Neighbors share concerns, ideas with SPD at community safety meeting in Westwood

Story by Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog 

Westwood neighbors and senior residents of Village Green West Seattle (2615 SW Barton; WSB sponsor) gathered on Wednesday night for a well-attended community-safety conversation with Seattle Police, to share thoughts and concerns as it relates to challenges with crime and recurring problematic activity in the area.

Residents of the Village Green community, who live across the street from Westwood Village and near Roxhill Park and a Metro transit center, shared their own observations and reports of individuals and groups repeatedly engaging in suspicious and criminal activity nearby. This has included having people coming onto the property, openly using drugs and other criminal activity, being loud and threatening, and gathering/camping in the park and starting fires, among other reports. Neighbors and residents also expressed concerns with shootings in the area, and ongoing crime at Westwood’s stores.  

The evening’s featured guest was SPD crime-prevention coordinator Jennifer Satterwhite from the Southwest Precinct, along with a panel that included community liaison officer German Barreto, crime prevention specialist Matt Brown, and community service officers Jamie Heslin and Helene Masyr. The officers acknowledge the recurring issues and challenges with criminal and nuisance activity in the area, and encouraged neighbors to continue to stay involved and to report any troubling activity they see, to help SPD respond accordingly.

After brief opening remarks by Eva Thomas, executive director of Village Green, Satterwhite told residents and neighbors that for her and her colleagues, their goal is “to help you feel safe, and to help you know what to do if you don’t feel safe.” She added that she appreciated the invitation, having been to Village Green “5 or 6 times previously” and reiterating that she wants to be a direct-line resource for neighbors, saying “if you take nothing else away from tonight, at least take my business card!” and to contact her with any questions or ongoing concerns. Her contact information is Jennifer.Satterwhite@seattle.gov and 206-471-2849.

While the evening featured serious stories and frustrations, attendees also noted the strong spirit of community and gratitude for law enforcement, and even a moment of levity during Satterwhite’s remarks about SPD stepping up their recruitment efforts for new officers, saying that “if you know anyone who would like to apply, and can pass the exams, please do — there’s no age limit!” which brought big laughs in the room full of Village Green’s senior residents. 

Here’s a summary of discussions and remarks from the meeting:

