West Seattle, Washington
07 Friday
(Photo added 9:55 pm – by WSB’s Christopher Boffoli, who found police checking in Admiral)
8:45 PM: Thanks to everybody who’s texted/messaged about possible gunshots or fireworks heard in the Admiral area a short time ago. As we’ve replied to everyone, please call 911 when you hear something like this – it helps them zero in on what might, or might not, have happened. Once in a rare while, it might lead them to a shooting victim. One person who did call 911 says they were told some others have called and that police are heading that way to look around. The people we’ve heard from say they heard around half a dozen booms or pops. Unless they find something – shell casings, property damage – we might never know, but we’re mentioning it because so many people contacted us to ask about it.
9:35 PM: If you haven’t seen the comments – prevailing opinion seems to be, fireworks. No word of anything found so far suggesting otherwise. Meantime, we also have a couple reports of one “boom” heard, primarily in the North Delridge area. Police were dispatched on that, too, but this also hasn’t led to any discoveries so far as we can tell.
(WSB photos)
If you walked into Westwood Village Target at a certain point this morning, you might have been startled to see half a dozen Seattle Police officers in a huddle. Nothing to worry about, though – they were there to help local kids get ready for the holidays. This is what was once upon a time called “Shop with a Cop,” and now goes by the name “Heroes and Helpers.” That’s why the young participants had reindeer-antler hats inscribed “Holiday Helpers”:
It was more than a title – the $100 each kid had to spend was supposed to go in part for somebody in their family, so they could give as well as receive. Each teamed up with an officer:
… and after a quick chat, it was off to shop:
The police participants are from community-outreach programs – from left, below, with Target team members, are Det. Kim Bogucki, Sgt. Adrian Diaz, Officer Kevin McDaniel, Officer John O’Neil, Officer Jon Flores, and Officer Erin Rodriguez:
They worked with community organizations to choose kids to participate – Neighborhood House, among others.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
As soon as next week, you’ll see the Southwest Precinct‘s long-awaited new Mobile Precinct out on the street – actually, most likely in a lot at Westwood Village.
That’s where precinct commander Capt. Pierre Davis says he’s planning to send it first, with a visit to South Park not far behind, and then, if all goes as planned, The Junction. Here’s a :15 video look around the outside:
He showed us the van today, after we contacted him to ask for a photo op, once we learned – while covering this week’s Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council meeting – that the Mobile Precinct had finally arrived.
It’s been mentioned during SPD briefings at so many other community-council meetings this past year or so, you’d have thought it was here by now, but it arrived just days ago.
It’s significantly smaller than the precinct’s old one – which was destroyed in the firebomb attack on the Charles Street yard downtown six years ago. West Seattle is supposed to have its own, according to this page of the SPD manual, which also specifies what vehicles like this are supposed to be used for.
If you’ve seen one in this area since then, it was borrowed from another part of the city. Now, no more borrowing. Whether it’s Alki Beach in the summer or Westwood Village in the holiday season, the precinct has one to deploy. “It’s a definite force multiplier for us,” says Capt. Davis.
Before it can officially head out, he has to get some staff trained to drive it, and that’s expected to happen within a week or so.
It’s about the size of a TV live truck, with a camera-equipped mast on top, flat display screens inside, even a small compartment in the back with a toilet.
It’s painted with the distinctive new white lettering-on-dark blue SPD look.
Unlike its predecessor, it’s clearly labeled MOBILE PRECINCT on the sides and rear, though you wouldn’t have mistaken the old RV for anything else.
“We’re really excited about it, and we want to get it out there ASAP,” Capt. Davis said as our mini-tour concluded. What we don’t have yet are the van’s specs/cost – we have a request out to the city’s Finance and Administrative Services department, and will add them when we get them.
In West Seattle Crime Watch, an incident report from B:
At 8:45 this morning our neighbor left to go to work and noticed that someone was sitting in the front seat of my car digging around. When confronted the robber jumped in a waiting car and tried to hit my neighbor. Luckily he missed, backed up and struck the support wires for a light pole and loosened them and then sped off. I didn’t lose anything and gained new respect for LOCKING MY DOORS. I always figure that if I don’t have anything in my car no need to lock. WRONG.
We have the license number: ANB 1083 and the car was a Black Hyundai Elantra… But the police said that the license plate was stolen – and maybe the car as well. That’s why they could be so bold to be out scouting in daylight. I’m in the 2300 block of 49th SW off Waite. Please make sure people are locking their car and looking out for these creeps!
