Latest Capitol Hill homeless sweep clears Williams Place Park

(Image: @parkupine via Instagram)

Capitol Hill’s tiny Williams Place Park was the latest public space to be cleared of tents and personal belongings as homeless encampment sweeps continue in Seattle.

The treed square at 15th and John was swept Thursday, Seattle Parks confirms. The park will now be closed through June 17th “in order for Parks and Recreation staff to address any damage to the park and reestablish vegetation,” a spokesperson tells CHS.

Thursday’s clearance follows a mid-May sweep of Broadway Hill Park and a much larger clearance effort in April at Miller Playfield as the nearby Meany Middle School prepared to welcome students back for in-person learning after months of at-home instruction during the COVID-19 crisis. Continue reading

911 | Capitol Hill park encampment fire, Sunday night gunfire, and a dog-cat-knife brawl on Broadway

Thanks to CHS readers for pictures and reports from the scene

See something others should know about? Email CHS or call/txt (206) 399-5959. You can view recent CHS 911 coverage here. Hear sirens and wondering what’s going on? Check out Twitter reports from @jseattle or tune into the CHS Scanner page.

  • Williams Place encampment fire: Seattle Police and Seattle Fire were called to the encampment in Williams Place Park Sunday afternoon after an explosion and a fire damaged tents and belongings but caused no reported significant injuries. Officers and firefighters were called to the park at 15th and John just before 2 PM to a report of an explosion and fire burning the public space. Officers arrived to find one tent fully engulfed and a second scorched by the blaze. Police say the tent owner was not present at the time of the incident and witnesses said the fire appeared to be an accident and reported no suspicious activity at the encampment. SPD says it couldn’t be determined what caused the fire and explosion but officers reported numerous flammable items including fuel canisters in the park. “Several encampments were entirely destroyed,” advocacy group Be:Seattle  reports. “The people living there lost their shelter and all of their belongings.” You can learn more about how to donate items to help here. Continue reading

SPD investigating 15th and John stabbing

Seattle Police was searching for the suspect in a reported stabbing near 15th and John Sunday night.

Police and Seattle Fire were called to the neary Safeway around 6:30 PM to a report of a man in his 30s suffering from wounds to the abdomen and a head laceration.

According to East Precinct radio updates, the assault victim came to the store from the encampment in Williams Place Park.

Police were searching for a suspect last seen leaving the area on foot westbound on John.

There were no immediate arrests.

A separate SPD response to a nearby Capitol Hill store involving a man in crisis reportedly armed with a knife did not appear to be related to the stabbing incident at 15th and John. SPD took the person in that incident into custody without incident, according to radio updates.

The 15th and John victim was reported to be alert and conscious as he was transported for further treatment at Harborview.

 

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After Cal Anderson sweep, other Capitol Hill park encampments grow

A sign of protest before the Cal Anderson sweep

Though outreach efforts moved many campers into shelter in the sweep and clearance of tents and encampments from Cal Anderson just before Christmas, officials acknowledge camps have grown in other parks away from Capitol Hill’s core and tell CHS work to connect people to available facilities continues.

At one Seattle Parks field, Cal Anderson campers moved in immediately following the Friday, December 18th police raid and city worker sweep. Some brought vehicles and the shelter materials that had become parts of the scene for weeks along 11th Ave where Cal Anderson has now been officially reopened to the public after six months of closure.

Others joined the camps at Capitol Hill’s smaller park in the following days. A Seattle Parks representative tells CHS “there is no limit or measurement managed by SPR about how many people can camp.” Continue reading