Shooting on Fourth Avenue last Saturday: "toothpaste effect" in action?
I received a tip from a reader this weekend that raises some interesting questions about crime in downtown Seattle - and whether the Seattle Police Department's heavily-hyped officer surge in the downtown area is working as well as expected.Just don't tell the P.I. They seem to think these "patrols make downtown safer"; in fact, that's the name of the article I've linked to above. The piece is more than a month old, but paints the SPD's beefed up presence downtown in a favorable light, pointing to an increase in felony arrests for a range of crimes:
"I think what we've shown is that you can clear out an area and make it safer and bring its civility back," said Lt. Jim Fitzgerald, who oversees the deployment of the officers from the West Precinct.SCB reader Susan has been feeling the impacts of this toothpaste effect for past couple weeks...and it's leaving a bad taste in her mouth. In a tip submitted this weekend, Susan wrote:
The colder weather also contributes to a slowdown in activity, he said. And the intense focus has led to what police call "the toothpaste effect."
"You push it one area and it squirts out somewhere else," Fitzgerald said.
Some of the problems have moved into Belltown. Police also see street corner drug dealers moving farther east on Pike and Pine toward Capitol Hill from where they used to operate, Fitzgerald said.
Today, January 12, at 1:40 a.m. I looked out my window onto Fourth Ave., because the crowd of people gathered on the sidewalk was becoming quite agitated and loud. I witnessed a man cross Fourth Ave. to his SUV parked on the east side of the street, then come back into the street in front of our apartment building. He pulled out a handgun and started firing shots from the middle of Fourth Ave., toward Spitfire (2219 Fourth Ave.).I couldn't find anything in the local press regarding the weekend shooting at Spitfire. But if Susan's claim is accurate, and I don't have any reason to believe it isn't, we're presented with a troubling situation: same street, same type of violence, just a week apart.
After I dropped to the floor, my husband called 911. Police response was immediate, officers were on the scene in less than 30 seconds. I watched as officers marked spent bullet casings, I counted six that they marked and photographed in the street. Today I see that two windows at Spitfire are shattered by gunshots.
Is it just this week's Fourth Avenue Shootout? Are you aware that the same thing happened last Sunday morning, January 6, in the 1900 block of Fourth Avenue? Here is a link to the news story. [Note: as usual, all emphasis has been added by the Seattle Crime Blogger - Ed.]
Though the SPD's immediate response Susan mentions is commendable, it is interesting that gun violence could continue in this area for two weeks in a row - especially in a city like Seattle, where areas in and around the downtown core should be a safety model for the Emerald City's more spread out, less manageable neighborhoods.
We all know that the toothpaste effect is inevitable in a city of this magnitude and diversity. But weekly shootings in Belltown, a neighborhood that is quickly moving away from its grimy reputation, should be a major concern for city officials.
