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East Precinct meeting talks pot, reform, but mostly violent crime in the CD with City Attorney and SPD brass

Thursday night, Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes and East Precinct commander Captain Pierre Davis met with community members in a packed Seattle University room to talk about updates on precinct crime and how SPD and the attorney’s office can better serve residents.

Many of those in attendance who spoke vented their frustration and concerns with both the nuisance of day to day criminal activity and more serious violence around Capitol Hill and the Central District.

“Cops can’t do everything,” Holmes told the crowd. “if there are building code violations, if there is something that SDOT can do… that [collaboration between departments] is something that my office is really good at helping pull in.” He added that law enforcement is not always the solution. “It could be civil, it could be regulatory.”

Violent crime, particularly in the Central District, was on most attendees’ minds, particularly the intersection of 23rd and Union, which has recently seen numerous instances of gunfire.

“It’s not about gentrification, it’s not about any of that shit. It’s about getting gangs off the streets … you can actually time it [when gun shots occur],” said one attendee.

Some speakers blamed the Midtown Center property at 23rd and Union for the criminal activity. One speaker called out property owner Tom Bangasser — who was present at the meeting — for not selling the property to developers fast enough because he was waiting as the value rises.

While The Stranger has reported on Bangasser’s hopes that the Union Street Business Association might be able to raise the money to purchase his $16 million property, there is currently no plan in place to do so. Bangasser has responded to community pressure to fix lighting at the property and make smaller changes to help address concerns around crimes in the area. The Midtown Center is currently home a handful of remaining black-owned businesses. The crowd assembled at Thursday’s EastPac meeting was predominantly white.

“Just because guys are hanging around, that’s not against the law,” Bangasser said at one point during the night’s discussion. He did note that broken street lights might contribute to the activity at the intersection and Midtown Center. In the meantime, development around the intersection is moving ahead with multiple new apartment projects.

The SPD brass said that a lot of the shooting activity is “migratory.” Capt. Davis noted that while the shooting incidents are serious, they are “nothing we haven’t seen before.”

An attendee said that playing “whack a mole” with violent crime that moves around isn’t an effective longterm solution.

Community policing and block watches also came up, with both Holmes and SPD brass stressing community communication.

“If you know what your neighbors are doing … if your neighbors are safeguarding you … all of that is part of that law enforcement effort,” said Capt. Davis.

One attendee who lives on 22nd between Union and Marion said that she often hears gunshots on her street, and that on one occasion when she called 911 she received a “busy signal.” Others in the audience confirmed having similar experiences.

Capt. Davis said that busy signals may occur due to the high volume of reports the call center is receiving, especially for an incident like a shooting. “Despite of all of that, keep doing it. We need the information. Think of it [how SPD receives information] like a pin map,” said Capt. Davis.Screen Shot 2015-02-27 at 10.28.49 AM PowerPoint Presentation

Capt. Davis also gave a brief update on the 2014 citywide crime stats — reporting that burglaries and car prowls were “down,” while robbery totals continue to climb.

“The one problem we don’t have is boredom. We have the full array of problems to deal with,” said Holmes.

Marijuana and more
Holmes praised new SPD Chief Kathleen O’Toole for her efforts to restore “morale and discipline” in the ranks, saying that “it’s [the consent decree] not just about accountability, it’s about efficiency, it’s about safety, it’s about a better managed police department.”

In contrast, the most recent report from the Office of Professional Accountability’s auditor on SPD’s progress in addressing reforms called the department’s accountability and related improvements an “aspirational goal,” and cited troubling attitudes and behavior among new police recruits and a lack of referrals of complaints about SPD to the OPA for investigation.

Holmes also touched on issues ranging from SPD’s compliance with the Department of Justice consent decree to folding together Washington’s marijuana and recreational markets, which he said would “help” Seattle if legislation is enacted at the State level. “The unregulated medical [marijuana] market is having a field day.”

The first community member attendee to ask a question posed to Holmes whether or not there would be any sort of record clearing for individuals who were convicted of marijuana related crimes prior to the passing of I-502. “Prior to it being legalized, a lot of individuals were using it [marijuana] as a form of employment,” a representative of the Seattle African American Advisory Council said, adding that now people previously not invested in the industry will be making money off of it.

Holmes said while the priority is making sure medical marijuana is brought within the recreational licensing system,respite for those bearing marijuana related charges is on his and others’ to-do list. “The senate is building towards that,” he said.

The City Attorney also touched on prostitution in Seattle, saying that the majority of female prostitutes are “victims” of human trafficking and other ills and that prioritizing cracking down on the demand side of the sex industry is the best way to stifling the business.

“They’re sex buyers. It’s against the law. The best way to use existing resources is to attack the demand side,” said Holmes, adding that efforts in the legislature will help support this approach.

Holmes also briefly noted both the importance of SPD’s Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion [LEAD] program, and how, given the strained nature of city and state human and social services, police officers are often employed to fill an important role they are not qualified to do.

“Mental health, addiction, homelessness … we have abdicated responsibility for these problems, we have left them to police,” he said. “If you give police a hammer, all they see is a nail. They are not equipped to handle these types of situations.”

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David Holmes
David Holmes
9 years ago

Sometimes I feel like there is an effort to connect people who, god forbid, don’t like it when violent crime and gunshots happen within earshot of their homes, to some evil gentrification plan. CD residents should not have to live in fear of being shot as some sort of weird HOA payment, or penitence to preserve neighborhood character.

Nate S.
Nate S.
9 years ago

Things covered which weren’t mentioned in this article:

1) Holmes saying that his office would eventually contact DSHS about adults smoking pot on the sidewalk in a park, with the implied threat of taking their kids away from them. (Does Pete have kids? Are they around when he smokes pot inside his home?) This is also a marked departure from the city’s pre-I-502 mandate of pot use and possession being the lowest priority for law enforcement.

