Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
So why didn’t Seattle police come when we called three times with the description and license-plate number of what turned out to be wanted criminal suspects?
The police say it was an aberration
And as Westneat's column goes on to demonstrate, that is a lie.
About 8 years ago there was a case of a car thief who crashed into and killed a female SPD officer. It turned out that just 2 days earlier a woman whose SUV had been stolen and recovered, had found the guy's wallet and ID in her SUV. He had left it behind after he abandoned the SUV. She took the ID to SPD, but
The woman says he turned the wallet over to a Seattle officer on Saturday but feels it wasn't taken seriously. She says he was told there are hundreds of car thefts in a given week and that there was no way to be sure that the wallet belonged to "her" car thief.
This is SPD's SOP and doubtless will stay that way after the dust settles from this current drama. In fact, I'm pretty sure that Westneat and the Times realizes this. This is all Kabuki theater.
We reported the make and model, the license plate and the location. But the dispatcher was dismissive. Go home and file an insurance claim, she said.
Maybe if you tell the 911 dispatcher you are going to confront the thieves right now if the cops don't come out, that would get a response. I wouldn't actually confront them, but I might tell the cops I was to get them off their butts and send a police car to the location. Would that work?
Maybe if you tell the 911 dispatcher you are going to confront the thieves right now if the cops don't come out, that would get a response. I wouldn't actually confront them, but I might tell the cops I was to get them off their butts and send a police car to the location. Would that work?
No it would not work. Read the column. It might work if you told the dispatcher that you were at a strip club and a stripper had exposed breasts. Then SPD would rush to the scene to rectify the situation and arrest the stripper, and perhaps you too.
This video has gone viral in the last several days....and if you click on "Show More" under it, you see the text and the guy praised the Seattle PD. Glad they got some positive publicity after last week.
We reported the make and model, the license plate and the location. But the dispatcher was dismissive. Go home and file an insurance claim, she said.
Did you tell her that insurance requires a copy of the police report? It's like you have to twist their arm to do their job, and even that doesn't work.
Did you tell her that insurance requires a copy of the police report? It's like you have to twist their arm to do their job, and even that doesn't work.
Yes I've posted this before, but when I lived in Seattle I was once victim of a felony crime. I knew who the perp was and where he lived, had a witness, etc. SPD was not interested. They did arrest the guy but he was almost immediately let go w/ no charges filed. I made 5 or 6 trips downtown to SPD, the city attorney, and various others such as an 'ombudsman, victim assistance unit, etc. I was bounced from one office to another. Finally I wrote a letter to the mayor and police chief threatening to peddle my tale to local media outlets. That's when I finally got some action. Eventually the perp was convicted of a felony.
I will say that the detective who handled the case, a guy named Kevin O'Keefe (no doubt retired now), was very thorough and impressive. The King County prosecutor (then Norm Maleng) was also great.
But anyway, I imagine that only one person in 100 would bother to go through what I did to get action from SPD. This has been the SOP for SPD for a long time, and doubtless will continue to be so in the future.
This video has gone viral in the last several days....and if you click on "Show More" under it, you see the text and the guy praised the Seattle PD. Glad they got some positive publicity after last week.
Full disclosure: Yes, I'm a law enforcement officer, but not serving/employed by any agency within the State of Washington and will be retiring from this position within the next 30 days. I was born and raised in Seattle and will be returning shortly after entering into my retirement.
First, I understand the general feeling that the legal/justice system is broken and the police are not doing their job, but before people blame the police for a passive approach to law enforcement within their communities, please understand that its the people, the voters, who set the tempo of how the police respond to crimes within their communities. To be honest, police departments or the chiefs within a department do not set local priorities for the enforcement of local laws, it comes from the mayor's office and the city counsel and then it is implemented by the administrators (chiefs) within the department, not by the individual officer(s), which is a good thing since a uniformed enforcement of the law I very important within a community as being seen as equal and fair.
I don't believe in or ever thought that a "Police State" was the answer or having rouge police officers acting like Nazis or any other fascist enforcing the law with their "own" interpretations of the law. With that said, I strongly feel that most law enforcement officers are decent people... Yes, we all know that there are some bad ones out there, but that also goes with every other professions as well. Cops are only human and not robots. We all heard stories of corrupted bankers, CEOs, elected government officials, doctors, auto repairmen, etc...
