru that “spun around,” apparently after a certain technique was deployed by officers to stop it. She was close enough to hear the driver – who is on the ground by the officers in the background – say slowly, “I….was….trying to find…a place to…PARK it.”

(Seattle Police Guild president Sgt. Rich O’Neill asking legislators Monday to “help the officer”)
EHB 1679 is the bill to help in cases like that of Jason McKissack, attacked while on duty as an SPD officer in West Seattle and losing medical benefits because he cannot return to work. One day after the hearing we covered in Olympia, law-enforcement advocate (and police widow) Renee Maher sends word the bill has been passed out of Ways and Means on a unanimous vote (including that of West Seattle Rep. Eileen Cody). 8:37 PM: The next steps for this bill aren’t posted on the legislative site yet, but we’re checking with Rep. Cody (who also e-mailed us news of the vote). WEDNESDAY UPDATE: The next step is a full State House vote. We’ll let you know when a date is set.

The House Ways and Means Committee has just opened its afternoon session. We are in their hearing room at the State Legislature with a huge turnout – triple digits for sure – to show support for one of the bills on the agenda, EHB 1679, which would cover catastrophically injured public-safety personnel and their families with benefits – the benefits that are being lost by Officer Jason McKissack, unable to return to work since being attacked while on a West Seattle call a year and a half ago. We will report from the hearing as we can – you also can watch on TVW cable/online. We’re sitting next to Seattle Police Guild reps who say they’ve heard from a lot of people supporting the bill who heard about it through WSB; legislators reportedly have been getting plenty of calls too.

3:57 PM: That’s the committee – back row in red is West Seattle Rep. Eileen Cody. Officials of other state public-safety unions and advocacy groups are speaking right now. Before them, a pension-fund official who spoke of how the bill was changed after it failed to win approval last year; now the funds bear the brunt of the costs. They’re all also talking about how rare “catastrophic disability” really is.

4:04 PM: Rich O’Neill of the Seattle Police Guild has just told the committee the story of what happened to Officer McKissack, who is here today and planning to testify. He concluded with a plea to the committee to “help the officer” – a call that is taken deeply seriously when it goes out over the police radio – “be their backup, pass this bill.”

(From left, Kim and Jason McKissack, Renee Maher)
4:20 PM: Jason and Kim McKissack both have just testified – Kim, tearfully, talking about how their lives were changed, and how can you make the choice between food/clothing and medical insurance? (video added 6:09 pm)

She also said her husband still wants nothing more than to “go out and get the bad guys … but he can’t.” Now, also emotionally, law enforcement advocate Renee Maher is speaking, sitting next to the McKissacks; she is the widow of Federal Way Officer Patrick Maher, killed in the line of duty in the early 00s.

4:23 PM: The public hearing has just concluded. The committee is moving on to testimony on other bills, but first, they asked everyone from public safety who came here for support to stand – those who stood were applauded by the rest of the room. We’ll add a few photos in a moment, and video in a bit. We also will be checking to find out what happens next – when there might be a decision on whether to schedule a vote on the bill.

8:48 PM NOTE: We’re told the bills that had public hearings today are all tentatively scheduled for discussion in “executive session” tomorrow – that’s where legislators talk about which bills are ready to potentially come up with votes. So we’ll keep an eye on it (which you can do through this link) for followups.

Thanks to the texter who let us know about a sizable police response on the east side of The Junction – at the commercial building (check-cashing, car maintenance) at 40th/Alaska. Went over to check, at which time Ladder 11 joined the police, helping officers get up on the roof. Police told us multiple alarms had gone off in the building so they were searching – but hadn’t found anything/anyone yet. (We’ll check back.)

Noted in an update just received from Mayor McGinn‘s communications director Mark Matassa (a West Seattleite) – Southwest Precinct Captain Joe Kessler is now on the Police Chief Search Committee. (The update was primarily intended to announce that the committee’s next meeting is 5:30 pm tomorrow at SPD HQ downtown. Agenda here.) P.S. Side note – If you have crime concerns to bring to SW Precinct leadership, tonight’s your chance, as the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meets at the precinct, 7 pm.

