East Precinct command sent CHS this write-up on the early Monday morning arrest of a woman suspected of tagging buildings near Pike and Bellevue. The message found by officers in the 3:30 AM incident: “Destruction Keeps You Young.” According to East Precinct commander Capt. James Dermody who sent along the report, the woman arrested Monday morning was previously apprehended and convicted in connection with anti-cop vandalism. We are not identifying the 23-year-old woman who has not yet been charged with the latest crime.
Here are the details of Monday’s arrest:
On Monday morning at 3:30AM on Capitol Hill, a First Watch Officer was patrolling his district. He saw a person standing near a wall and also noticed that there was writing on the wall. A citizen waved at him, and he contacted the citizen. The citizen told the Officer that the person standing next to the wall was actually tagging the wall.
The Officer called for more units and as he attempted to contact the suspect, he could see that she was beginning to run away. The Officer ordered the suspect to stand still and she complied. However, she immediately stated that she would not answer any questions and wished to remain silent. The Officer could see that the suspect had fresh paint on her hands that matched the paint on the wall. Another Officer brought the witness to the scene and the witness positively identified the suspect as the person who vandalized the wall of the parking garage.
The suspect was arrested and a paint can was found in her pocket. The graffiti on the wall stated, “Destruction Keeps You Young.” Officers familiar with the surrounding area told the arresting Officer that the exact same graffiti with the same hand writing was written on another building a few blocks away. The suspect was booked into the King County Jail.
Dermody said one factor in the arrest was the familiarity with the area of the arresting officers Chris Leyba and Steve Leonard who “recognized that the suspect had caused other property damage in the community.”
It’s about time one of these loser vandals was caught! Usually, they do their dastardly deeds in the middle of the night when no one is around, and are rarely help accountable. Private businesses and taxpayers are left to clean up the mess.
Since this woman has a prior conviction for a similar crime, I hope they throw the book at her.
Big thanks to the witness too. I hope if she gets convicted she has to spend time cleaning up graffiti on that building as well as others.
And idiots like Diaz and O’neill didn’t continue to prove themselves the exact kind of cop Seattle doesn’t want in the paper on a weekly basis…
this type of stuff wouldn’t be needed.
I fully support this girl. And fully disrespect the SPD.
Are there legal organizations dedicated to fighting cops with lawyers and helping people like this? I need to get my checkbook out…
Honestly this is what the citizens of Capitol Hill are concerned with?
“Justice must always question itself, just as society can exist only by means of the work it does on itself and on its institutions.”- Michel Foucault
I am right there with you!
And I fully think you’re an idiot….
I don’t really see how tagging a wall is a just and accurate response to the actions of an inexperienced and errant officer. It looks futile and is basically an uneducated tantrum.
She broke the law, she goes to jail. You’d do better to send your checks to Japan/a food bank/The Humane Society/The Girl Scouts/etc…
That’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard. You support this girl for vandalizing someone else’s property and somehow think it has a connection to police violence?
As a homeowner, I’d rather my dues didn’t have to pay for graffiti removal and could be spent to make our property and the hill in general look better and not have to look at meaningless tags. I hope this idiot gets to sit in jail for a while and has to clean up her trash when she gets out.
Get your checkbook out and buy yourself some sense.
I’m glad one of these vandals was finally caught redhanded and I hope she’s made to pay to clean it off. You can see picture of the original graffiti here
http://www.seattlerex.com/graffiti-at-pike-summit/
I fully support the notion that this cretin (and any others like her) be responsible for cleaning up vandalism and graffiti for one year, supervised. I would even volunteer to supervise this punk and make sure she never had the desire to destruct anything again. I also fully support the idea that OFD is a moron. Completely.
I don’t necessarily think it’s appropriate to tie everything everyone at SPD does to Ian Birk — but c’mon, it’s just property damage. Save your righteous outrage for when someone actually gets hurt.
First, calling someone an idiot is not a fair response. Political resistance is a necessary part of a functioning society. There is not a direct tie between the police brutality in the city of Seattle and this graffiti–I agree with you. But at the same time, when we have a police officer getting away with murder and this person who put some paint on a building getting arrested and verbally attacked in forums such as there, there is a great injustice and an imbalance of power, and this is about power. You use the word “inexperienced” and that is no excuse for the officer’s mistake. The cost was someone’s life. But of course, that person wasn’t a homeowner, and didn’t have to live with the burdens of property taxes. You can’t take down the master’s house with the master’s tools. As Foucault wrote “Justice must always question itself, just as society can exist only by means of the work it does on itself and on its institutions.”
“It is in the knowledge of the genuine
conditions of our lives that we must draw our strength to live and our
reasons for acting.”