I'm truly sorry for the people who are or have been victimized by the criminal element, but have you ever let your feeling be known outside of your immediate family or friends? Have you ever contacted the mayor's office or the city counsel? Have you demanded that the court system sentence criminals to jail/prison time or are you OK with them spending 2-3 day locked up before being released? I know that we have our own lives to live, topped off with demanding jobs, but if you feel that something isn't right, what is wrong with either setting up an appointment to see your elected officials, attending a public meeting or even writing a letter and requesting an answer to your question/concerns? Yes, it takes time away for your day to day business, but isn't having a pro-active professional police department protecting your interests worth some of your time? Do you vote for tougher laws? Do you vote for law and order judges? It's sad, but many people don't even vote anymore since they don't think their vote matters... The truth is that it does!! Just look around you the next time that you are downtown. You can see how not voting or voting on issues that will only lead to further "issues" down the road has done to this beautiful city.
It's pretty sad that the criminals no longer worry about the legal system anymore and simply look at jail as a time to relax, catch up on some TV and get some immediate healthcare problems taken care of.
I know that I'll get flamed on my views, but I do have tough skin, so it's OK. To be honest, I have a family member who has recently been a victim of a felony crime in Seattle and once this case went before the court system... After a year and a half since the perpetrator didn't feel like he needed to attend his own hearings after being released from jail three times by the local court system, on his word (Each time.) that he will report as ordered to court. After being arrested and jailed for the fourth time, he finally made it to court, under guard of corrections officers, he was convicted on four felony theft crimes, but was only given "time served," ten days and order to report to a probation officer... Long story short, he hasn't reported in with his probation officer after his first meeting. Yes, another bench warrant was issued for his arrest, but even if he is arrested, he will most likely be released again. The family member who was victimized by this person is a very decent person and to their own fault, truly believes that everybody is a good person and was somehow or someway done wrong by the "system." To each their own I guess, but the truth is that there are plenty of bad people out there and they come in all shapes, sizes, colors, religions and social backgrounds.
I worked in major cities to include New York City, Oklahoma City and Newark, New Jersey and I cannot tell you how any times I've arrested a person or persons for a felony crime, only to see them back out on the streets committing more crimes within three to five days. That use to bother me, but after twenty-one years, I know that I did my part within the system, but it was the other individuals within the justice system that dropped the ball.
My response isn't meant to be an excuse for the police or an attack on anybody or group. I'm just stating a fact that we all have a civic duty, in my humble opinion. If somebody doesn't feel that the local cop are doing a good enough job, I would recommend that they should seriously think about applying for the position of police officer to make that small change. Also, there are "reserve" police officers and other police support services positions out there as well. When I was a teenager, working on the waterfront, my old boss had a great policy, which basically was "don't complain about anything, unless you had a solution to resolve the complaint."
Again, the police are only human and if they are perceived by both the people within their own communities they serve and by their local elected government officials as being no good or worthless, how do you expect them to go the extra mile or even face an armed criminal who might do something where the only resolution to the problem is the use of deadly force... Even if they are 110% in right, it sucks to be tried and convicted on TV. That alone not only brings stress onto the officer, but to his entire family and often, it destroys them.
As the United States Supreme Court has stated numerous time in the past, that the police are not immediately responsible for the protection of individuals as a first line of defense... If they can great, but at the end of the day, we are directly responsible for our own self-preservation BEFORE the police can arrive... No this doesn't mean that we can act like a vigilante and take the law into our own hands, but common sense is the key word here and protecting oneself and property shouldn't be taken lightly or solely based on a belief that there is an officer standing by and at the ready for that call for help. The truth is that "most" criminals look for a soft target or a quick and easy opportunity like somebody leaving valuables in plain view inside of a car. We shouldn't have to take these preventive steps, but the reality of the situation is that we need to... Unless you are OK with being a victim. Most criminals are looking for an easy way of making a buck and will most likely move on to an easier target if you have taken precautionary steps to protect yourself and property.
Please remember that these days and in most cases, the criminal will have more rights than you as the victim, so act in a way that you are fully covered by the law.
As for the police not taking a report after a crime, I would ask to speak to their immediate supervisor and let them know, in a tactful manner, that this is important matter to you. Heck, if the 911 operator tells you that the violation doesn't meet the level where an officer needs to respond, ask to speak to their supervisor as well, but on a non-emergency line, so that the 911 operator can get back to their duties. If that doesn't work, then ask for the next level of supervision and if they are not available, follow up with a contact call within hours, not days or weeks. Also, I would ask the city counsel if this was now the official policy within the Seattle Police Department during an open town hall meeting.
Again, please remember that there are only "X" number of tax dollars available to the police these days since they are cutting back on services in order to meet budget. Also, due to the tighter budgets, I'm pretty sure that Seattle is in the same boat as many departments where there isn't enough funding to replace all the officers that are leaving, retiring or are injured. I'm also sure that the Seattle Police Department, like where I live, have cut back on the numbers of patrol officers on any given shift due to manpower and budgeting issues.
Thank you for reading this.
Last edited by bergun; 11-24-2014 at 08:53 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
