West Seattle, Washington
28 Monday
6:07 PM: Sounds like plenty of commute-time trouble out there. Police are directing traffic around a crash on the eastbound West Seattle Bridge by the 99 exit; we have no details except that it is affecting traffic.
(SDOT camera looking westward on the bridge from Delridge-exit vicinity)
Meantime, commenter “Enough” posted on the daily traffic roundup that there’s a stalled car blocking a lane near the westbound edge of the westbound bridge. And if you noticed fire/police activity around 35th/Fauntleroy and just north – unrelated incidents; there was a medic response of some sort outside the strip mall on the northwest corner of 35th/Fauntleroy; and while checking that out, we noticed a sizable police response to the north, on 36th. Officers there tell us they were called to deal with an “agitated person” who turned up on someone’s porch.
6:25 PM: A team member who just traveled the bridge says the eastbound crash appears to be clear, but the westbound backup still looks “intense,” with the stalled car continuing to block a lane.
ORIGINAL REPORT, 9:50 PM: In our interview with newly appointed Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Wilske – published here Monday – he said he planned to attend as many community meetings as possible in the weeks and months ahead to learn about our area. The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council has just announced that he will be at their meeting next Tuesday (February 18th). Their previously scheduled guest, Seattle Municipal Court Presiding Judge C. Kimi Kondo, remains on the agenda too, talking about the city’s Mental Health Court. All are welcome at Tuesday’s WSCPC meeting, 7 pm at the precinct (Delridge/Webster).
ADDED THURSDAY MORNING: Just received an agenda that says Capt. Wilske also will be at the February 19th Delridge Neighborhoods District Council meeting (7 pm, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW).
ADDED FRIDAY: See comments below – he’ll be at this month’s West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network meeting too.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Job 1 for the Southwest Precinct‘s new commander, Captain Steve Wilske: Get to know our area and the people already serving it as part of SPD.
He’s moving into his new office at the precinct in West Seattle this week, two weeks after his appointment was announced, following former SWP commander Joe Kessler‘s promotion to Assistant Chief and interim commander Capt. Pierre Davis‘s move to the East Precinct on Capitol Hill.
This is Capt. Wilske’s first time in the role of precinct commander; he’s held numerous leadership positions in his 27 years with Seattle Police, and was promoted to captain last summer. We requested an interview as soon as his appointment here was announced, and sat down for a conversation in a local coffee shop last Thursday.
It’s a question almost no one in West Seattle wanted to answer in public, apparently: What do you want in a new Seattle Police Chief?
Thursday night, the citywide tour seeking answers to that question made its West Seattle stop, at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. We counted one member of the general public. The participant wanted a chief who will support the officers, and who will talk about the positive things police do in the community, on and off the job. All duly noted:
The community advisory committee helping with the search has a high-profile cast. Former King County Executive Ron Sims is a co-chair; at the Youngstown meeting, he declared the new chief should be the best police chief in America. Former City Councilmember Tina Podlodowski, appointed by the mayor to lead police-reform work, was there too, explaining the process.
Right now, Harry Bailey is serving as interim chief, but not a candidate for the permanent job – he came out of retirement to do it temporarily. Mayor Murray has said he wants to hire a permanent chief fast – by April. Missing the meeting doesn’t mean you missed a chance to have a say, though – you can answer survey questions here.
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
This edition of The WSBeat contains summaries written from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers – generally cases 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?” Or on the bridge, or the beach, or …
*Around 5 p.m. on the 28th, a plainclothes officer radioed that he had run across and was keeping an eye on a car that had been reported as stolen. Three people climbed into the vehicle (parked in the 4100 block of SW Lander) and officers followed it eastbound on Admiral Way, hitting their lights when it pulled near a cafe parking lot under Spokane St. The 20-year-old driver and a 19-year-old female passenger were both West Seattle residents. He had no license and she was already under supervision by the Department of Corrections. Both were booked into King County Jail for investigation of auto theft. He faces additional charges for violating a protection order to stay away from the woman; she faces additional charges for violating probation. The third passenger, a Ballard resident, was released from the precinct.
*On the 24th, in the 4000 block of Beach Drive, a man let his dog out of his apartment. The dog ran up to and started barking at a man who was walking up from the beach. That man yelled, “Get your dog away from me.” The owner called the dog, which responded and stood behind him. The suspect approached and said, “Keep him away from me or I will kill you and the dog.” The yelling continued, and the suspect pushed the victim several times in the chest and dared him to call the police. The suspect was described as a white man, 50-64 years old, about 5’10” with medium build, short brown curly hair. He wore glasses and remains at large.
Four more summaries ahead:Read More
(First 2 photos by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
8:02 AM: Several people have messaged us wondering about at least one Seattle Police boat searching off Alki. Just talked with SPD media-relations Det. Mark Jamieson, who says someone called in early this morning after spotting a “fixed light” off Alki that the caller thought MIGHT be a boat in distress. So police have been out looking, but haven’t found any evidence so far of anyone in or having been in trouble.
