As we first reported this morning, a change at the top is imminent for West Seattle police – the Southwest Precinct is getting a new commander – though he’s not new to the precinct. Steve Paulsen, who was Operations Lieutenant at SWP when he left this January for a downtown job, has just been promoted to Captain, and will take over back here in West Seattle on October 1st. Capt. Joe Kessler, who has been running the precinct since spring 2008, is taking over as commander of the West Precinct. (He’s shown at right with Precinct Advisory Council chair Pete Spalding, from Night Out last month.) Capt. Kessler asked if we would share this thank-you letter:

Southwest Precinct Residents:

During the past two and a half years I have had the pleasure and privilege of serving as the commander of the Southwest Precinct. During this time I have been continually amazed at the incredible quality of the work done on a daily basis by the men and women of the Southwest Precinct. The ability to provide our community with quality service is due in large part to the great working relationships our officers have with all of you.

Your support of the Seattle Police Department and your officers, in particular, has helped create an environment that allows great work to be done. As I prepare to move to my new assignment at the West Precinct, I would like to take a moment to say thank you for making my tenure at the Southwest Precinct one of the most rewarding of my career. It has been a pleasure to serve your community. I look forward to assisting Captain Steve Paulsen, who will be returning to the Precinct as the new commander, as we transition during the next few weeks.

Again, thank you for your support and we look forward to continuing to provide the quality service you have grown to expect from the Southwest Precinct.

Sincerely,

Captain Joe Kessler
Southwest Precinct

While asking if we’d publish that letter, Captain Kessler said he wished he could thank everybody in the community personally. Meantime, the briefing that included news of the precinct command change also included a document that wasn’t much discussed, with additional details about the department’s future plans and priorities as new Chief John Diaz settles into the job; we’ll be reviewing that for another followup. (The full news release, with attachments, from this morning’s brief is now online here.)

10:33 AM: We’re on the seventh floor of City Hall with a couple dozen other media reps, where the mayor and police chief are about to appear for a briefing. The news release has just been handed out and it confirms the Southwest Precinct is getting a new commander – a familiar face, though – Steve Paulsen, who left as its Operations Lieutenant back in January, will return as Captain, and as its commander. The current SW commander, Capt. Joe Kessler, who’s been in West Seattle for two years, will become captain of the West Precinct. More to come.

10:43 AM UPDATE: The briefing has begun. The mayor is here with four top SPD leaders including Chief John Diaz. The Southwest Precinct command change is part of a larger change in command structure departmentwide. As part of that, Acting Deputy Chief Nick Metz (second from right in our photo) is now officially Deputy Chief Metz, and in charge of “community” (he was in West Seattle a week and a half ago for the briefing after the Admiral Way shooting and we are about to hear from him) – “community” is one of three priorities that Chief Diaz has listed, with another being “not being afraid” (paraphrase).

10:53 AM UPDATE: Deputy Chief Metz – who was introduced by Chief Diaz as the second-in-command of the department, now – says that community outreach will permeate every part of policing. And he says the community’s partnership is vital to that. Returning to the podium, Chief Diaz has briefly listed the command changes at precincts (not all precincts are getting new commanders) – Capts. Paulsen and Kessler are not here, but Chief Diaz says the changes are effective October 1st, and mentions that the West Precinct to which Capt. Kessler is moving is one of the toughest jobs in the department. (The SW Precinct commander before Capt. Kessler, Capt. Mike Fann, also is moving, from Traffic to Homeland Security.) The chief is now talking about “de-escalation” and decision-making at the scene – in light of recent incidents, including (though he hasn’t mentioned it specifically) the Admiral Way shooting. He says they will be making some changes in training to work more on “de-escalation.” He also says they will increase the number of Tasers – they have 300 now. They also will expand the use of video.

(Afternoon note – we’re putting the rest of the as-it-happened coverage after a jump – also, the full official news release is now available online, if you’re interested in reading it):Read More

Just in, the update promised by Seattle Police: On their SPD Blotter site, they have identified the man shot by officers Friday night as 59-year-old Thomas Qualls, saying he remains in stable condition; they have identified the officers who shot at him as Sgt. Steve Strand, with 19 years of service, Officer Andy Peloquin, a 16-year veteran, and Officer Mark Gallegos, 1 year with SPD, all from the Southwest Precinct. Also, they have published photos of the guns they say he had. Shown above is the police photo of what SPD is now describing as “the rifle pointed at officers” – on SPD Blotter, you can also see what they call “the suspect’s handgun.”

ORIGINAL 11:23 AM REPORT: Since Seattle Police hadn’t released any new information since Saturday morning regarding Friday night’s shooting at an Alki home (original WSB coverage here; followup here), we checked first thing today with the SPD Media Unit. Sgt. Sean Whitcomb tells us some new details are likely to be available this afternoon – potentially, regarding the rifle police say the 59-year-old man pointed at them, and regarding the three officers who opened fire. Sgt. Whitcomb confirms the man – who was described in scanner traffic Friday night, before transport to the hospital, as having “one gunshot wound to the abdomen” – is still alive. We’ll publish a separate followup when we find out more.

3:30 PM: Just checked back with Sgt. Whitcomb, who says the SPD briefing on Friday’s shooting isn’t happening till tomorrow, so no new information will be forthcoming today.

One night after Seattle Police shot a 59-year-old Alki man who they say pointed an AK-47 at officers, what sparked the incident (here’s our running coverage from last night) remains a mystery. SPD has not updated its public information about the case since this morning, when they reported the man to be in stable condition; tonight our partners at the Seattle Times have published a followup after talking to neighbors and relatives. The man is described as a heart-attack survivor, gardener, music lover, jewelry artist, and retired Metro bus driver, who’s still at Harborview Medical Center tonight. While they have published a name, we do not have direct official confirmation, so we’re not using it here, but that is the same name we heard from a source, as mentioned in our 1st story, where we noted that online records indicate no criminal history. (Our photo is from this morning, when a single police car remained in the alley next to the house, which remained cordoned off at the time, while TV news crews stood along the street nearby for morning reports.)

Thanks to everyone who sent word of police cars speeding toward Alki, and conducting some kind of search. We’re told there was a report of a man walking with some kind of gun in the 52nd/Bonair (map) area. No word yet if anyone’s been found.

(Photos via iPhone from Deanie Schwarz)
ORIGINAL AS-IT-HAPPENED REPORT, 1:58 PM: Horses from the Seattle Police Department Mounted Patrol – headquartered right here in West Seattle, next to Westcrest Park – are always a big hit at the Southwest Precinct “Picnic at the Precinct,” and you can go meet them – and the human members of the force, too – till 4 pm. High-tech, too:

SW Webster, east of Delridge (map).

MORE PHOTOS ADDED SATURDAY NIGHT: City Councilmember Sally Clark stopped by – that’s her at left in the photo above, with Deanie Schwarz, Deb Greer and Karen Berge of the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains’ Network, (which has scheduled its next meeting – Sept. 28, 6:30 pm @ the precinct), and at right, SW Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Benjamin Kinlow. Thanks to Karen for sharing the photo. Other community crimefighters on hand included Dot Beard, president of the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council:

After no meetings in July/August, the WSCPC will meet again on Sept. 21, 7 pm @ SW Precinct. Meantime, we haven’t shown you any photos of actual police so far! Found a couple by the bouncy house:

Also spotted SWP Capt. Joe Kessler and Lt. Norm James – both busy talking with picnicgoers so we didn’t get them on camera. Back to the high-tech – two robots were on hand this year:

Here’s the whole scene, looking west down Webster:

The people in yellow T-shirts were with King County Council candidate Diana Toledo‘s entourage (we do our best to get candidates on camera when we see them at public events) – she finished second in the primary and is moving on to the general vs. State Sen. Joe McDermott.

After a few hours of fun, it was time to ride off into the sunset – or rather, into Home Depot’s parking lot:

Many have been asking about the officer who was taken to the hospital after the crash yesterday afternoon at California and Brandon. We in turn have been asking police how he’s doing – and finally got an update a little while ago: According to Det. Jeff Kappel in the SPD media unit, the officer turned out to be just bruised and shaken up, and will be returning to work tomorrow. (The driver with whom he collided did not require hospitalization.) P.S. We also heard tonight from Lt. Norm James re: the incident to which the officer was responding when the crash happened. Apparently a parking-enforcement officer spotted a domestic-violence incident happening; the officer was “advanced on” at one point by the suspect but was not, Lt. James says, assaulted or hurt.

Just in case you hadn’t heard it already – City Councilmembers voted unanimously today (8-0, with council president Richard Conlin absent) to confirm John Diaz as Seattle’s new Police Chief. Here’s Chief Diaz’s statement, as published on SPD Blotter. He had been interim chief for a year and a half, after ex-chief Gil Kerlikowske left to become federal “drug czar.” More details here from our partners at the Seattle Times.

As much as Seattle Police stress calling them when there’s trouble – either 911 for something urgent, or 206-625-5011 if it’s not – some say the latter number didn’t get them the response they expected. The team at the Southwest Precinct offers some advice: When you call the non-emergency number, to get a dispatcher, press option 2, and then option 8, and that’ll get you to a live person. Again – that’s for when whatever you are reporting is NOT happening now. So what about calling the precinct? Don’t call to file a report or ask that an officer be dispatched – SPD cannot dispatch “from a precinct level,” she explains – but if you need “general information,” as she puts it, 206-733-9800 is the main precinct number. Also: “Sometimes folks want to contact an officer, add follow-up information, just ask a question about something. We’re happy to answer the phones when there is a clerk available.”