B also confirms that Seattle City Light has been notified to get the wires fixed – the pole is not leaning, so far.
Now, from the “you’ve heard it before but you need to hear it again” file – Southwest/South Precincts’ Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon is re-circulating advice on how to deter car prowls and package thefts:
CAR PROWLS
We feel we have an unacceptable number of reported Car Prowl incidents for our Precinct. The level of Car Prowls, Auto Accessory Thefts and theft of license plates for the Southwest Precinct shows a 14% increase compared to this time last year.
Car prowls are crimes of opportunity that are committed within seconds. They are expensive, inconvenient, and aggravating for victims.
Thieves are targeting vehicles of all makes and models for valuables, including:
Thanks to everyone for the texts and other messages. Police have been out at several spots in north West Seattle, from Harbor Avenue up to Admiral, investigating hit-and-run damage done to parked cars. We don’t have all the exact locations; police theorize one driver might be to blame, but as of when we caught up with them, they hadn’t found a suspect yet. No injuries reported. But if you discover damage to your vehicle – be sure to report it. (Thanks to Katie for the photo above, taken around 5 pm at 46th/Admiral.)
As promised, we’ve pursued further information on the Friday night incident in the 8100 block of 16th SW, initially described as a stabbing that sent a man to the hospital. We’ve obtained the Seattle Police investigation report. Here’s what it says:
The original call, around 10:30 pm Friday, was about a burglary; the person who called 911 reported that people were inside his house and in a car in front of his house. As dispatchers tried to get more information from the caller as officers headed that way, they then heard a “disturbance” in the background, with the caller “arguing with someone else,” and then at some point “someone yelling for assistance, asking for someone to come save them, someone yelling ‘he’s stabbing me’ and then someone saying ‘get off of me, I’m dying’.”
11:29 PM: Thanks to Clark for the photo. A multiple-car crash – Clark says he counted three – has been blocking northbound 35th SW near Hudson, in the Camp Long area. No major injuries reported but police were reported to be searching – with a K-9 – for a driver who was reported to have walked away from the crash. And nearby resident Karen says northbound traffic has been diverting to 36th.
1:29 AM: The detour’s over, Karen reports, so we’re deducing that 35th is clear.
We start this West Seattle Crime Watch roundup with an investigation under way right now:
BROKEN WINDOWS AT JUNCTION BANK: Thanks to the person who texted us about this. Though the bank is closed for the Veterans Day holiday, there’s a lot of activity at the West Seattle Junction Wells Fargo right now because of apparent vandalism.
Windows were broken on the south side of the bank. No word yet exactly when it happened, but police were called to the branch this afternoon, and WF employees are there now as well as a crew to fix the window. They are trying to figure out what the windows were broken with, but police say they do not believe it was gunfire.
MAIL THEFT, REPORT #1: From a Gatewood resident: “Just wanted to email you about our locked mailbox being broken into and our mail stolen. We’re on the 4000 block of SW Myrtle St., and we’ve already reported it to the police and the Postal Inspector.” That came in Tuesday afternoon, as did the next note from a few miles south:
MAIL THEFT, REPORT #2: From an Arbor Heights resident: “Just found a bunch of mail strewn along SW 102nd St., which I returned to the proper address.”
9:41 PM: In case you heard them too, 911 has received calls about possible gunshots or fireworks heard from north Arbor Heights to Sunrise Heights (and we heard them here in Upper Fauntleroy). Nothing on the scanner at this point indicates a particular location, and no reports of anyone hurt anywhere.
P.S. If you were among those reporting something similar in north/northeast West Seattle around 2:30 am today – the final classification on the police log was “noise disturbance,” meaning they never found evidence of gunfire – no shell casings, no property damage, no victim(s).
10:25 PM: Comment consensus: Fireworks. (Police haven’t reported finding any evidence of gunfire, either.)
(Added: WSB photo outside Super 24, taped off after shell casings were found in the parking lot)
5:50 PM: Thanks for the tips – police are investigating gunfire in the Delridge area, with a report of shell casings found near Delridge and Findlay, and possibly other locations. No word of any injuries so far.
6 PM: Police were also investigating reports from the 17th/Elmgrove area, but aren’t finding anything, per scanner.
6:21 PM: At Delridge/Findlay, the investigation centers on the Super 24 store’s parking lot. The casings found there are proof of gunfire, but still no indication of any victims. The officers there had no further information beyond the basics as reported here. We’re off to see if anything turned up at 17th/Elmgrove.
