Seattle police will soon need 'supporting evidence' before they'll respond to security alarm calls



The Seattle Police Department will no longer send out patrol units in response to security alarm calls unless they are accompanied by "supporting evidence."

On September 13, Seattle interim police Chief Sue Rahr issued a letter explaining that the department regularly receives a barrage of calls from alarm monitoring companies, and only a tiny fraction of them correspond to actual criminal activity. The vast majority of cases are simply accidental sensor trips or equipment malfunctions, she said.

'There is a better way.'

To demonstrate, Rahr claimed that SPD received 13,000 such alarm calls for businesses and residences in 2023 alone. Of them, fewer than 4% "were confirmed to have a crime associated with them that resulted in an arrest or report being written," she wrote.

Staffing shortages have forced SPD officials to rethink their response protocols. Beginning October 1, SPD will dispatch a patrol unit only when "supporting evidence" — including audio, video, eyewitnesses, and/or a concomitant panic alarm — indicates that a crime is underway.

"With depleted resources we cannot prioritize a patrol response when there is a very low probability that criminal activity is taking place," Rahr said.

"Our highest priority is responding to violent in-progress incidents that threaten the safety of our communities."

Rahr's letter clarified that the new policy will not alter existing licensing and reporting requirements for alarm system monitoring companies as defined in the city municipal code.

The new policy will affect approximately 75,000 alarm sites, KOMO reported.

Representatives from some alarm companies expressed dismay about the policy change, claiming it will especially endanger children and businesses such as banks, pharmacies, and gun stores that carry items coveted by burglars. They were also frustrated that they have been given so little time to prepare for the change.

"The verified response policy has been tried and rejected numerous times including by cities such as Dallas, Texas, and San Jose, California. It goes against best practices established through a collaborative effort by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the National Sheriff’s Association," said a statement from Washington Alarm.

"Our industry supports the police and agrees that they need to conserve resources. But there is a better way."

Steve Autio of ADI Global Distribution agreed that the new policy will "make the city even less safe."

He also wishes the department had reached out to the alarm companies before sending the letter. "We can work together with the police department to come up with other ideas," Autio told My Northwest.

Members of some companies are expected to attend city council meetings this week to voice their concerns.

H/T: The Post Millennial

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'Hit this b****': Police searching for driver heard in video cackling with female passenger while mowing down pedestrians



Police are searching for a driver who appears to have intentionally mowed down two pedestrians in North Seattle late last month. The barbaric vehicular attacks, reminiscent of the August rampage that claimed the life of a retired police chief in Las Vegas, likely left two victims with serious injuries.

SPD Chief Adrian Diaz referred to the dual hit-and-runs as "callous crimes," indicating the driver had targeted and struck pedestrians at random.

The first victim was struck around 1:50 a.m. near 107th and Aurora Avenue North. Police indicated surveillance footage showed a crowd of people tending to the victim, then ferrying her away in a car.

The second victim was struck from behind in a bus lane near the 9600 block of Aurora Avenue North. The Daily Mail indicated the victim had been in the lane because the sidewalk was closed for construction. Upon impact, the victim's body rolled off the hood of the car.

Detectives have reached out to nearby hospitals, reviewed 911 call records, and canvassed the area for witnesses, but have yet to locate the victims, whom the SPD suggested likely "suffered serious injury."

SPD spokesman Shawn Weismiller indicated the attacks may have involved two different cars, reported the Seattle Times.

Seeking help identifying the driver, the Seattle Police Department released a cellphone video taken inside the suspect's car during an attack as well as surveillance footage showing one of the attacks.

In the cellphone footage, a female passenger can be heard instructing the driver, "Hit this b****, hit this b****!"

The driver swerves to hit the female victim. After smashing into the woman, the suspect and his passengers cackle and curse the crumpled form shrinking in their rear view.

The cellphone video of the second incident once again captures the driver and his passengers laugh upon striking an unsuspecting pedestrian.

The New York Post indicated investigators found the cellphone footage uploaded to social media.

Hit and Runyoutu.be

The attacks left nearby residents Ellen Throneberry and Ethan Gunnel in a state of disbelief.

Throneberry told KIRO-TV, "It's like super messed up."

"It's horrific for sure," added Gunnel. "It almost seems like they think ... it's a joke or like they're doing it for fun, which is like pretty horrifying."

"I don't know what kind of person would think it's funny hitting people," said Gunnel.