• Satterwhite emphasized that SPD is very data-driven, and they rely on the community to always call 911 and to report any criminal activity because “it helps us do our jobs, and do it better.” She stressed that if you feel unsafe, get yourself to a safe place as a first priority, but then always call 911 as soon as it’s safe to do so. 
• Question from an attendee: What are your thoughts regarding the law-enforcement-related issue that’s on our ballots for this week’s election? (note: this would be in reference to King County Proposition 1 (explainer here), which is the renewal of the levy that funds the automated-fingerprint ID system, which is the one and only item on our local ballot for Tuesday’s election, as we reported previously).  Answer from Satterwhite: As an SPD member, I can’t take stance on items that are on the ballot. I do recommend that you vote on what’s important to you, and reach out to your elected officials and get involved. Generally speaking, as it relates to voting and community engagement, “if you want more police, or more unarmed SPD members like me and our CSOs, then let your elected officials know.”
• Question from Eva Thomas (Village Green director) on behalf of the group: Bottom line, and “the reasons most people are here tonight — how do we keep our residents safe?” There are concerns about recent shootings, our residents like to walk in the park but I tell them not to, and we have people with questionable intentions drifting over from Westwood Village. Answer from Satterwhite: It’s all about keeping people safe, and events are hard to predict. Statistically, we do know that West Seattle tends to see an increase in violence and gun activity as we move into the summer months. Again, it’s important to report issues right away, if you see anything, call 911 and be specific about directions and details because we rely on those reports so we can send resources to areas based on need.  Officer Barretto noted that he was one of the officers who responded to the March shooting in Roxhill Park, and said the investigation is still ongoing – it appears that it was a “three-on-one” situation.
• Q: The Westwood Village area is a problem, with regard to crime, what’s being done? Satterwhite: Yes, Westwood can be a magnet for issues, and has a lot of factors: a school nearby, a park, Rapid Ride and buses, lots of stores. For all 10 of my years with SPD, Westwood Village has had the highest frequency of 911 calls in the entire SW Precinct (WS and South Park), which is partially because almost the entire complex shares a single address from a 911 perspective, thus all calls to any of those businesses are logged to that one address, but even with that aside, the call volume is very high.  We have a relationship with Westwood’s property manager and we communicate at least every month, have additional quarterly meetings, they’ve upped their security staff and some businesses have additional security of their own, in addition to SPD’s ongoing emphasis patrol.  Marshalls and Target have undercover officers working to help deter shoplifting. SPD is also working with schools to deter youth from getting involved with crime at Westwood, and encourage them to report crimes they see. 
• Q: How are handling the high number of homeless people in Roxhill Park? They often hang out by the bus stop, doing drugs and being loud and unsanitary.  Satterwhite: Seattle has the Unified Care Team (UCT) which is responsible for dealing with homeless encampments and hangouts. They prioritize these cases by using the Find It, Fix It service which has a mobile app that people can download and use. The service shows where the camps are, so that UCT staff can come out and evaluate them and assign “points” to determine the relative priority of the site, using criteria such as safety, garbage and cleanliness, proximity to schools, etc. Those points help determine and prioritize how the team responds, and how quickly, given the fact that there are encampments all over the city in other areas as well. Satterwhite and Barreto have a weekly meeting with the CARE team to discuss what are they addressing and whether they need assistance.  Satterwhite highly recommends that people use the app, or other contact methods associated with the service (online form or phone call) to report an encampment and to help SPD determine the scope of issue — the needed response may be urgent if the activity involves something like a fire under a tree, which could easily spread. If it’s clearly a crime that you’re witnessing, though, then call 911, because any criminal activity should be handled the same whether it’s associated with an encampment or not. SPD is not a primary responder to camps, but SPD *is* the primary responder for crime, and Barreto and Satterwhite emphasized that they want to be resources to help. Additional comment from Heslin (CSO): We held a resource fair in March in Westwood (WSB coverage here) to help connect people with services, including ways to offer outreach to unhoused individuals. It was successful, with about 250 attendees, and we may do a second one around the holidays. Officers reiterated that SPD doesn’t directly deal with encampments and can’t force people to leave, but we can do outreach and offer resources on a case-by-case basis, such as transport to shelter as well as clothing and snacks. Barreto stressed that if neighbors see that a homeless individual (or any individual) is committing a crime, that’s a 911 call — an open fire in a park is reckless burning (the fire department would likely respond as well), being noisy is a valid noise ordinance violation, etc.