“…to make our property and the hill in general look better.”
This is just too rich. Perhaps you should consider a nice suburb.
WE DEMAND OUR LIFELESS CONCRETE WALLS BE KEPT NEAT AND CLEAN!
I don’t understand why, but the warden tells us this must be so. I mean, where does it end? This is only the beginning. Next they’ll be smashing down the walls and using the pieces to hurl at the cops!
These crazy anarchists need to be held accountable in the same way that we hold our fine police department accountable when they beat and murder people.
Go back to Bellingham, anarchists!
“I don’t really see how tagging a wall is a just and accurate response to the actions of an inexperienced and errant officer.”
yeah, but its really just and accurate to let an officer who killed a man in four seconds completely off the hook.
where was your complaint about justice then?
if you don’t understand how property destruction could be tied into commentary on the private ownership of property or capitalism in general, and the ways in which the police (including the ones in your heads) serve to reinforce the pyramid of wealth with a heavy hand that crushes anyone’s ability to live freely in the bottom tiers (ie the people brutalized by cops on a daily basis), perhaps you should unplug from your ipad or television or whatever else you are wasting your time doing in order to avoid what reality looks like.
Jeezus, that graffiti is idiotic in two ways: The statement is completely moronic and immature, and the actual spray-painting is indefensibly ugly and incompetent.
You wonder why we be like “fuck the law”
you wonder why we write up on the wall
you wonder why we burn the cities down
’cause we don’t give a fuck, the time is now
this thread is becoming ridiculous. This has nothing to do with the SPD shooting or any sort of protest. Its just some stupid girl writing on the wall. Its not creative or artistic. Im a huge advocate for “street art” and installations, but this is just dumb. Im glad she got arrested. If you want to check out real graffiti check out sites like:
http://www.woostercollective.com/
http://www.streetsy.com/
http://www.unurth.com/
or projects like
http://candychang.com/before-i-die-in-nola/
Fuck art. Fuck artists. Fuck property. You can go to art school and blog about it. We’ll be in the street.
You know what they say about snitches?
snitches get all the bitches?
You’re so right! We should destroy our own neighborhoods as a strong anti-political message to the Police State of Washington! Then we can fester in a shitty ghetto without police protection where only then we can be truly free of tyranny and unjust suppression!
Seriously, really? Please take your daddy’s Volvo with your “If you’re not outraged you’re not paying attention!” bumpersticker back to Portland. Pay a few taxes, vote, and write some damned letters to your elected officials, not scrawled platitudes on the rightful property of others.
snitches get all the riches?
…while your desk job keeps you trolling blogs on the internet from a cubicle.
None of what has been stolen from us by the steady onslaught of capital and its physical manifestations (“private property,” “businesses,” the sacred identity of “taxpayers,”) can be regained by submitting to the banality it has to offer–work, school, art, so-called meaningful activism. Nor could we stomach the boredom. That the form and content of the message is unacceptable to you is only an indication that we are on the right path. To be sure, we have further to go.
The cops eagerly submit their report to the local blog so the good citizens will pat them on the head. Good work. Whereas we only inspire your disgust and fear with a laugh of inconsequence.
See you soon.
My favorite tag in the in area is the anarchist one that says “never work.” I have never seen a more accurate one. I keep seeing all these hand made posters and stickers around, implying these people have no job. Look at aol of the all of the anarchist rhetoric thrown around here. Save it for the moosh headed teens that need direction. Not a community based forum. You can go to the organized anarchist forum for that. It is even so good that if someone posts something logical, they delete it. OFD is mad at a system that has fail him. It isn’t SPD it is the justice system and the majority. Majorities make laws and honestly lawyers enforce them. Diaz and O’niell had nothing to do with prosecuting Birk. But that contradicts your views so it will be disregarded.
“organized anarchist forum” hahaha, that is an oxymoron.
“Destruction keeps us young…
…while your desk job keeps you trolling blogs on the internet from a cubicle.”
am i wrong, or arent you also trolling this blog. and what, you are doing it from some amazing underground super-righteous lair?
writing stupid sayings on the wall doesnt help or change anything. its the same as giant billboards saying “christ is coming”. No one ever sees billboards (or some stupid saying on the wall) and has an revilation. They just walk by the ugly and annoying crap and go on with their day.
grow up.
I know, right? Go do your art in poor black and brown communities, anarchists! We need to keep Cap to tha Hizzo clean and free of anything worth thinking about otherwise our property values will sink through the floor!
Unless your art is sponsored by Scion or a gallery/landlord is getting paid for it or I can buy/own it to hang on my wall so all my friends can see keep it the hellz out of my neighborhood!
Yuppie love and solidarity guys, amirite?