6:26 PM: The Guardian One helicopter (operated by the Sheriff’s Office but assisting with other law-enforcement agencies in the region, including Seattle Police, which does not have its own chopper) is now headed toward Delridge/Webster to search for something possibly related in that area. So is our crew, which didn’t find anyone on 17th.
6:37 PM: We talked to police searching across Delridge from the precinct. What they’re checking out there is a report that someone heard what sounded like a shotgun being “racked.” We asked them if they have any description(s) to share – they said no, they’ve just been chasing reports, as have we. Our crew is headed back to Delridge/Findlay to see if anything’s new there.
6:53 PM: Two things – regarding the shotgun, we heard via scanner that the sound might have been attributable to a piece of metal in the road. Second, we did speak to officers back at Delridge and Findlay who say three vehicles might have been involved in all this – they have partial descriptions of two: A blue Chevy Impala and a light-colored Mercedes.
8:50 PM: In West Seattle Crime Watch tonight:
STOLEN SUV: Have you seen Matt‘s stolen dark blue Chevy Tahoe? It was taken from his driveway in the 6000 block of California SW sometime midday last Friday (October 23rd). License plate 899-ZBW. If you see it – call 911.
9:51 PM UPDATE: See comments – SPD found Matt’s SUV and are reported to have made an arrest, too.
(back to original report) CRIME UPDATES AT BLOCK WATCH CAPTAINS’ NETWORK: Want to hear firsthand updates about the recent arsons and Saturday’s shootings? And/or ask questions? The West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network meets tomorrow (Tuesday, October 27th) for the last time this year, and has announced that Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Pierre Davis will be there with updates, as well as Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon, who, WSBWCN says, “will focus on prevention and things you can do to make your property less of a target for arson or property theft. Come learn about things you and your neighbors can do to be vigilant.” 6:30 pm, SW Precinct (2300 SW Webster), all welcome – you don’t have to be a BW captain or even a BW member.
In West Seattle Crime Watch this afternoon – police are investigating what they believe was a pellet-gun shooting along Alki Avenue SW. The victim was injured around quarter past 1 this afternoon in the 1500 block of Alki SW. Police have no victim or suspect description so far. We’re still checking for more info on this. (Update: We’ve heard from the victim in comments.)
This afternoon we also have reader reports from the WSB inbox, starting with something else in the Alki area:
DIAPER BAG FOUND WITH CAR PROWL LOOT: Althea reports, “A black Marc and Jacobs diaper bag was found this morning in an alley near my house. A bike and wallet were also found. The wallet was taken from my car and returned to me but we are still looking for the owner of the diaper bag. We live near Alki Elementary.”
CARS VANDALIZED: Tuesday night, acid was poured on cars near 47th and Charlestown, according to a neighbor who forwarded the report.
CAR PROWLS: Sara says 48th SW in Seaview was hit on Tuesday:
I saw the burglar at 2:45 am getting into my neighbor’s SUV. He had a silver sedan with curved or slanted back. I’m not a car person, but it looks a bit like either an older Pinto or a mid-’80s Ford Escort. It looked like a man, med build, tall, was wearing knit cap, leather jacket over sweater, and jeans. Couldn’t tell anything else. Had flashlight and was looking around inside my neighbor’s car while he left his own car running. Tapped on glass. He heard something and took off fast, heading south down 48th. Note: I should not have disturbed him. I should have called 911 while he was in car. Called police after and they were quick to respond, but we might have caught him in the act if I hadn’t disturbed him.
CRIME-TREND ‘DASHBOARD’: You might have heard about this in citywide news – announced yesterday, but we didn’t get a chance to mention it. The SPD “Crime Data Dashboard” is a new way to check crime trends and data. It’s explained in this SPD Blotter item; find the dashboard, filterable by neighborhood, here.
(Added 6:21 pm: WSB photos)
4:50 PM: Police are dealing with a possibly armed person in crisis at a residence in Arbor Heights, and as a result, they’re blocking off traffic, including SW 106th – we’re not sure exactly how far west of 35th, but avoid the general area.
5 PM: Our crew checking on the nearby road closures reports helicopter activity. First it was Guardian One, then a TV helicopter.