8:22 AM UPDATE: Per scanner discussion, the Harbor Patrol boat spotted some kind of “object” in about 10 feet of water, and it’s been “marked.”
9:04 AM UPDATE: Added photos. The Coast Guard was out helping search, too.
(Photo by Don Brubeck)
11:15 AM: More changes for Seattle Police leadership. Newly promoted Capt. Pierre Davis has been leading the Southwest Precinct since former commander Joe Kessler‘s recent promotion to Assistant Chief, but he had warned it might just be interim, and an announcement just out from SPD indicates that’s the case: Capt. Davis’s permanent role has been announced as East Precinct commander, while the new Southwest Precinct commander is Capt. Steve Wilske. So far, research indicates Capt. Wilske’s past roles have included leadership of various SPD units including SWAT, Homicide, and Robbery/Fugitive/Gang. More information as we get it.
ADDED 4:57 PM: Capt. Wilske currently leads the department’s Force Investigations Unit. He’s been with SPD more than 20 years.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Deb Greer and Karen Berge, founders of the West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network, launched its first meeting of 2014 by announcing proudly that WSBWCN is starting its fifth year.
They have always noted that you don’t have to be a captain, or even a Block Watch member, to attend, and in fact, about a third of the ~15 attendees said they were not – though some were getting ready to organize one. Others, meantime, identified themselves as longtime captains.
Also on hand for the meeting in the Southwest Precinct‘s meeting room: The precinct’s current top two leaders, new commander Captain Pierre Davis and Operations Lt. Ron Smith.
Capt. Davis told the group that Block Watches are the first step to “helping us catch the bad guys” and that the setup here in West Seattle is “second to none,” a “true partnership.” Lt. Smith echoed the appreciation and reiterated, “If you see something suspicious, report it.”
Centerpiece of the meeting was an appearance by Stephen Padua of SDOT, talking about the city’s Neighborhood Traffic Operations program – making clear he’s taking about neighborhood streets, not arterials. (Volume defines which streets are arterials and which are not – there’s a different process for arterials.)
From Kate:
My daughter was taking out the trash, when she was approached by a male stranger driving a newer white compact car. He offered her a ride. As she came in to tell me, he slowly drove south on Beach Drive and stopped a few buildings away. Then he turned around and drove back north on Alki.
She says it happened at about 7:35 pm, and she called 911. We did hear police dispatched to look around the area (described as near where Alki/Beach Drive meet). That’s all the description information we have; last report of someone being approached was January 9th in the Roxhill area, and that car was described as silver/gray.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
This month’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting began with the formal introduction of the Southwest Precinct‘s new leadership, and quickly moved on to a series of hot topics – including one citizen concern that already has led to action.
And until the citizen concerns were all spoken, the new precinct commander remained at the meeting with a larger accompanying contingent than is usually seen at the meetings – members of the Anti-Crime Team (ACT).
(Photo by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
“I’m Captain Davis, current Southwest Precinct commander.” Pierre Davis (at right in photo above) introduced himself for the first time since the two promotions reported here last week – his elevation from lieutenant, and previous commander Joe Kessler‘s promotion to assistant chief. He also introduced Lt. Ron Smith as the new operations lieutenant (second-in-command), and explained the black-uniformed ACT members filling the northwest corner of the room: “These are our bird-dogs, these are the individuals who go out and make things happen, they are our strike team, if you will.”
No current crime spikes, he said, and one particular category is half its usual rate – while burglaries run “10-12 a week” this time of year, “right now they’re at five or six.” He attributed that to the arrest of multiple suspects, which he described as “a crew that was just devastating our area.”
Then he asked for neighborhood concerns. First question was about last month’s High Point murder – we’ve already reported the reply, and questions about other unsolved murders, here.
Next, the community concern that seems to already have led to action: Ryan Cox is back in jail, for the third time in two months.
10:45 PM: If you expect to be driving to/from the West Seattle Bridge via 1st Avenue South any time in the next few hours – you’ll likely want to choose an alternate route. There’s heavy police activity at 1st and Hanford, near the on/offramp to/from the westbound bridge, right now after a shooting involving police. No official information about the circumstances yet, but our partners at The Seattle Times report a man in his 30s undergoing CPR after this happened shortly before 10 pm.
11:46 PM: Still no official updates but you can see from KING 5’s report that this was indeed close to the 1st Avenue South ramp on the north side of the bridge.
1:52 AM: Police have just posted a summary on SPD Blotter. They say they were called about a man “waving” a gun at a bus stop in the 2700 block of 1st South (which would be closer to Lander than the address described earlier), and that an officer shot the man while he was still holding the gun. He is described as having life-threatening injuries when transported, but no current condition is given.