2) Holmes praising NYPD Police Chief (and ex-LAPD Chief) William Bratton.

3) Holmes’s connection to recreational pot suppliers, who contribute to his election campaigns (as against his lack of connection to medical pot suppliers).

4) The number of white folks who complained about black folks hanging outside.

5) The white guy who shut up the woman talking about police abuse of her son.

6) The number of white folks who had only lived in the area for a very short time and have no connection to the community making complaints in a forum (EastPAC) which is notorious for being a vehicle for gentrification (see the closure of Waid’s). But then, this is CHS, which with its late partner Central District News is prime vehicle of gentrification.

Yeah But
Yeah But
9 years ago
Reply to  Nate S.

What’s wrong with gentrification of the CD?

We need more of it.

And how do you know how long those white folks have lived here?

Marie
Marie
9 years ago
Reply to  Yeah But

Well, if you were raised in the area like 85% of the black people than you know that there were no white folks in our community until the year 2000, they would not even walk through before then.

Sarah
Sarah
9 years ago
Reply to  Marie

The problems in the CD started in the 80’s with the
advent of crack cocaine. It destroyed the community
and continues to do so. Gentrification has nothing to do with it. I understand grieving about the loss of a black community but this happened many years ago and it is time to stop blaming white people for its demise.

joanna
9 years ago
Reply to  Marie

This is not a true statement. There have always been a mix of ethnic groups in the CD. I have lived here since 1977 and was not the only white person living here then. It is true that the percentage of African Americans has decreased and that there is good reason to be concerned that the area will lose the vitality that diversity contributes to a community. Work on how to preserve and build diversity in the younger and older people who are here and who choose to live here.

Phil Mocek
9 years ago
Reply to  Nate S.

Initiative 75 was not specific to use and possession. Enforcement of all cannabis prohibition violations where the cannabis was intended for adult, personal use was and is the lowest priority of Seattle’s police and prosecutor. That didn’t change with passage of I-502.

BeenThere
BeenThere
9 years ago
Reply to  Nate S.

Nate: What you encountered is known as the Delphi Technique and in my opinion, these “community meetings” are simply a set-up to convince people that their opinions really matter (they don’t). It can be extremely frustrating, I know.

Kevin
Kevin
9 years ago

There are all kinds of conversations that could be and should be had about life in the Central Area. But for me, right now, I care about not getting shot.

We’ve all heard about the different episodes of gunfire. I wonder though, is everyone aware that we aren’t talking about 3 am? We are at 24th & Spring. The last big volley of gunshots (over 20) was at 5:45 pm. Dinner time. People coming home from work time. Kids in the yard time. And this wasn’t an isolated incident.

The personal safety of me, my family, and everyone else in the community is what I care about. When I don’t feel at risk of getting shot while I’m just living my life, I would absolutely love to grapple with the real and significant issues that are impacting our community.

Seattle Neighbor
Seattle Neighbor
9 years ago

Bangassers had a sweet deal with the USPS and left the property undeveloped for decades. This latest is a load of BS. If any community group would get together to offer on the property, it should be completely independent of the Bangassers. The ‘association’ he is speaking of is his tenants, and includes NO other business owners or community members outside of his medieval style ownership like the lord of the manor.

Meanwhile, once the USPS left he has neglected to replace in the safety measures that the USPS had in place. And, yes that area was a problem even 20 years ago being pretty much empty at night. Folks would stay on the north side of the street to patronize Thompson’s and not even go across the street to wait for a bus at night.

Bangassers have been running a blight on the neighborhood for half a century or more. They should sell and get out. In the meantime, the city attorney should require them to have the cameras and lighting to keep it from being totally dangerous to everyone who lives around there.

Union Neighbor
Union Neighbor
9 years ago

The USBA is so obviously a front for Tom Bangasser, wrapped up in the neat package of “creating an Afrocentric development”. The community meeting they held that was recounted in The Stranger was attended by invitees, there were no postings of a meeting to discuss the future of midtown, so that other neighbors could attend. Bangasser could give a sh*t about the neighborhood he just likes moving his pieces around the chess board, while deflecting all blame for the sorry mess that is Midtown Center on a rotating menu of woes, ranging from taxes, to lighting and completely unironically on crime.

Union Neighbor
Union Neighbor
9 years ago
Reply to  Union Neighbor

I wish he was serious about the Afrocentric development so that my Black neighbors would stay and their businesses would thrive. I’m not sure a bunch of activists and development amateurs could successfully take on such a big project. If he were genuinally concerned he could sell them a parcel on the block. That would be great and perfect.

Worker
Worker
9 years ago

I’m glad I didn’t attend this meeting. Whiny white people who are notorious for not even speaking to their black neighbors and a city attorney who is seeing financial gain from backing pot sales. (Wow, who didn’t see that coming) Gentrification is potentially destroying the heritage of Seattle’s traditional African American neighborhoods and I personally refuse to participate in it as a white person. Has it not occurred to anyone that most people who continue to live in that area who were there before development-at-all-costs have always wanted themselves and their kids to be safe as well. If you have been in Seattle a while you can put some historic context on 23rd and Union. There was a time you really didn’t go there at night….like for real. I wait for the bus there now. There is active work within the African American community to help reign in the small number of individuals responsible for the recent firearm incidents but the media doesn’t report that. Development is a real problem because its all geared toward assuming all the end users are tech sector executives with tones of money to spend. We will all get priced out of our own city and the character of most of the near downtown neighborhoods will be destroyed. P.S., Waids demise was due to thugs doing thug type activity, gentrification had nothing to do with it.