Jzamir Keys and Jesus Ayala of Las Vegas appear to be two such people.

Keys and Ayala face possible life in prison after filming themselves allegedly murdering 64-year-old retired police chief Andreas Probst with a stolen car on Aug. 14. Like the suspects in the Seattle case, they too giggled with delight on camera while allegedly smashing into other cars, Probst, and a bicyclist before wrecking their ride.

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Seattle vaccine mandate could jeopardize public safety as hundreds of police officers face possible termination



Seattle, the liberal city that still pursues defunding police, could lose a significant portion of its police force this month as officers who refuse to comply with a COVID-19 vaccine mandate risk termination.

What are the details?

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan (D) announced in August that all Seattle city employees would be required to be fully vaccinated.

To comply with Durkan's order, city employees, including Seattle police officers, are required to submit proof of COVID-19 vaccination or their exemption from the mandate by Oct. 18. Personnel who fail to provide proof of either risk being fired.

The mandate has put the Seattle Police Department in a bind because, according to KCPQ-TV, 292 sworn personnel have yet to submit proof of vaccination. To compound problems, Seattle PD spokesperson Sgt. Randy Huserik told KCPQ that an additional 111 officers were awaiting decision on exemption requests.

That means, if every exemption request is denied and the remaining officers do not submit proof they are fully vaccinated, the Seattle Police Department stands to lose over 400 sworn officers — or about 40% of the police force.

If that were to happen, Seattle would descend into chaos. The city has already lost more than 300 police officers since 2020 over "defund the police" and anti-police riots, KCPQ noted.

What is the city's plan?

Anticipating that a significant number of officers will be fired, the Seattle Police Department plans to make all sworn personnel available to respond to 911 calls.

More from KING-TV:

There are concerns that response times could suffer due to staffing shortages depending on how many officers face losing their jobs after the Oct. 18 deadline. The department is prepared to activate a stage three mobilization plan on Oct. 13.

Under the plan, all on-duty sworn personnel, like detectives, education and training section employees and people within the department with patrol backgrounds will report to work in uniform and ready to respond to 911 calls if needed.

Still, the Seattle police union is working with the city to find alternative means of compliance that do not require termination for officers not vaccinated against COVID-19.

"Any loss of an officer right now would be detrimental to our city's current public safety crisis," Mike Solan, president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, said.

"We would like the city to acknowledge the staffing crisis that we're in, and how detrimental it will be if we lose even 50 officers due to this mandate. There has to be some type of reasonable accommodation, as we've seen in other cities across this nation provide to their community," he added.

Anything else?

While some police departments nationwide risk losing scores of officers, potentially jeopardizing public safety, over vaccine mandates, Democratic Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has said he won't take that risk.

"This issue has become so politicized, there are entire groups of employees that are willing to be fired and laid off rather than get vaccinated," Villanueva said last week. "So I don't want to be in a position to lose 5-10% of my workforce overnight."

Seattle police arrest at least 8 people during Election Day protests as rioters reportedly put nails in roadway



Seattle, Washington, police arrested at least eight suspects as a result of Election Day protests on Tuesday.

According to Fox News, some of the demonstrators and rioters reportedly scattered nails along roadways in the city.

What are the details?

The outlet reported that two groups were reportedly seen marching through Seattle on Tuesday night. Authorities said that at least one of the groups was given a warning to keep moving, but the two groups eventually converged around 9 p.m. local time in Seattle's downtown area.

Late Tuesday night, the Seattle Police Department tweeted, "Officers have provided multiple additional public safety warnings to the group. Individuals have continued to put items in roadway, including nails."

"Marchers are moving traffic barricades into the roadway," the department added. "Pedestrian interference warnings have been given. Group is westbound on Lenora St from Westlake Ave. Please use caution if driving in the downtown area."

Officers have provided multiple additional public safety warnings to the group. Individuals have continued to put i… https://t.co/bJh70OkuI4
— Seattle Police Dept. (@Seattle Police Dept.)1604465776.0
Group is moving west on Denny Wy. Public safety warning has been given. https://t.co/Itk6SH3ftz
— Seattle Police Dept. (@Seattle Police Dept.)1604463891.0

Fox reported that the arrests were for "pedestrian interference, obstruction, assault on an officer, reckless driving, and criminal mischief."

Earlier on Tuesday, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan (D) said that she was watching the city closely amid the presidential eleceiton.