2:09 AM: Per radio communications, police are reopening 1st Avenue South.
2:50 PM: SPD has just updated the Blotter summary with news that the 36-year-old man who was shot has died.
3:19 PM: Changes continue at the top in Seattle Police – and now there’s a West Seattle ripple effect: This afternoon multiple sources confirm to WSB that Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Joe Kessler is becoming an assistant chief. Just yesterday, he told us about the promotion of his second-in-command, Pierre Davis, to captain. This follows Mayor Ed Murray‘s recent announcement of Harry Bailey as interim chief, with previous interim chief Jim Pugel returning to assistant chief, a rank from which three men have recently or are about to have departed. No other details yet about exactly what this means for West Seattle police leadership, but we expect to find out more during next Tuesday’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting at the precinct, if not sooner. Kessler worked in the downtown administration before returning to lead the local precinct one year ago.
ADDED 7:02 PM: Capt. Davis confirms that he “will be commanding this precinct until other decisions are made.” And Assistant Chief Kessler’s promotion, among others, is now officially mentioned on SPD Blotter.
ADDED 10:29 PM: A farewell note from Kessler:
As I prepare to move once again from the Southwest Precinct, I would like to take a minute to thank all of you for allowing me to come back “home” again last year. After spending two and a half years as your Precinct Commander prior to my departure in 2010, it was my great pleasure to have the opportunity to come back to the Southwest Precinct and again serve this community.
The men and women of your Precinct bring a high level of professionalism and pride to their work.
It is only through your support and working together that creates the great environment that allows our officers to provide the quality of service you have come to expect. I have appreciated the hard work of you and our community leaders who have developed strong working relationships with our officers to make this community safe.
Again, it has been a pleasure to serve your community and thank you for your support and I look forward to working with you in the future.
Sincerely,
A/Chief Joe Kessler
Southwest Precinct
Three years after arriving at the Southwest Precinct to serve as its second-in-command, the Operations Lieutenant, Pierre Davis (left) has a new rank – captain. That’s the word from precinct commander Capt. Joe Kessler today. He tells WSB, “I couldn’t be prouder of him. It is a well-deserved promotion to one of the best commanders in the Police Department. He will be staying with us at the Precinct until the Chief makes the final decision on where he will be permanently assigned.” Capt. Davis is expected to present the crime-trends briefing at next Tuesday’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, so if you go, you can congratulate him in person.
Police are checking on possible gunfire that has been heard – according to reports we’ve received – in North Delridge, High Point, and Puget Ridge. We haven’t heard anything yet indicating whether they’ve determined if it was shots or fireworks, but we do know that so far, no one has turned up anywhere as having BEEN shot.
11:08 AM: The official announcement has just been made at City Hall: Mayor Ed Murray has appointed a new interim Chief of Police, retired former assistant chief Harry Bailey. 
The previous interim chief, Jim Pugel, returns to his previous assistant-chief role. The mayor is appointing a committee to help find a permanent chief and hopes it will happen fast – by April. More details are in this report from our partners at The Seattle Times (we’ll update the link when they publish a longer story later). Though Chief Bailey retired more than five years ago, he worked as a liaison/consultant for SPD and the mayor’s office as they worked through reform, ethics, and community relations in the past few years, as did Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Joe Kessler, who is with Bailey in the 2012 photo at right, shared with us during Night Out coverage, when the two visited SW Precinct Advisory Committee rep Pete Spalding (who shared the photo that night) and neighbors on Pigeon Point. First reaction in is from the Seattle Police Officers’ Guild, which calls the appointment an “excellent decision,” adding, “Chief Bailey is highly respected by the rank and file officers and the communities of Seattle.”
12:10 PM: The official news release is out and it includes word of a new city website related to the search for a permanent chief; there we find that community forums are set as part of the search, including one in West Seattle, 6 pm January 30th at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW).
ADDED: The mayor has also sent a letter to the SPD rank-and-file – see it here (PDF).
Police have been searching near Delridge/Findlay (map) after reports of gunfire. No one is reported so far to have been hit/injured, but police at the scene told us they did find shell casings in the alley west of Delridge. One person who heard it told us it sounded like five rapid-fire shots. Officers are investigating reports of suspects seen running and/or driving away to the east. (Thanks to everyone who tipped us on this.)
Four cars were involved in a crash on SW Thistle at 35th SW earlier this evening, but you would have only counted three at the scene; police say they found a fourth driver a few blocks away at 37th and Cloverdale. We’re told one person was taken to the hospital “for observation.” Officers were still sorting out what happened; the scene is now cleared.
(WSB photo by Patrick Sand)
The Southwest Precinct promised more foot patrols during the holiday season, as reiterated when we published this year’s round of safety advice. This afternoon, the precinct’s top two were on foot in The Junction – Operations Lt. Pierre Davis and precinct commander Capt. Joe Kessler. They stopped in businesses, greeted passersby, and talked with us for a few minutes too. We asked about the recent major investigations – no new information in either the High Point murder or Roxhill Park rape; Capt. Kessler mentioned that Seattle Parks had been out in the park clearing some overgrowth to improve visibility. Asked if today had been as relatively quiet as it has sounded to us so far, they did mention that if you saw a major response in Arbor Heights earlier, that was a search warrant being served. (No other details yet.)
P.S. Before we caught up with Lt. Davis and Capt. Kessler in The Junction, the precinct asked us to share this holiday message:
Southwest Precinct's Holiday Message
If you can’t see the message in the frame above – click here for a PDF version.
Thanks to Thomas for the photo. We finally have a tidbit of information regarding what the police search near Delridge and Brandon was about – it’s related to an auto-theft case, according to radio communications. No other details at this point, but we’ve received enough questions about this that we’re mentioning it.
1:58 PM: Seattle Police are searching for a man reported to have jumped out of the bushes near the east side of West Seattle High School, in the Walnut/Stevens vicinity. Police say the man was reported to have grabbed the arm of a passing female, who hit him and ran into the school. Police were not able to tell us if she is a student. She was not hurt. The man was described as white, 30s-40s, medium build, shoulder-length brown hair, about 5-11, in a blue zipup jacket and black pants.
2:06 PM UPDATE: Right after we talked with SPD media-relations Det. Jeff Kappel about this incident, which we had heard on the scanner, SPD mentioned it on Twitter and described the victim as a student. (Added: The SPD Blotter version pulls back on that but says she’s 16.)
2:43 PM UPDATE: Here’s principal Ruth Medsker‘s note just sent to WSHS families, forwarded to us by a parent:
Today, one of our students was off campus during lunch when she was grabbed by a male stranger. She was able to break away and ran back to school, where she immediately reported it to our school administration. We called 9-1-1 and the police responded quickly.
Please be assured that we are committed to keeping our students safe while they are at school. We will continue to remind students to report these types of incidents to us immediately, and we also encourage you to discuss personal safety with your student.
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
This edition of The WSBeat contains summaries written from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers – generally cases 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?” Or on the bridge…
*On the 29th, around 10:30 a.m., a passing citizen’s phone call led officers to the high rise of the West Seattle Bridge, where a despondent man had his head in his hands. The man drove off but officers followed when they saw him raise his right hand and make the shape of a gun. Fellow drivers pulled aside because of the patrol car’s siren and officers were able to stop the driver on Highway 99 northbound. He cried and apologized saying that the gun in the center console was not loaded, but confirmed that he had, indeed, intended to jump from the bridge. Officers found many suicidal notes in the car. The man was taken to Harborview for treatment.
Four more summaries ahead, including more details on the “assault with weapons” call reported here as breaking news last weekend:Read More
Southwest Precinct police have begun the holiday-safety plan they previewed at recent community meetings, starting with the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council in October. We talked this week with Community Police Team Officer Jon Flores about the plan; he said you can expect to see stepped-up presence, including foot patrols, in areas that are busier than ever this time of year, particularly The Junction and Westwood Village.
As always, taking safety precautions is a vital part of the equation, too, and toward that end, the precinct has shared advice from Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon:
Seattle Police Safety Advice for Holiday Season
Even if you think you’ve heard it all before – take a few minutes to read it. Make sure other members of your family know.
P.S. While the document touches only briefly on preventing package theft, Officer Flores said the most important thing is to avoid having a package left in plain view from the street. So if you have to have something delivered, they recommend:
-Signature required on delivery
-Pick up from local carrier hub
-Leave the package with a trusted neighbor if delivery window is within time you know the neighbor will be homeAnd if all the above fail, at the very least:
-Placement of the package in as a discreet a location as possible
We’d add – if crime DOES happen, even if it seems “minor,” please report it to police so they can track trends and redeploy the “emphasis patrols” as needed. (And once you do, consider letting us know, so we can share it in West Seattle Crime Watch reports and keep others informed – police reports take up to a week to get through the system, so unless we hear directly, we don’t necessarily get the information in a timely manner.)
Quick shoutout in honor of a West Seattleite’s fast action after a collision involving a police officer: You might have heard about what Michael Katz did when he saw a driver hit a Seattle Police motorcycle officer in SODO yesterday – as explained in the SPD Blotter summary, “A man ran over to our officer and notified dispatch by using the officer’s radio. His quick-thinking and calm demeanor alerted officers to the situation and sped up emergency response.” A WSB reader tipped us later that the man was a West Seattleite, and we made contact with Katz today to confirm. No, he’s never used a radio like that before, he told us, but “they’re pretty user-friendly.” P.S.: We have an inquiry out to SPD to ask how the officer is doing.
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