Seattle Crime Reports : Seattle Crime Blog : Seattle, Washington

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By way of Central District News, here's a sketch police recently released of the suspect in the assault of good samaritan Joseph Skillings:



More detailed than the sketch of the suspect in Shannon Harps' murder, but still very vague...frankly, I couldn't even tell that the suspect was an African American until reading his physical description as printed on CDN:

A black male in his late 40's. He is described as between 5'9" to 6' tall, 150 pounds, with a slim build. He has been described as having a "wrinkled face." He was last seen wearing a black knit ski cap, black thigh length coat with a 1-2" white stripe down the length of the sleeve. He may have been wearing a black velvet sweat suit and was carrying a large black backpack. He may also be wearing gold rings and/or bracelets.

Know him? Call the SPD's Homicide Unit (206-684-5550) with any tips.

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We've got another case of Capitol Hill crime this afternoon, with a weekend assault on a Ballard schoolteacher coming to light in the local press.

The P.I. doesn't offer much in terms of facts on the case, but here is what's known:

• The incident occurred around 10 p.m. Sunday evening (which makes us wonder why it isn't reaching the newspapers until Wednesday), when an unknown aggressor was seen verbally assaulting a woman at a bus stop on Pine Street.
  
• The good-samaritan-turned-victim, Joseph Skillings, witnessed the assault and dialed 9-1-1...but not before he was spotted by the assailant, who threw him to the ground.
  
• Skillings went into a seizure, and now sits in critical condition at Harborview.
• The assailant escaped into the night, though the woman he was initially harassing claims that he's a regular face in the neighborhood who she'd recognize if spotted again.

It raises the age-old question: do we have a duty to our neighbors? Many locals would argue that the obvious answer is "yes." At the Capitol Hill Neighborhood Safety Forum last week, the point was made that in some cities, a woman's cry for help - such as the cries let out by Shannon Harps - would be ignored by people more concerned with "minding their own business." (Kitty Genovese, anyone?).

Despite the isolation and obsession over privacy that this city prides itself on, Seattle - and Capitol Hill specifically - is a community where neighbors watch out for each other. Skillings was doing just that...and paid a hefty price.

There's little doubt that the rest of his life will be dramatically altered because of his spur of the moment choice to defend this woman. His intentions were good; but did he think his decision all the way through? Many of us like to believe that in a similar situation, we'd do the same thing.

Hopefully, we won't ever have to find out.

Note: the picture above is a fist. In case you couldn't tell. - Ed.