5:13 PM: We still have a crew in the area watching for word of a resolution to this. They and others are being kept at a distance. Again, SW 106th is blocked off for several blocks from 35th west.
5:19 PM: The person is reported to have come out of the house and is in custody. An ambulance is going in. That doesn’t mean anyone’s been hurt – usually in situations like this it’s so the person in crisis can be evaluated.
5:30 PM: The person who came out of the house is being placed in the ambulance.
5:40 PM: Our crew at the scene just talked to SW Precinct Lt. Alan Williams, who says they’re still sorting out exactly what started all this, but they hope to have the area opened up again shortly. A relative has been allowed into the house to make sure three dogs in there are safe, and police have been dealing with parents arriving to get their kids at a nearby day care that was being “held in place” until everything was resolved. They also are reported to have retrieved what was described as an inoperable .22 from the house. Again, no injuries reported to anyone in the situation. Police deal with things like this more often than you might realize; we’re reminded of an incident in Gatewood we covered just nine days ago, also resolved without injury.
What turned out to be a misunderstanding on Thursday nonetheless has resulted in a local mom wanting to issue a public word of thanks, and the incident, though not what was feared, also is a good reminder of safety rules for kids.
Yesterday afternoon as my 10-year-old son was walking home from an after-school activity, he had an encounter at 42nd & Dakota with a stranger that “gave him a weird feeling.” He started running home and a passerby in a car asked him if that stranger was bothering him. He said yes and the driver called 911. My son was just about 8 houses from home. The police knocked on our door about an hour after the incident. They said the caller didn’t have our address but did give them the location and a description of the house, so the officer was able to follow up with us. They did locate the stranger and asked him about the incident. He told them he was just asking my son if he wanted to play catch. The officer praised my son for knowing not to talk to strangers and gave us the case number for the incident.
The mom wanted to thank the person who called 911, which enabled police to respond and investigate quickly: “We are so grateful this person was passing by when they did and that they took action, and we want to express our gratitude.” According to the police report, which we subsequently obtained, there was NO indication a crime was committed, and the man had no record – the man told them he had been walking back to his car from a nearby bank, when he saw the boy walk by holding a ball, and he asked the boy to kick the ball toward him. The police report says officers later found out the boy didn’t hear what the man said to him because he was wearing an earbud/earpiece. He headed home while the passerby was still talking with the man, who subsequently headed in a different direction; police caught up with him about a mile away. Though this incident turned out not to be what the passerby feared, it’s still a reminder to make sure your kids know how to stay safe; here’s advice from SPD.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports:
GATEWOOD BURGLARY: For at least the third time this weekend, there was a burglary on California SW. We reported Saturday on two business break-ins, in The Junction and South Admiral; today, burglars hit in Gatewood, in the 8200 block of California SW. A neighbor reports seeing the burglars break in and carry out “duffel bags and TVs” while the victims were away on an errand; the neighbor called 911, but the burglars were gone before police arrived. The neighbor called 911 at 11 am; she says police arrived after the burglars left at 11:14. (We happened to see the first car pull up, as this is a couple blocks away from WSB HQ and we were passing by.) The neighbor says the 911 operator mentioned “shift change” as a complication; we don’t know what else was happening in the sector at the time, as we were away from the scanner, but we’ll be following up with SPD tomorrow.
CAR PROWL: Karen e-mailed today to say that “our car was broken into Friday night. It was in front of our house on Hanford St SW, near 36th Ave. They smashed the passenger side window but we didn’t have anything worth taking, luckily.”
(Police blocking road near scene)
3:20 PM: Thanks for all the tips. Avoid California SW in Gatewood between Portland and Ida – there’s a big police response. Initial scanner traffic indicated police were trying to make contact with a possibly armed man in a house in the 7700 block of California.
Officers just knocked on the door and went inside.
3:39 PM: Our crew says police came back out without anyone, but there’s someone in a squad car. That doesn’t necessarily mean an arrest; we are waiting to talk to the sergeant on scene to find out more.
3:49 PM: Police tell us the person they have in custody is the person they were called about because of concern he was going to harm himself. They did not find anyone else in the house; no one is injured. They expect to be at the scene a while longer, and the road is still partly blocked. (Whenever we mention crisis situations like this, we also always mention the local 24-hour Crisis Clinic hotline – 206-461-3222.)
5:02 PM: Just got a chance to go back and check the area. The road is open again.