1:10 PM: We are in SODO at Seattle Police Officers Guild HQ – with a room full of law enforcement officers from all over the area, and at the table in front of the room, former Southwest Precinct SPD Officer Jason McKissack (blue T-shirt), whose loss of medical benefits – since he cannot work following a vicious attack a year and a half ago – is triggering a campaign for legislation. Who else is here, is amazing. Officer Britt Sweeney, who survived the attack that killed SPD Officer Tim Brenton; Officer Brenton’s widow is here as well. “Call your legislators today,” Renee Maher, a law-enforcement advocate and police widow, is saying, re: HB 1679. 1:23 PM: Officer McKissack has just spoken. He says the city’s letter arrived just last Thursday, informing him of “medical separation,” and the hardest part was seeing his wife break down and cry. He also said it’s been tough to be off the job as he watched the recent officer murders – he feels like a “caged tiger,” wanting to do something: (video added 2:48 pm)

He also said the timing is unfortunate – he has found new medical treatment that may help him get better. Regarding the bill, advocates here say there are only six public-safety personnel statewide in the past 30-plus years who qualified as “catastrophically injured” and would be affected by this bill – Officer McKissack has not yet received that determination. (added 2 pm – his description of what he’s been coping with while trying to recover)

The Seattle Police Officers’ Guild also reiterates that they are accepting donations for his expenses through their fund. (The address is on this page on the SPOG site, with more information about the bill.) They also are “taking up other ideas on fundraising,” they say, and will have more on that in the weeks ahead. 5:30 PM UPDATE: Reminder, regarding fundraising: Two local karaoke hosts have stepped up for starters. Joe at Yen Wor announced on Facebook that he’s raising money for Officer McKissack’s fund Wednesday night at 9:30, and Willie Murderface announced in comments here last night that he is collecting for the fund this Saturday night at Goldie’s in Georgetown (WMF is a West Seattleite).

We’d received a tip on this but hit a roadblock early on; Channel 4, however, got the story, and it’s an important one. You may remember Southwest Precinct Officer Jason McKissack, badly beaten while answering a call in High Point in 2008. We first reported the attack that June; later that month, a West Seattle community groundswell of support sent him get-well wishes. Then, one year after the attack, we were in the courtroom last June as his attackers were sentenced in an emotional hearing – no additional detention. Tonight, Channel 4 reported that doctors say Officer McKissack will never be able to go back to work; because of that, the station says, he is losing his medical benefits – apparently because of a state law that the Seattle Police Guild and some legislators are trying to change. Here’s the story they aired tonight:

The KOMO story points to the bill that’s just been reintroduced in the Legislature, where it stalled last year (see it here); it would fix the law so that public-safety personnel like Officer McKissack who suffer “catastrophic disabilities” will not lose their medical benefits. (Thanks to Robert and Shelley for tonight’s notes pointing us to this story.)

ADDED 7:06 PM SATURDAY: There’s now a fund set up:

Donations can be sent to:
SPOG
2949 4th Ave South
Seattle, WA 98134
Subject line: Jason McKissack

Also please see the comments following this story for our discussion about how to reach legislators regarding the aforementioned bill.

SCAM ALERT: Just got this from Southwest Precinct Lt. Norm James (who, as we reported last Friday, has a new role, so you’ll be hearing more from him when news happens) — He says they’re investigating a case of alleged fraud involving rental properties on Craigslist; one person found a listing that described a “super deal” in West Seattle. When the would-be renter e-mailed the contact, the reply came back seeking personal information and saying that the landlord was in Africa but would send the key once the personal info was received. The would-be renter didn’t fall for it but checked around and found two similar listings. Bottom line, Lt. James says, “Just a heads up .. to be aware of this type of scam out there. They need to be aware of deals that are too good to be true and to verify the authority of people who have rental properties available.”

35TH SW PATROL: On Facebook and Twitter, there were a few mentions yesterday of major police presence on 35th SW, apparently watching for speeders. We asked SW Precinct Lt. Steve Paulsen if anything special was going on. His reply: “Traffic/Pedestrian safety is one of our precinct priorities. The Traffic Section does enforcement on 35th on a regular basis due to the sheer speed folks travel at and the number of traffic collisions. Given the recent accidents, we requested some assistance. Several drivers were stopped and cited.” (Those recent accidents include this one last Sunday in which a car flipped; no one was seriously hurt.)

