Mentally Ill Nude Pervert Living Under Lincoln Park Waterfront Gazebos

[Imax]

12/6/23 – I was walking on the Lincoln Park waterfront around 8:30pm and had just passed by Coleman Pool heading SE in the direction of the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal, when I noticed a completely nude man standing in the rain about 12 feet from me trying to hide from me behind a tree! I actually recognized him as as the bald-headed, short-bearded, mentally ill man who has been recently living under the two different waterfront gazebos at Lincoln Park for the past several weeks. I quickly walked by to get away from him and looked behind me to see him now walking away from me towards Coleman Pool.

I am a bit zdisturbed by this, as Lincoln Park has always been a nice, clean, decent, family-oriented, safe place, and I have been walking through Lincoln Park for years and have never seen anything like this there before.

I decided to phone police and when they met me at the parking lot of the park they asked me if I wanted them to check on him to see if he was OK, and they asked me if he needs any help with anything. They explained that there’s nothing illegal about being naked in public.

Fair enough. On my way back I saw the nude man again, but behaving differently. Now he was walking casually in the middle of the waterfront paved path with no regard for the fact that he was exposing himself, and talking to himself while holding something in his hand. I actually thought about the perspective of the police officer and decided to ask him earnestly if he was OK and if he needed help.

When I did so he immediately turned and started walking aggressively towards me and curled his hand up around whatever he was holding in it! I don’t believe it was a weapon he was holding in his hand, but I believe he did have some sort of drug paraphernalia.

While walking towards me he began to yell ‘Get the f*ck out of here! I’m going to kill you! Call the cops! Get the f*ck out of here! I’m going to kill you! Call the cops!’, over and over and over as I backed away from him as fast as I could! For a few minutes afterwards, I thought I was actually starting to experience a heart attack, due to the abrupt scare, shock and surprise of it all while I walked as fast as I could to the exit at the end of the park.

This is not a prank. This is not an embellishment. This is not a joke. This is real and this is right now in our beautiful west Seattle Lincoln Park.

I backed away as fast as possible and immediately called the police a second time. He kept walking towards me and repeating the same things for another 20 feet or so, and then turned and walked back towards the larger of the two waterfront gazebos, where he’s keeping his belongings and living. As he was walking away I noticed a large jailhouse-type crucifix tattoo on his back.

I chose to meet the police at my home nearby the park, instead of the park to report the incident, due to fear for my own safety. It was the same officers I initially met with at the park. After speaking with them a second time, they told me they would go to the park to speak with the man.

I guess I’m putting this out there as a safety warning to people who like myself and my family, frequent Lincoln Park and it’s waterfront, and who enjoy recreating and walking with their wives, husbands, children, partners, and pets, who want to avoid situations like the one I just went through this evening.

I intend to return to the park, but only during daylight hours and now, always with a walking partner. It’s really sad and unfortunate that this is happening here, but I guess it’s a sign of the times. I wish there was something further that could be done to prevent this from occurring in our beloved Lincoln Park.

Please be safe!

Share This

[flowerpower2]

WOW you are braver than I to be walking alone at night when you know there is an unstable person in the area. Glad no one was harmed and let us know the update on the person in the park if possible.

Share This

[anonyme]

It figures that Seattle would pass a law to make this legal. Police won’t enforce laws against public urination either, as they don’t seem to understand that nudity and creating unsanitary conditions are two different things. And then they add in the discomfort clause, which just makes the law not only unenforceable (probably the initial intent) but ridiculous. I think the most telling part of this tale is that police only showed concern for the pervy perp and no one else – including women, children, and other innocent passers-by just trying to enjoy a public park.

Share This

[Vanessa]

This is so not right. That this sick person is just allowed to be out in public scaring the hell out of people.Let alone being naked.I suppose he is living in the wood in Lincoln Park as well.I can’t imagine how this is effecting children when they are witness to things like this. (But let’s fight over putting in a sports court!)

They should be humanely taken to a psychiatric unit/hospital and examined and taken care of. Keep them there for 30-45 days. Help clean them up figuratively and otherwise. Where are guardians, social workers, someone they could report into? If they continue crazy behavior like this, once they are released, they should go to jail. Period. I am so sorry this incident happened. How frightening. I am tire of feeling paranoid even in the middle of the days, venturing out just for groceries.

Share This

[dyn99]

@Vanessa – I completely agree with your recommended approach. Doing this on an inpatient basis would cost the taxpayers $60k – $90k and the number of inpatient beds available in King County has dropped by over 50% since the 1990’s, so there’s literally nowhere to put them.

Unfortunately, government policies have caused this disaster and government will now have to fix it. While I’d love to see a robust private mental health infrastructure that’s sized to the market need in Seattle, I don’t anticipate it will ever happen.

The KC mental health levy will help, but if we’re serious, we’ll have to build another 1/2 dozen or more public 100+ bed mental facilities with varying levels of treatment + outpatient follow-up infrastructure to have any chance at fixing this problem. And we’ll be right back to the 1960’s when we’re done.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/mental-health/where-did-king-countys-mental-health-beds-go/

Share This

[aa]

I don’t understand how anyone can be aware of the dangers in our current times and still walk alone, in the rain, in a isolated area, in the dark at night.

Just like the recent story of the woman who was robbed as she was parked alone in a lot on Alki at 2:30 am to make a conference call??

To be clear I am not saying they deserved to feel unsafe or worse. I am saying wake up to the violent times we live in and do your best to not put yourself in unsafe situations.

Share This

[Author]

Posts