While saying it’s been in operation for two months, Seattle Police just officially unveiled what they’re calling the Real-Time Crime Center, as a key component of a strategy titled “Agile Policing.”
The RTCC is a room at SPD headquarters downtown where a commander, analysts, and others are monitoring, and responding to, trends detected in real time around the city, tracked on a big board showing how many calls are open at any given time, what types of calls (divided into three “priority” categories), and where, updated every six seconds. The screengrab above is from a demonstration by SPD chief operating officer Mike Wagers during the Seattle Channel‘s live webcast of the announcement; we’ll add or substitute the video clip when it’s available via SC later. Here’s the official news release via SPD Blotter; we have a few more notes from having monitored the announcement live:
It’s centralizing analysis and data-sorting functions rather than having, as SPD Chief Kathleen O’Toole called them, “islands of information” at precincts and other locations. SPD says it’s also enabling information to be sorted and interpreted more quickly in a way that can assist officers in the field. One example given was a “shots fired” call, in which 911 might receive more than a dozen calls from people, each offering a fragment of information that could be a puzzle piece usable for solving/tracing it – what was heard, what was seen, was there a car, part of a license plate – all to be put together and sent to officers rather than expecting them all to sort and decode the puzzle pieces while busy with everything else in the field.
Right now, SPD says, the RTCC is being staffed Mondays-Fridays 8 am-4 pm and Tuesday nights-Saturday nights 4 pm-2 am, but that could change if they determine different scheduling would be better. They were asked what live cameras are being used, if any; only SDOT cameras that are also visible to the public, SPD replied – not any current or future police cameras (dash cams, body cams, the never-activated surveillance cameras).
10:37 AM: That photo is from last Sunday night at an apartment building in the 6500 block of California SW in Morgan Junction. We went there twice that evening to ask about a police presence that lasted for several hours, and were told both times that it involved the death of a child but that it was not being investigated as a homicide. That has since changed. As first reported this morning by our regional partners at The Seattle Times, a 20-year-old woman is in jail, arrested on Thursday for investigation of homicide. The Times quotes the suspect’s boyfriend as saying he is the father of the 17-month-old boy who died. Seattle Police media relations Officer Lauren Lovanhill tells WSB that she has no further comment so far, but that they are gathering information. We’ll also find out more after the suspect appears before a judge at the downtown jail later today. So far, online records don’t show any felony criminal history for her. If this continues to be treated as a homicide case, it would be the first one in West Seattle since the still-unsolved shooting death of Stephen Jeffries Jr. on New Year’s Eve 2013.
10:53 AM: A short item has just been published on SPD Blotter, saying the toddler’s father called 911 on Sunday after finding his son “unresponsive in his crib” and that medics were unable to revive the child.
3:51 PM: The suspect waived her court appearance, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, so the hearing was held without her. According to court documents made public in connection with the hearing, the suspect is not the victim’s biological mother; she and her 2-year-old son (by another man) had been living with the victim and his father at the apartment for the past half-year or so. The court documents say the victim was at Children’s Hospital for something unrelated one week earlier when a CPS referral was made because of “bruises and scratches,” but the father reportedly attributed it to “normal toddler activity,” the police report says, and the child was sent home with him. Last Sunday afternoon, he told police that he had left his son with his girlfriend while he went to the store. When he got back, he found his son dead in his crib and called 911. The Medical Examiner determined two days later that “abdominal trauma” was what had killed the toddler. Under questioning by detectives, court documents say, she admitted kicking him in the abdomen twice after getting mad at him and her son for fighting over a toy. The first kick, she told police, knocked him down, and she kicked him again; a short time later, she discovered he wasn’t breathing. The probable-cause documents also say a couple who stayed with the suspect and her boyfriend earlier in the month reported seeing the woman display unusual anger toward her boyfriend’s son whenever the toddler cried. Today’s hearing resulted in an order to set her bail at $1 million; prosecutors have until early next week to file charges.
Earlier this week, one of our West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports featured video of a package thief, carrying the loot down the street. So what can you do to prevent, or at least deter, someone like him? The newest newsletter from the Southwest and South Precincts‘ Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon answers that question (ADDED AT END – a new reader report of local package theft):
Package thefts are crimes of opportunity. Thieves will follow or watch for FedEx, UPS, US Mail and other delivery trucks and then target a home after a delivery is made. Often packages are simply left at the doorstep of the home and in plain view of the street. Package thefts from doorstops and front porches during the day usually increase between the months of October and January. There are steps you can take to be proactive in keeping your package safe from theft. To reduce the chances of being victimized by package delivery thieves, we offer the following advice:
Tracking and Delivery
Maybe you’ve seen some of what car prowlers stole from Ashley last night?