The mayor is making the announcement now (live at www.seattlechannel.org). Chief John Diaz has led the department as acting chief since last year (here’s his background on the SPD website). The mayor described the new chief as “a man of integrity and a hard worker.” Chief Diaz was one of two finalists for the job, along with the police chief of East Palo Alto, Calif. After recounting some of his history and the chiefs under whom he’s worked, the new chief said the choice sends a message to every SPD officer, “that you can someday lead this organization.” He also said, regarding recent controversies, “We take the scrutiny seriously. … But no one’s going to be harder on the Seattle Police Department than ourselves.” Also: “One of the advantages to picking an internal chief is, there’s no honeymoon period” – and no ramping-up time. He also thanked his wife, whom he noted is a 23-year SPD veteran herself. The first City Council reaction that’s in is from Councilmember Tim Burgess, a former police officer who leads the committee tasked with public safety; he promises a “thorough confirmation process” and says he’s “been impressed with Chief Diaz’s leadership over the past 15 months.” From City Attorney Pete Holmes, “Assuming his confirmation by City Council, Chief Diaz will finally be fully in command of an excellent police department that nonetheless needs his firm leadership to face the challenges ahead. Together we can demonstrate to all people in Seattle – and, indeed, the rest of the country – that public safety and social justice are not mutually exclusive, even in the midst of a deep, stubborn recession.” 11:47 AM UPDATE: We asked the Southwest Precinct Advisory Committee’s chair Pete Spalding for his reaction:

I think John is an excellent choice. I have had the opportunity to work with John over the last couple of years on several community issues. He also stopped by our City Night Out event last August in Pigeon Point. The way that John has handled himself and the department over the last 15 months has been extraordinary in my opinion. With everything that has taken place (no need to go into that here) over the last 15 months the leadership and character that John has displayed will continue to serve SPD well in the weeks and months to come. I hope that the City Council does not drag out the confirmation hearings. This search has been exhaustive with many meetings and public comment periods. I for one am excited for John’s selection by the Mayor as Seattle ’s next Chief of Police.

(Tuesday night photo, shared today by Lars)
As promised in our coverage of last night’s police response on Alki – we checked with the Southwest Precinct today for followup. Lt. Norm James confirms one arrest and answers a few of our other questions:

We in the precinct always staff extra heavy for the last day of school. Alki has been a gathering place for teens from all over the city on the last day of school for many years. We had at least two marked patrol cars at the high schools, along with Traffic units prior to school dismissal. Once school was out, those same units were tasked to Alki along with our ACT and CPT teams. We call additional units as needed after that. The Gang Unit provides an additional presence during these times also. There was one arrest for obstructing an officer, and at this point only one additional incident report for property damage was written.

(Photo by David Hutchinson)
ORIGINAL 8:31 PM REPORT: We are on Alki checking into a sizable police presence, after tips came in about cruisers heading this way. One tipster says a fight had broken out, but right now there’s no sign of that – the police presence appears to be more a show of preventive force, including a double-digit Gang Unit contingent. We would recommend avoiding driving this way – some traffic was being diverted a block inland, past Whale Tail. 8:38 PM: We just talked to police. A series of relatively small fights brought them out in force to make sure nothing worse happens, since there are many people here celebrating the 1st night of summer vacation. 9:25 PM: We’re back at HQ and adding photos. David Hutchinson‘s image of the gang-unit presence (which had broken up by the time we left shortly after 9) is the most dramatic scene we saw. Before our arrival, he says, a young woman had been cuffed and placed in a police car; we have not confirmed any arrests but will follow up on this tomorrow. 9:45 PM: Adding one more photo, this one from Benjamin Hutchinson, with a little more of an overview of the crowd that was out earlier – about the same density we saw when arriving around 8:15:

At least one of tonight’s fights, according to David Hutchinson, happened near Pepperdock – which, you may recall, was where last year’s most serious Alki incident happened, the shooting on May 1, 2009 (WSB coverage here). 10:39 PM: Worth noting – one commenter points out the mayor’s announcement today of a “Late-Night Safety Initiative.” Here’s the official SPD announcement. While its focus is on Friday and Saturday nights, and primarily neighborhoods near downtown, it’s noted “this model will work in any neighborhood” and the announcement’s concluding line certainly resonates given what happened tonight:

The hope is that the additional uniformed patrols will encourage citizens from all over Puget Sound to visit popular Seattle destination points and do so without fear of harm.