• Q: Near our building (Village Green) there’s a whole line of tents, and nobody can park up there, can it be removed?  Related Q from another attendee: My car was parked in the vicinity and was broken into and still hasn’t been fixed, I suspect it was someone from the tents. Clarification from Thomas (VG directory): The tents are not on our property, they’re in the alleyway right next to the property. Satterwhite: I am going to ask the Unified Care Team tomorrow to assess it, and I will also go back there and take photos tonight before I leave.  First step for something like this is to figure out is whose property is it on — the city can’t do much if it’s private property. If on public property, Care comes out and assesses points, then determines when they can address it. However, as we said, it’s not illegal to be homeless (although where someone is currently trying to camp could be illegal).  If they say they don’t want services, then we can do things like say they have 24 hours to move or we will charge them with trespassing. Thomas: Some homeless people came from Roxhill Park to go up there to camp.  Satterwhite: Seattle is struggling with homelessness, for certain, we ask people to leave a place and they go somewhere else, it’s sometimes like a “large game of Whack-A-Mole.”  I empathize, and we’re also sympathetic, and agree that it needs to be better. 
• Follow-up Q: We constantly mention the homeless, but when will be honest and change the label to “drug addiction.” They’re homeless because they’re sick. None of what we’re doing works, and taxpayers are paying for it. Satterwhite: We can’t arrest our way out of this issue.  Barreto: We do take them to jail if they commit a crime.  Q: But when you take them to jail, they just “dry out” and get a shower, then they’re back out again and nothing changes. Barreto: Yes, we can take them to jail, but the process of keeping them in jail is the problem. When I first started, any drug charge was a felony but now it’s just a gross misdemeanor. If someone in the jail sees that someone there has a drug issue, then they just move them to Harborview. I suggest that you talk to your legislators and encourage them to change drug charges back to being felonies. Satterwhite: Often we see officers as being “the criminal justice system,” but if officers like Barreto make an arrest and then passes off to the next step, each step has challenges — jails can’t hold people for a long time because of staffing issues, and the court system also has staffing issues so they have a long backlog.  Barreto: It’s frustrating and heartbreaking. I arrested someone who was literally in a stolen car (that’s a felony) and brought them to jail, then that person was out of jail the very next day. It makes all the time and paperwork feel like it was for nothing, we think they should stay in jail but they don’t, and our cries for help aren’t being answered. Follow-up Q: How did the chronic nuisance ordinance pass so fast, then? A: It involved a nightclub on Rainier Ave that was a recurring problem which kept happening repeatedly, the issues were typically gang-related, with shootings and significant violent crime including homicides. Also relevant to a few properties in North Precinct that were known prostitution properties. 
• Q: What about staffing at the South and Southwest precincts? Satterwhite: Nobody from SPD who is below the rank of lieutenant can speak about staffing details, but I can say that the Southwest Precinct is the smallest and has the lowest crime among Seattle’s 5 precincts. Any new officer coming out of training is more likely to get assigned to a precinct with the most need. But our officers typically have 10-hour shifts that overlap, and there is a minimum number of officers who have to be on duty at the same time, which can mean that we have to pay overtime to meet the minimums. Generally speaking our precinct has 80 officers split over 3 shifts. Barreto: Some of the vacancies are because officers get hurt or sick or have family issues — myself, I’m working a “double” today (6 am until 9 pm), and it’s hard. Recruiting new officers is difficult. Satterwhite noted that there’s no age limit to apply to be on officer (which earned the aforementioned laugh from the senior-living residents). A positive development at the state level is that there’s a new academy, and SPD has been offered as many seats as we want.
• Q: Are officers allowed to make rounds on the Village Green property, like a drive-through proactive patrol? Barreto: If we have staffing then we will, and we’ve done that, but Westwood is the main thing we’re dealing with in this area, and our proactive emphasis patrols are trying to get to hotspots, schools, shooting sites like Roxhill Park.  Satterwhite: At any time, you can “request a watch” from an officer, and these requests go up the chain and are reviewed by our leaders. But yes, contact me (Jennifer.Satterwhite@seattle.gov and 206-471-2849) to request a patrol. On “fat days” (when our two squads overlap and all officers are assigned), then it’s more likely that we can do extra patrols.
• Q: If staffing is an issue and you’re short on officers; if new officers did come in, could the city actually afford to pay them, given the current budgets?  Barreto: Police work isn’t viewed the way it used to be, in the “glory days” (Satterwhite added that “it isn’t sexy” and isn’t interesting to lots of people). Barreto said that all new officers must go through several months of field training, as they work their way up toward being able to handle field calls themselves, and it takes time. Satterwhite: My understanding is that, yes, in theory there is money to pay new officers if they were to start tomorrow, because staffing numbers were already higher in the past. Barreto added, though, that as new officers come in, others leave (there’s a revolving door because of retirements).
• Q from an attendee who works in private security: I work on a team that surveils properties, and sometimes there are challenges and conflicts between private security and law enforcement. Satterwhite: In general, we will respond to all types of property if we have authority to do so. Barreto: We can’t go on private property unless we have warrant, the owner allows it, or due to extraordinary circumstances. Example: recently on 25th and Trenton we let city inspections know that there were people hanging out at the site. — they eventually told them they have to leave, and then after that point, Barreto can trespass them.  Satterwhite: A store owner at Westwood Village can have the authority to say they want to trespass someone, but otherwise our officers can’t just walk up to someone and tell them to leave. Satterwhite agreed to trade business cards with the questioner.
• Q: I think this is still a problem nationally, not just here in Seattle, but don’t we still have a problem of more people who are poor and of color getting arrested and receiving improper treatment? Satterwhite said she wanted to answer the question carefully and accurately: Seattle had been under a consent decree with the Department of Justice for just over a decade, from 2012 to 2023, during which time SPD was required to up its reporting process and training practices. If you as a citizen believe you are being targeted, there are clear ways to escalated within the Office of Police Accountability (OPA).  Yes, it’s a national issue, but I am proud to work for SPD.  Barreto asked if the person asking the question was referring to whether SPD works with ICE on immigration enforcement (the person said that was a partial reason). Barreto said SPD doesn’t discriminate against anyone and doesn’t target people and doesn’t deal with ICE directly; if someone is committing a crime then we deal with them regardless of race, creed or gender.
• Q: First of all, thank you for coming to talk with us, and for “helping us help you” — my personal experience is that each of the few times I have called 911, they responded quickly, and I’ve learned how to be specific with my information. My question is with regard to body cams — do officers use them, and if I’m talking to an officer directly and answering questions from them, am I being recorded? Barreto: I have mine on some of the time; if you’re talking to an officer you can see if the light on the unit on their chest is turned on (it’s a circle that is lit up green when ready, and red when recording). I don’t put it on if I’m in a dark room and need to stay hidden; it’s too bright like a beacon. If you specifically don’t want to be on body cam you can ask/tell the dispatcher, and can ask for a call back rather than an officer visit. Satterwhite: Every time you call you’re given a case number, which is the year (2025 at the moment) and six digits. Always ask for your call number and write it down, that makes it easy for follow-ups. then we can follow up. If you would like to talk to an officer, you can, or they can contact you over the phone, or you can remain anonymous. Sometimes people will say that they called 911 “but nobody responded,” when in reality an officer may have come but didn’t know that the person expected to talk to them directly. Barreto confirmed that if someone calls, for example, and I respond and arrive at 2-3am, I’m not going to knock on the door to tell you that I don’t see anything suspicious unless you asked the dispatcher to have me do that.  Satterwhite added that a few years ago, 911 was removed from SPD, and since then when you call you’re talking to City of Seattle employee, not a police officer. There have been some growing pains in process, but people do their best. Satterwhite and Barreto have contact info for the call center supervisors, and if someone doesn’t appreciate the way that a 911 call was handled, then we can use the call number to follow up. If you have a really good or really bad experience with a 911 call, their supervisor wants to know about it in particular. You can also write an online “thank you note” which is greatly appreciated, it goes into their file, and is a big deal. It’s important to remember that the calls are being recorded, and if you don’t get a good experience you should call back and ask for a supervisor.
• Q: Is it true that buses at certain time of night come to the “end of the line” at Westwood and then dump out anyone who is remaining on the bus? Satterwhite:  I can’t speak to that, it would be a Metro/county question, but many of those buses do have a direct line to/from downtown, and there may be people coming to/from shelters.
• Q: Does Westwood Village have just one property manager?  A: No, Target is 2800 SW Barton. The rest of the property except for McDonalds and the post office are managed by same company, yes. Follow-up Q: Does the property manager actually contribute to helping to solve the crime problems. Satterwhite: Yes, they provide 24/7 security, the current manager is very communicative, this was not always the case in the past, when their manager wanted nothing to do with police. It had been a troubled relationship, but is very good now I meet with them once per month. It’s important to note that the 24/7 security is not law enforcement, they are not detaining anyone, but they are reporting issues to SPD as appropriate.

Satterwhite thanked attendees for coming, and encouraged everyone to grab handouts and business cards and to stay in touch. She also mentioned the upcoming twice-annual Drug Takeback Day, Saturday April 26th at the SW Precinct (2300 SW Webster). People can drop off any unwanted, expired or unused medications and drugs, no questions asked.

This prompted a question/comment from the audience saying that it seems like the precinct is never open whenever they drive by. Satterwhite said that the lobby isn’t open 24/7, but generally is open and staffed during business hours Monday through Friday, although sometimes there isn’t staffing available due to officers being needed for incident responses. Their official hours are “open when staffed,” and Satterwhite encouraged people to call before they go (206-733-9800) if they do need to talk to someone at the precinct building. 

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