The Southwest Precinct‘s second-in-command, Lt. Steve Paulsen, is heading east. Precinct Captain Joe Kessler made the announcement at last night’s Precinct CItizens Advisory Council meeting: Lt. Paulsen (10/09 photo at right) is joining the downtown-based West Precinct in March; current second-watch commander Lt. Norm James will take over the Southwest Precinct Operations role; and Lt. Ron Rasmussen will come to West Seattle to fill the resulting second-watch (morning/afternoon) vacancy. Capt. Kessler tells WSB this isn’t the result of any sort of shakeup – there’s been a vacancy at the West Precinct, and Lt. Paulsen seems right for the job, not only because he spent four years as a watch commander there before, but also because he has a deep background in the kind of logistics experience you need in that area, with special events – from parades to protests – requiring strategic staffing and protection plans. Though Lt. James will take over the Operations role shortly and Lt. Rasmussen arrives next week, Capt. Kessler says Lt. Paulsen won’t be leaving the SW Precinct immediately – he’s there until early March “helping with the transition and doing special project work.” He adds that he’s worked before with Lt. Rasmussen, who has been working most recently at headquarters downtown, focused on special projects such as the Neighborhood Policing Plan. What does all this mean to you? Probably not much – but since Lt. Paulsen has been a highly public face of the precinct, attending meetings and providing information for many of the stories we check out, we thought you’d want to know. Thanks to Pete Spalding, who leads the Precinct Citizens Advisory Council, for first word of last night’s announcement; Capt. Kessler mentioned another bit of news from last night’s meeting – 34th District Democrats chair Tim Nuse attended to present him with a card and letter thanking local police for their service – the captain says that was “heartwarming.”

Next public meeting at the precinct is a week and a half away – West Seattle Crime Prevention Council at 7 pm Tuesday, Jan. 19 – if you’re got questions about the precinct changes, including not only this but also the city-attorney change we reported earlier this week (followup still in the works), be there!

(Thanks to Brian C for the photo – added 2:30 pm)
ORIGINAL 1:31 PM REPORT: Thanks for the notes and texts about a large number of police cars on The Bridge, eastbound near the exit to The Viaduct, in the past 20 minutes or so – tipsters say they were focused on a minivan, and that some officers had guns drawn. We’re checking to find out more. (There was some report of traffic backups as a result, but we’re not seeing that on the traffic camera right now.) ADDED 1:57 PM: Just heard back from Southwest Precinct Lt. Norm James:

There was a residential burglary in the northern part of West Seattle this morning where two suspects were seen fleeing in a dark colored van. Shortly after that, a dark colored van was seen casing several residences in the south portion of West Seattle. The license number of the suspicious van was broadcast. Officers put two and two together and figured that these two were connected. An officer spotted the van northbound on Delridge. It was stopped [on the bridge], the occupants detained and items from the initial burglary were recovered from the van. Two males were arrested – one adult and one juvenile.

(Photo courtesy Rhonda Porter)
You may have seen police activity related to this in the past half-hour or so: A motorcycle rider has been taken to the hospital after being hit by a van by Jacobsen and Beach Drive. The van took off but police have since found it and the driver. We’re told the motorcyclist was conscious when he was taken to the hospital, and he was taken by ambulance, rather than aid car, which usually indicates not-life-threatening injuries. The road’s open. ADDED 7:44 PM: From “Proud Sister” in the comment section:

One other bit to the story that you didn’t know about is that my little brother Mr. Adam Layman, happened to drive down Jacobsen Rd. at the same time they were trying to get away.

When he saw what had just happened the neighbors motioned for him to follow the van that had fled the scene. He confronted the two guys at the top of Jacobsen. The passenger took off running and the driver said he would be back he just had to go and get some new tires!

So my little brother (a 25yr.old 4th gen. W.S.H.S. grad) followed the driver for about 10 min. and directed the cops to his whereabouts. He’s my hero and I’m so proud of him!!!

Meantime, Jeff sent a photo of the motorcycle, post-crash:

(Photo by Cliff DesPeaux/THE SEATTLE TIMES)
The emotional, inspiring, and at times humorous memorial service for Seattle Police Officer Tim Brenton has just ended at KeyArena. We have photos from inside courtesy of The Seattle Times, this time not because of our partnership with them but because SPD designated them as part of the “pool” to take and share photos with other news organizations. At top, the crowd as Mayor Greg Nickels spoke; he referred to Officer Brenton’s years here, saying, “I’m proud that he grew up in my neighborhood, West Seattle. He graduated from West Seattle High School. If my numbers are correct, we moved into his neighborhood when he was a junior.” Governor Gregoire paid tribute too. But the event was truly about the solemn and dangerous work of serving and protecting, as Officer Brenton – also a U.S. Army veteran – had done for most of his adult life. For SPD, Deputy Chief Clark Kimerer opened the memorial and introduced each speaker:

(Photo by Alan Berner/THE SEATTLE TIMES)
It was of course noted during the memorial that Officer Brenton’s killer has not yet been caught. Mayor Nickels called the murder “a despicable and evil act”; regarding the quest to catch the killer/s, Acting Chief John Diaz said, “in that mission we will not fail.” We expect a few more photos later this afternoon and will add them here; our story with photos and video from this morning’s procession of law-enforcement vehicles is here. 6:03 PM: A few more pool photos from this afternoon’s memorial:

(Photo by Alan Berner/THE SEATTLE TIMES)

(Photo by Alan Berner/THE SEATTLE TIMES)

(scroll down to see added info, video and links)

(Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
The Seattle Times (WSB partner) has a map with a timeline pointing to multimedia coverage of the procession that’s been under way for more than an hour; see it here. Meantime, we are adding photos taken for WSB by Christopher Boffoli along the procession route.

12:03 PM UPDATE: SPD has shared the program that is being distributed at this afternoon’s memorial. Mayor Nickels, Governor Gregoire and former Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske are among those who are speaking. You can see the program (2-page PDF) here. And here’s Christopher’s video of scenes from the procession:

More coverage from fellow independent community-collaborative news sites Capitol Hill Seattle, here, and Central District News (whose editor Scott is at KeyArena and updating what he’s seeing), here. Live video coverage is being streamed right now by KING5 – keep in mind the memorial itself begins at 1. ADDED 1:06 PM: The Times reports that St. James Cathedral is holding a prayer service at 6:30 tonight, all welcome, on behalf of Officer Brenton, the Fort Hood victims, and all those lost to violence.

Tomorrow night, the Seattle Police Foundation hosts its annual awards banquet downtown, honoring SPD personnel from around the city who’ve made an extra-big difference in their communities over the past year. When the SPD Media Relations team downtown sent out the event announcement, we asked for an advance copy of the Southwest Precinct award-recipients list; the precinct subsequently granted our request for photos of the honorees. The West Seattle-based honorees are one sergeant, four detectives and two officers, starting with, at left, the department-wide Community Ambassador Award recipient, Community Police Team Officer Kevin McDaniel, and at right, the Southwest Precinct Officer of the Year, John Kiehn. The event program describes Officer McDaniel’s work in the High Point area: “He is assigned to High Point as a full time liaison to ensure that emerging problems are quickly identified and dealt with. … Perhaps his most important role has been working with those young residents who are involved in at-risk activities. He freely gives of his time, responding to issues that many would not see as ‘police’ problems, but with his unique abilities he often manages to resolve them before they do become criminal in nature.” (This WSB story includes one example.) Officer Kiehn (involved in this recent quick-arrest case) is a former U.S. Marine lauded as “very energetic and has volunteered for virtually all available training, becoming in a few short years a Field Training Officer, Crisis Intervention trained and qualified as a Long Rifle Officer. … There are those ‘great officers’ who always seem to find the bad guy by being in the right place at the right time. Officer Kiehn isn’t one of those officers. His success comes from good, old fashioned police work combined with a high degree of competency, especially around computers. A self admitted ‘computer geek,’ he quickly mastered the new Records Management System and has been a key resource to others who struggle with the system. He routinely uses Law Enforcement databases to assist in locating suspects and readily shares this knowledge with others. …” Then there’s the Impact Award, going to several teams around the city including the Southwest Precinct Detectives:

From left, meet Southwest Precinct Detectives Brian Ballew and Shayne St. John, ­Sergeant Jeff Durden, and Detectives Ed Garcia and Nick Bauer. As prolific as property crime has been in our area, these guys have broken some big cases, and the info about their award explains:

The role of the Precinct Detectives is to provide follow up resources to the Precinct in terms of investigating property related crimes. The detectives that are assigned to the Southwest Precinct have taken this role to an entirely new level. In addition to developing an aggressive investigative stance they have, through their leadership and commitment, brought a renewed sense of team to the Precinct. They regularly attend roll calls in order to share information with fellow officers about crime patterns and potential suspects. This has created momentum and valuable information to all three patrol watches, Community Police and Anti-Crime Teams to achieve precinct goals, but more importantly, to make neighborhoods safe from predatory criminals. On more than one occasion the Detectives have self-deployed into the field in uniform because they felt their fellow officers needed additional staffing due to training and/or sick leave absences. On another occasion they responded to the scene of a major fire and assisted in directing traffic. Both their Captain and Lieutenant have noted the extraordinary impact this has had on all aspects of the Precinct.

The Seattle Police Foundation, by the way, is not part of the police department; it’s an independent, nonprofit foundation (as described here).