Joined by officials from the Seattle Police Department, Seattle Parks and Seattle Department of Transportation Seattle City Councilmember Rob Saka led a Public Safety meeting at the Alki United Church of Christ on Wednesday June 26.
Photo by Patrick Robinson
In the wake of recent gun violence, street racing and more illegal behavior in the Alki neighborhood, Seattle City Councilmember Rob Saka called a Community meeting on the issues to share information and increase dialog about it on Wednesday June 26. The meeting at the Alki UCC church was filled to overflowing as people in the neighborhood came to voice their concerns. In attendance were: Councilmember Rob Saka plus
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Sue Rahr, Interim Seattle Police Chief
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Natalie Walton-Anderson, Director of Public Safety, Mayor’s Office
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AP Diaz, Superintendent of Seattle Parks and Recreation
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Francisca Stefan, Senior Deputy Director, Seattle Department of Transportation
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Venu Nemani, Chief Safety Officer, Seattle Department of Transportation
Councilmember Tanya Woo and other members of the Seattle Police Department also took part.
The meeting focused on addressing concerns in the Alki area, particularly regarding recent incidents of gun violence, traffic safety issues, and disruptive behavior.
Recent incidents, including the homicide that took the life of a 22 year old man last Saturday, have heightened community concerns about safety.
Interim Seattle Police Chief Sue Rahr noted that staffing shortages were a significant challenge in addressing public safety issues. But she was sanguine about the situation saying “We live in a gun culture and we have our society. Our culture celebrates guns and we’ve got a lot of young people who are still reeling from the pandemic. Our social fabric has frayed and you put that together with guns everywhere and the Police Department is not going to turn that around.” She noted that there is a severe shortage of police officers in Seattle, with the department about 400 officers short.
Noting the lack of police officers, Natalie Walton Anderson (Director of Public Safety):said “SPD is hiring and we cannot get through this shortage of officers…unless we start recruiting and asking people to serve in this capacity and that can even be you.”
Traffic and speeding concerns were discussed, with proposals for speed cushions, lane narrowing, and potential implementation of speed cameras.
Councilmember Saka emphasized that in personal discussions with Mayor Bruce Harell it was not money preventing the installation of speed cameras. “Funding is not an issue. Instead, it is some administrative overhead challenges associated with operationalizing and deploying these cameras as a result of the new state law.”
Parking enforcement was identified as an area for increased focus, particularly in problem areas like boat trailer lots at the Don Armeni boat launch being used improperly.
Parks department representatives discussed potential changes to park hours and access to address late-night gatherings and criminal activity.
AP Diaz (Superintendent of Parks and Recreation) said “Do you know it is not illegal to bring a firearm into a teen life center? Or a park site. It’s illegal to bring a gun into a school as it should be to a hospital, to the airport, to City Council…” There are legal limitations on police ability to detain and question juveniles, which has made investigating some crimes more difficult.
Gun violence was highlighted as a major concern, with discussions about limitations in current laws regarding juvenile suspects and firearm restrictions in certain public spaces.
Community members expressed frustration with ongoing issues and called for more immediate action.
Alki resident Steve Humprhrey said “We defend the police, we all know that we have. The courts that somehow want to seem to deal with issues, especially dealing with young people who are on the beginning of going down the wrong path, and I think that we have to realize that people are coming from out of the area because. Have a habit here where they could come to party and race and drink and do drugs and that has got to be somehow changed.” Humphrey lives near where the shooting last week took place and had bullets hit his window.
Alki area resident Martina Loeffelmann said. “Why are there no police to stop these people? If they’re not stopped, they’re going to continue doing this,”
Alki Community Council President Charlotte Starck noted that she’s been personally affected by illegal behavior in the neighborhood citing shootings and racing cars on her street. She also expressed gratitude to Councilmember Saka for his leadership and noted “This cannot be a siloed conversation anymore and the best outcome we can achieve, I think, is exactly what we’ve been talking about. Environmental barriers and also supporting police with more technology.”
Officials emphasized the need for a multi-faceted approach involving law enforcement, environmental design changes, community involvement, and potential legislative changes at both city and state levels.
Francisca Stefan with SDOT said that while she does not live in West Seattle she is all too familar with “drifting” the practice of people gathering around an intersection late at night and driving dangerously in circles, something happening all over the City of Seattle. She believes changes in the street including speed cushions (speed bumps) and other measures can help prevent it.
Venu Nemani with SDOT said that the installation of speed cameras has a process, “The new state law now requires us to do a lot more documentation in terms of justifying new locations, In the adopted budget for 2024, funding has not been identified.”
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