My car was broken into last night on the corner of 48th Ave SW and Dawson St. My work badge from Seattle Children’s Hospital was stolen as well as a large pink beach tote with our last name on it full of beach toys, towels, and spare clothes and diapers, and my son’s school tote with his coat. I am certain that none of this is at all meaningful to the thieves but it is to me!! I wonder if they threw it out after looking through it. If anyone finds it, I would so appreciate getting it back!!
After receiving Ashley’s e-mail, we checked online SPD records for the past week.
Above is what the SPD Crime Reports map shows right now, dating back to last Tuesday – the car prowls on the map, north to south, are: Alki/61st, last Tuesday morning; 45th/Hinds, last Friday morning (reported here); 2900 block of Avalon, last Friday morning; 4000 block of 42nd SW, last Tuesday night; 5600 block of 35th SW, last Tuesday night; last Friday night, 2800 block of SW Barton; last Wednesday evening, 9400 block of 16th SW. To doublecheck the files, we also reviewed Tweets by Beat (which continually update on the WSB Crime Watch page), and found six others that hadn’t made the map yet, besides what Ashley reported above:
*4000 block of SW Brandon, reported this morning
*4000 block of Admiral Way, reported this morning
*3000 block of 38th SW, reported Monday morning
*1600 block of SW Roxbury, reported Monday morning
*4000 block of SW Concord, reported Sunday afternoon
*3000 block of SW Orleans, reported Friday night
(Also not listed, we noticed while checking the archives, the 8800 block of 40th SW car prowl reported here on Sunday.)
P.S. – PROWLED LATELY? Some “found item” listings turn up in the WSB Forums, like this one, so be sure to check there.
(WSB photo)
6:18 PM: Thanks for the tips – a “suspicious package” is what police say they’re investigating on West Marginal Place SW, south of the west end of the low bridge, in the Riverside area.
6:47 PM UPDATE: Just went back over to follow up. Whatever it was, it’s gone, and so are the police, bomb squad and all.
7:37 PM UPDATE: We’re told the Bomb Squad “took custody” of the item. No word so far on what it turned out to be.
If you see this suspect or have any information about the bank robbery in the 4300 blk SW Admiral Way call 911 pic.twitter.com/YII2bZBTSa
— Seattle Police Dept. (@SeattlePD) September 18, 2015
(Tweeted photo, added 3:24 pm)
2:56 PM: Police are rushing right now to a reported bank robbery in The Admiral District. The address that’s been broadcast is the Bank of America branch (4323 SW Admiral Way). The only description police have at this point is (updated) “black male in his 20s, 5’8″, wearing a baggy white shirt with red/blue lettering.”
3:05 PM: No weapon seen, officers are telling dispatchers (per scanner). If you’re seeing or have seen the Guardian One helicopter in the area, this is what they are/were helping with.
3:24 PM: We asked Seattle Public Schools if any of the nearby schools had gone into lockdown/shelter in place. Spokesperson Stacy Howard says Lafayette Elementary and West Seattle High School did, briefly, but that should be over now. Just added, meantime, photo of the robber, tweeted by SPD. Call 911 if you have seen him and/or know who he is.
(WSB photo, taken around 3:30 pm)
4:24 PM: No word of an arrest yet. Side note – this is the second bank robbery in West Seattle in a month and a half, after one at the Umpqua Bank in Admiral in early August. Before that, there hadn’t been one here since Washington Federal north of The Junction was held up in May 2014.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Crime trends and self-protection were on the agenda as the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council returned from summer break.
Last night’s meeting started with Southwest Precinct Captain Pierre Davis briefing those in attendance. “The summer was … the summer. In West Seattle, it’s typical for us to have a riproaring summer, but it wasn’t out of control.” He talked about the importance of the recently developed “microcommunity” policing plans, and the importance of feedback on them.
It’s been five months since Capt. Davis returned to West Seattle as precinct commander; he noted that some categories of crime were spiking back then, but they’ve been “strateg(izing)” how to fight them, and have had success. For one, he said, they’ve put together what is in effect “a posse to go out and hunt our bad guys … (those responsible) for auto thefts, burglaries, other crimes that have plagued neighborhoods.”
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