"In one of the most challenging years in our city's history, we have a president that has consistently incited hate, fear, and violence. This is why my office has been closely coordinating with the governor, county executive, and city departments for a safe and secure Election Day and planning for the days that follow," Durkan said.

At least one demonstrator told the Seattle Times, "We are not scared of whoever gets elected. It's not going to stop us."

https://t.co/5VuN2NXzSv
— Seattle Police Dept. (@Seattle Police Dept.)1604468577.0

22 Arrested in Labor Day Seattle Protest, Hurl Molotov Cocktails at Police: 'All My Heroes Kill Cops'

Twenty-two individuals were arrested as a result of the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Seattle on Labor Day, which saw protesters hurling Molotov cocktails at police officers.

Seattle rioters tried to seal police officers inside precinct with cement and set the building on fire



Anti-police rioters in Seattle attempted to trap officers inside a precinct by sealing the door with cement and setting the building on fire, KTTH reported.

Unrest in Seattle has been on going since late May, when George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis Police Department officers, but it may have been further inflamed by the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Video of the Blake shooting went viral over the weekend.

According to KTTH, some protesters brought quick-dry cement to the Seattle Police Department's East Precinct. As other rioters vandalized the building, some of them mixed up a cement solution and applied it to the door, as well as destroying the key card reader on the door.

At the same time, some of the rioters tried to set the building on fire with officers inside, with the apparent intention of burning the officers alive. Fortunately, they weren't very good at mixing up concrete. From Jason Rantz of KTTH:

A source tells me the officers inside had to kick the door open to exit the building and disperse the rioters. Luckily, already lacking discernible skills, the rioters did not follow directions and may have used too much water in the cement mixture. Photos indicate it too runny to fully seal the doorway shut.

Seattle police have been targeted with intense protests for months, including several weeks when protesters occupied nine blocks of the city surrounding the East Precinct in what was called the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.

At the wishes of the protesters, the Seattle City Council voted 7-1 to cut the police budget so severely that it could cause the department to lose 100 officers. The vote spurred Chief Carmen Best to submit her resignation. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, who was supportive of the anti-police protests, vetoed that cut.

From the Seattle Times:

Durkan described the council's cuts to police as imprudent, saying they had "no plan for how the city will bridge gaps in the police response that will be caused if we lose 100 police officers" and "no plans for how the city will address encampments or RVs that pose a public safety risk."

She also objected to cutting the salaries of SPD's command staff.

Mayor Jenny Durkan vetos measure by Seattle City Council to defund the police and cut up to 100 police officers



Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said she would veto budget changes passed by the Seattle City Council to defund the police. The proposals could have cut up to 100 officer positions.

The proposals follow upon demands from Black Lives Matter protesters to "defund the police" and reroute the funds to social services, the lack of which is said to be the root cause of crime and violence.

Durkan indicated that she was open to something similar to what the council had passed, but that they had not collaborated enough with her office before passing he measure.

"This veto was because the bills as passed did not have the type of collaboration that I think we will have going forward, and that I'm hopeful we will have going forward," she explained on Friday.

The proposal would have only cut $4 million from the department's $400 million budget. Seattle has about 1,400 police officers.

Sawant dissents

Kshama Sawant, one of the most far left progressive members of the city council, voted against the measure, but only because they didn't go far enough to defund the police.

"Seattle Mayor Durkan remains hostile to defunding police. Democratic Councilmembers completely failed to keep their public promises of 50% defunding in the Summer budget vote, furthermore, approved an austerity budget after having promised anti-austerity," Sawant tweeted on Thursday.

Criminal justice alternatives

Durkan however, appeared to approve of seeking community-based alternatives to traditional policing methods as a response to crime in the city.

"We must stop gun violence," Durkan emphasized.

"We know that enforcement and policing is only one part of the work that needs to be done to do so," she added. "We also have to work with trusted community partners, who can work both to de-escalate situations, and provide alternatives to the criminal justice system."

Durkan also noted that there's been a 50% increase in shootings since June 1st in the beleaguered city.

The Democratic mayor made headlines in June when she angrily denounced Black Lives Matter protesting at her home and vandalizing it after she had previously shown support for the movement.

Suspect Charged with Arson for Setting Fire to Seattle Police Precinct at CHOP

A man was arrested on a federal arson charge Tuesday for allegedly setting fire to the Seattle Police Department’s East Precinct during a Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP).