More Business As Usual From Seattle Police Chief Kerlikowske

After Kris Kime was bludgeoned to death by thugs in view of Seattle Police while Gil Kerlikowske ordered them not to intervene, Mayor Nickels publicly vowed to hang Kime’s death certificate in his office.  The city settled a lawsuit from the Kime family out of court.

But Kerlikowske, who showed his remorse by saying “I think we moved in at the proper time,” is still Seattle’s Police Chief.  Kerlikowske’s habit is to quote the high crime rate of completely different cities to defend his performance.  Here he goes again in the Seattle PI:

Kerlikowske points out Seattle has less violent crimes than cities of similar size, including Washington D.C. and Boston.

Less crime than DC?  Now that’s something to brag about, isn’t it?

Meanwhile Kime’s killer Jerell Thomas had his murder conviction overturned in the aftermath of a reversed murder conviction for a guy who kicked a toddler to death.  Thomas’s lawyer said he could be released as early as 2008, though as far as I know that hasn’t actually happened.

No Confidence In Chief Kerlikowske

Here’s a discussion about Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske feeding steak to homeless people.

By volunteering during this event he is raising awareness about our need to eliminate/reduce poverty as one of the many ways to reduce crime.

Good luck with that eliminating poverty thing. Billions have been spent on this since the LBJ era. I’m not convinced all the steak dinners in the world will make much of a dent in the mental illness, drug/alcohol addiction, and illegitimacy underlying homelessness.

That said, Millionaire Club does seem to be doing a good thing by providing work opportunities to those who are ready for them.

If prevention and “safety net” activities were more prevalent we would see a drop in crime.

Wouldn’t the police chief doing his actual job cause a more direct drop in crime? I assume you’re not saying sufficient giveaway programs would eliminate the need for police.

As someone who’s lived on First Avenue for years, here are some things I’ve observed lacking:
Responding competently to 911 calls, locking up violent criminals, permanently stationing officers in high-crime areas, discouraging uncivil behavior in public parks, sidewalks, and buses.

If this stuff ever starts happening, I’ll be more impressed with Chief Kerlikowske’s charity work.

The first time I heard of Chief Kerlikowske was after he ordered police not to intervene in a riot that killed Kris Kime. The PI quotes his defense:

“I think we moved in at the proper time, given the size of the crowd and their mob mentality,” Kerlikowske said. “Every police decision in this situation is that we’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t.”

OK fine, but why was it a question of “moving in” in the first place? Was the “size of the crowd” for a scheduled, well advertised drinking/partying event a surprise for anyone but Kerlikowske? Wouldn’t having officers on the ground controlling the situation in the first place prevent the “mob mentality” from developing? Is “moving in” with a wall of officers in riot gear the only available tactic?

“A lot of officers” had a different assessment than Kerlikowske’s:

“There’s been a general feeling among our officers that they were held back,” Edwards said. “I understand that this is a tough call. You don’t want to put officers in harm’s way, but what you’re there to do is protect the public’s safety. And a lot of officers are frustrated that they may have been kept from doing that.”

Police officer Stuart Colman was quoted by the Seattle Weekly:

As he looked below, he saw at least three severe beatings in the space of five minutes and felt sickened by his enforced passivity. “At some point,” he says, he and other officers stationed there “were even wondering whether to disobey command and do something maverick.”

The same article quotes another officer:

Police firearms instructor and Guild board member Ken Saucier, however, wonders whether the balance struck had more to do with a concern for public image than with the on-the-ground reality of Tuesday night. “You don’t leave people bleeding and dying on the street because you don’t want to look bad.”

I would have expected Kerlikowske to lay low after something like this, but as I recall he continued to defend his decision after a conference with police in other cities.

And now, after a trip to Philadelphia he’s downplaying Seattle’s gang violence.

The fact that larger, older cities have it much worse is an argument for, not against, nipping this in the bud here. Do things have to get as bad as Philly to light a fire under this guy?

Wall Of Shame

Casey McNerthney (who seems to be the hardest working reporter at the PI) reports on a “Wall of Shame” with photos of shoplifters at 76 Food Mart near Ninth Avenue and James Street.
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seattle911/archives/147155.asp

The PI blurred out the faces, but we don’t have to do that on this blog. Why not capture other photos of uncivilized behavior in Seattle and post them here?

Make Taggers Clean Up Their Own Mess?

LA’s doing it. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-graffiti31-2008jul31,0,2573143.story

Seattle Police Spokesman Mark Jamieson Responds

Casey McNearthy of the Seattle PI put my question to Seattle Police Department spokesman Mark Jamieson as part of his ongoing series here. I’ll let you judge the response for yourself. Perhaps the most helpful thing is this feedback link http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/police/involved/feedback.htm from Mr. McNearthy. I discovered that link also has a commendation/complaint form.

• Q: I’m a downtown Seattle homeowner concerned with the tolerance for lawlessness, intimidating, or uncivil behavior in my neighborhood. Several parts of downtown, in the heart of the city, are simply “no go” areas much of the time. A couple years ago, I was assaulted by a transient in what seemed like a safe area, the courtyard outside the Harbor Steps apartments. Even though this is a well-known landmark, the 911 operator refused to send any help without a street address, and even then it arrived long after the fact.

  Since then I’ve learned of other similar incidents. I’m told the Seattle Police Department is stretched very thin, which baffles me given all the money we spend on other stuff.

  That’s my complaint, now here are my questions:
  What constructive action can I take to change this?

  How can I get full-time officers to patrol Steinbrueck and other parks, the well-known gang intersections on Third Avenue, etc.?

  How can we get 911 operators with the initiative to look up locations in the telephone directory when someone is in danger?

• A: From Seattle police spokesman Mark Jamieson:
  

  Seattle Police are increasing patrol presence around Pike Place Market and Victor Steinbrueck Park. We have been doing that since the beginning of summer (I believe the P-I reported on that).

  This is on top of the emphasis patrols we have been conducting in the Pike/Pine corridor since last summer. The emphasis consists of having extra officers in cars, foot beats and bicycle patrols in the area.

  As far as the 911 operators go, it sounds like officers did respond to his location, even without a street address. When people need the police in an emergency, it is best to call 911. Provide as much information as possible, the more the better, but even with limited information we do our best to respond.

  Hope that answered your questions.

• Casey McNerthney adds:
  

  Also, readers can follow this link to give feedback to Seattle police.

• My followup:
  

  I sent in the original question, and appreciate the response from Mark Jamieson. I have indeed been seeing more officers downtown lately, even two on Segways. I felt Mr. Jamieson missed two points.

  1. The 911 operator was unable to locate a well-known landmark in Seattle, and refused to help until I finally managed to get a street address from someone else. How is this incompetence or lack of initiative excusable in an emergency response system? Even then officers didn’t arrive until about 15 minutes after the transient (who was striking me and threatening to stab me) left. The officers were pretty motivated to catch the transient, but of course it was much too late. The officers also expressed frustrations with “having their hands tied” by the current transient-friendly climate. In retrospect, calling 911 was a mistake which only increased the danger.
  2. While I appreciate Mr. Jamieson’s response (and Mr. McNerthney’s choice to put the question to him), he didn’t answer my question about what I can do to change the current situation.

Register Your Demand For Action

Are you fed up with feeling unsafe in your own neighborhood? Dismayed with the low priority Seattle seems to place on combating open gang activity, violence, and the threat of violence? Disappointed that prominent parks and intersections are “no go” areas for your family? Concerned with slow or ineffective responses to 911 calls? Has someone who’s assaulted you or a loved one already been released from jail?

Most importantly, are you willing to take constructive action to change the situation?

If so, please drop me a line here. I don’t know what will come of this, but I do know we’ll get more done by organizing. I’d like you to join us whether you’re liberal, conservative, black, white, or other. I’d especially like to hear from law enforcement officers.

A couple tips: If you’re serious about making a difference, I suggest refraining from insulting people with profanity, racial slurs, or disparaging generalizations about police officers. It feels good to vent, but you’ll change more minds by expressing yourself in a level-headed, respectful way.

Why Doesn’t 911 Work In Seattle?

As much as I love living in downtown Seattle, the crime rate here is way higher than the suburbs. Living here for years has given me several occasions to call 911. (My only previous call was a medical emergency.) The last two incompetent responses raise doubts whether they’ll be able to help should a life or death situation arise.

A couple years ago, I managed to call 911 on my cell phone while being physically threatened by a drugged out transient in the courtyard of the Harbor Steps apartments, the largest and best-known apartment complex in downtown Seattle. I was raised to believe calling the authorities was a better option than fighting back (and probably getting sued later). Running away, abandoning my girlfriend there, didn’t occur to me. I guess I was naive. The 911 operator refused to provide any assistance until I gave an exact address of Harbor Steps — information that’s in every phone book or easy to find with a web search. In the meantime, the transient actually did assault me, striking me several times as I stupidly tried to work with the 911 operator I had assumed would be resourceful in trying to stop a crime in progress. Bystanders started to notice what was happening and the transient fled. One of the bystanders knew the address, which I relayed to the 911 operator still connected. We waited 10-15 minutes and were about to leave when two officers showed up. The officers were very motivated to catch the guy, explaining that ordinarily their hands were tied by rules favoring vagrants. Of course there wasn’t much they could do long after the guy had run away. Now, this turned out not to be a life threatening situation. But what assurance is there the response would have been any better if it were? And why wouldn’t a 911 operator have access to a phone directory? Every cab driver in Seattle knows where Harbor Steps is; couldn’t the 911 operators become half as smart as 411 operators? Isn’t it kind of important?

The most recent incident was also not life threatening, but discouraging. A couple days ago around 4AM a man on the sidewalk outside my window went berzerk yelling obscenities into his cell phone loud enough to wake us up. I came to the window and said, “Excuse me. We’re sleeping here.” The man directed his rage at me and threatened to assault me. I felt pretty invaded by this, told him I was calling the police (which didn’t faze him in the least), and retreated from the window to call 911 from my land line to avoid the hassle of the previous call. Guess how well that worked…. The 911 operator downplayed the issue while stalling with questions about his exact appearance and dress (note that this man and his friend were the only people on the street), and my address and phone number! Don’t they have that already? All my friends with Caller ID do. Meanwhile the guy on the street went back to yelling obscenities into his cell phone at the top of his lungs. He got quieter when a squad car stopped at the traffic light, ignoring him, then louder when the car drove away. Now I realize why he was unperturbed by my announcement I was calling the police: He knew more than I did how effective that would be.

I do not want to bash police officers. They are already insufficiently appreciated for the dangerous work they do, and the ones I met really wanted to help. What can we do to improve our 911 emergency response system?