Grow up? Dude, you are not even paying attention are you?
ok… stay young then. drink your juice, play in the sandbox, and continue making no positive impact on where you live and the people who live around you.
By “grow up” do you mean “be like me?” No thanks, I would rather jump off of Aurora than ever resign myself to that sort of dark, lifeless fate.
I’m probably older than you but I’m still full of life. Where’d you squander all of yours? Your office desk? The club on the weekends? Ugh, even school maybe? Gross, bro.
“anything worth thinking about”? Yeah, that graffiti was pretty deep, wasnt it? sure made me think.
im in international aid worker. i help get clean water to places that have none. and im sure where you squander is much more amazing. tell me, what sort of amazing things does one do when they apparently dont work and didnt go to school. i guess making “revolutionary” comments on a blog sure does make you insightful. gross, bro.
nice!!
yes, let’s all drool with glee at the good work of SPD arresting someone for – gasp! – painting.
you assume we run around with mummy and daddy’s credit cards; i can only imagine you all bought up condos on capitol hill, amidst the color and graffiti and noise, because it makes you look young and hip again while you toil away in your boring cages.
deal with it: we’re the only thing that keeps your lives interesting.
hahaha. seriously?! don’t get defensive because you have nothing to offer and you’re bitter than you’re wasting your life saving for when they lay you off and stop giving a fuck about your productivity.
woot-
and the developments in our hood don’t have anything to do with the fact that millions of people don’t have clean water, and are kept dependent on aid organizations?
woot-
and the developments in our hood don’t have anything to do with the fact that millions of people don’t have clean water, and are kept dependent on aid organizations?
For everyone who’s so supportive of this little brat’s destructive activities– how bout somebody volunteer THEIR CAR for her to spray paint up, and see what a great message that creates?
Oh wait, I don’t suppose you have a car, do you?
Well you must have SOMETHING she could destroy to prove a point, don’t you? Anything? Anything at all that she could ruin for the cause?
What?? What does clean water have to do with graffiti? thanks unsalted. that was insightful.
Let’s see, a bored kid is writing on a wall and all of a sudden she’s an West Berliner making a political statement on THE wall. Now a days anarchist remain anarchists until the government grant money or mommy and daddy’s trust fund runs out. Pop on over to Lybia, or a plethora of other dictatorships and then come back after you’ve got some real world experience. Heck, live in China for any length of time and see how it goes.
There is very little artistic graffiti around the hill – most of it is the equivalent of my dog peeing on a tree. An image of self importance requires they advertise themselves to the world.
What’s the difference, this post will continue longer than her sentence. I’ll go back to my cubicle now and continue producing products that contribute to the downfall of mankind.
Me too, I heart me and the money I earn. Thank you for the appreciation.
Ps. I’ve lived on the hill for over a decade, you?
you’re right, jim. that wall will just never get back to normal. it will have an existential crisis sending it into a crippling depression that it will never recover from.
how can we help?
YOU go contact the owner of the building, pay for the paint, and pay for somebody to paint over the graffiti. Or you could always buy the paint for him/her and paint it yourself– because the wall isn’t going to self-restore and paint itself, is it? Or maybe you think time & money are free? Well, maybe yours is…
That’s how you can help, thanks for askin’.
why are you so bummed that a church, which is not a small or independent business, but in fact a player in big business (and government), has to pay a small pittance for it’s wall to be repainted?
I hope this lady gets many hours of community service cleaning graffiti off businesses she’s defaced… this type of stuff really annoys me.
Too bad life isn’t fair….
…”You don’t think like me, loser.” comment threads. So good for traffic.
I’d like to point out that this girl’s scrawled message apparently did not contain any anti-police content, so it certainly is not some kind of protest against police violence. It is petty vandalism, pure and simple. Lock er’ up!!
It’s gotten to be a true cliche to advise “moving to a suburb” whenever a Capitol Hill resident criticizes some of the trashiness and antisocial behavior in our neighborhood. We who do this care about our immediate environment and want it to be even better than it is. Most of us have lived here a long time, in my case 35 years, and sorry to disappoint you but we’re not going anywhere.
Scrawling a ridiculous message on private property is somehow “political resistance”? Please.
In my opinion, Ian Birk’s fatal shooting of John Williams was a heinous action that he should be held criminally accountable for, but that is not going to happen.
That said, it is not accurate to say that Birk has been “let…completely off the hook.” He has lost his job (and likely will be unable to find employment anywhere in any police department). Also, it is very likely that there will be a civil suit against him by the Williams’ family (I hope) and he will be held liable for millions of dollars.
“deal with it: we’re the only thing that keeps your lives interesting. “
That is just about the most arrogant, self-righteous statement I have ever read.
Reckless youth, it’s so cute to watch. Never get old, never have to work, never ‘give in to the man’. It’s refreshing, our future is bright.
“….you all bought up condos on capitol hill, amidst the color and graffiti and noise, because it makes you look young and hip again while you toil away in your boring cages…”
…creating the tools and technologies that enable children like you to go online and post the incessant, nonsensical drivel you do.
YO SNITCHES GET STITCHES. WORD.
calhoun, it’s sad that you really have no clue what politics are and i hardly expect you to understand a word i say.
it doesn’t matter if the graffiti is a direct message about the problem of the police; to break the chains of socialization in any way (in this case, to dare to write something on a wall) is always a commentary on the deployment of control. whether this control takes the form of a police officer, the judicial system, or douchebag commenters on a blog who cannot fathom the world in any other way than property and propriety — we will continue to resist it.
the state is not a window, or a wall. but it is still beautiful to see these facades of authority shatter.
oh, i’m sorry, i thought that mummy and daddy bought me a fancy car and gave me their credit cards? but we are also children, so we must not even be old enough to drive these cars…
Thank you, oh wise one, for educating me about the nature of politics…so very kind of you.
The arrogance and self-righteousness of some young people never ceases to amaze me.
“Honestly this is what the citizens of Capitol Hill are concerned with?”
There’s bigger issues at work, but they’re an annoying distraction for sure.
“Yuppie love and solidarity guys, amirite?
Comment by Ghost of Severino”
Why don’t you ask your trust fund / bank of mom & dad about it, GoS.
“None of what has been stolen from us by the steady onslaught of capital and its physical manifestations (“private property,” “businesses,” the sacred identity of “taxpayers,”) can be regained by submitting to the banality it has to offer–work, school, art, so-called meaningful activism. Nor could we stomach the boredom. That the form and content of the message is unacceptable to you is only an indication that we are on the right path. To be sure, we have further to go.”
All this proves is that you’ve got well-paid family to fall back on and finance your release from “boredom”/jail.
You solve nothing, you’re not smashing the system, there’s nothing more artistic or thought provoking in what you’re doing than somebody sitting at home playing World of Warcraft. It’s a masturbatory, feel-good-for-you outburst, nothing more.
“you assume we run around with mummy and daddy’s credit cards”
Yep. You’ve got a fallback, whether you choose to exercise it or not. Wanking around with these “messages” but without any actual goal or plan in mind cements your privilege.
“whether this control takes the form of a police officer, the judicial system, or douchebag commenters on a blog who cannot fathom the world in any other way than property and propriety — we will continue to resist it.”
“Nuh-uh” as a system of personal politics is not transformative, it’s designed to make you feel better about yourself and feel superior to others.
If you’re so concerned about disobedience, why don’t you just drop acid/shrooms and spend the energy on actually doing something to fix the system?
“Raising awareness”? Really? The only thing worse than ineffective Dem politics is the narcissistic outskirts.
oh “i heart yuppies”, like you’re actually working enough to afford rent in cap hill without the parental fallback, the Seattle which you trash but feel no loyalty to (somewhat in common with the worst of the Seattle cops who work here but live out in the burbs.)
“you have nothing to offer and you’re bitter than you’re wasting your life saving for when they lay you off and stop giving a fuck about your productivity.”
And what? this isn’t performance art, this isn’t a political movement, “resistance” of this type is masturbation.
“You wonder why we be like “fuck the law” “
I mostly think it’s cute when suburban teenagers be like “hey, i’m grabbing affectations so i can sound like i’m from the mean skreets.”
it’s not shocking or offensive, you guys come off like milquetoast hot topic-dwellers with your safe, prepackaged expressions of “rage”
the anger is fine, the cause isn’t incredibly terrible (like any of us are fond of the system) but “stunts raising awareness” are tough, as you’re trying to make a passive, complicit society care, or at least that’s the rationale you’re using.
And no related SPD death?
Sounds like a slap on the wrist.
Also, graffiti is art, it’s a sexy medium.
Pointless vandalism in your own neighborhood is neither art nor sexy.
“Now a days anarchist remain anarchists until the government grant money or mommy and daddy’s trust fund runs out.”
Aside from what Matthew Lesko says, government grants are tough as hell to get, and applying to get them is serious business. Welfare and food stamps aren’t a joke either. While I think these people are for the most part naive and/or selfish, I don’t hate on federal assistance when it offers a tangible benefit to the community.
“YO SNITCHES GET STITCHES. WORD.”
Oh my goodness, your fake skreet rep is just the most darling!
at least we get off.
“at least we get off.”
the rest of the hill don’t need to burn or break anything to get off or substitute it for actual digestion of what’s going on around them, apparently you are just broken