Blotter: Robbery, ducks, firefighter theft, BBs

Posted by Geeky Swedes on February 16th, 2009

From a woman attacked while walking along 85th St. to a strange case of duck thefts, we discovered some interesting stories in Ballard and Crown Hill while going through the last few days of police reports.

Woman attacked on 85th St.
A woman in her 30s got off a Metro bus at 85th St. and 24th Ave. just after 7 p.m. on Saturday. She said she was listening to her iPod and walking down 85th when four people jumped her, “grabbed her hair and pushed her down.” The suspects stole her iPod and her bag “and took off running.” The victim didn’t have a very good description of her attackers, other to say she believed they exited the bus behind her. She suffered two skinned knees and an injured finger, but she refused medical attention.

Ducks reported stolen from pond
A couple called police this weekend after they said a man has repeatedly broken into their fenced-in pond on 6th Ave. NW and stole several ducks, killing one or more of them. They said it all started when the man knocked on the door and asked for a duck. They refused, and several days later they said they saw him return with a noose on a pole, capturing and killing a duck and then running away. A few days later, the owner suffered a heart attack, and when he returned from the hospital, he said he saw the man return for more, claiming it was a “public pond.” In the end, most of the ducks have flown away. Police are searching for the suspect, who they believe lives nearby.

Firefighter locker theft
A firefighter at Station 35 in Crown Hill says he left his locker open when he rushed to an emergency call on February 4th. When he returned, he noticed $40 was missing from a coin jar inside the locker. Investigators are taking a look at the station logbook to see who had access to the fire station during the time his locker was unsecured.

Drive-by BB gun shooting
A 15-year-old boy reported getting shot by BBs while walking near Philadelphia Church on 77th St. around 6 p.m. on February 6th. He said two teens driving a late 90s dark green Toyota pointed a BB-gun rifle out the window and “sprayed him with what he thought were approximately 10 to 12 BBs,” said the police report. One punctured the skin on his hand and another cracked the lens of his glasses. Police were unable to locate the suspects.

Tags: Ballard Facebook

Oakley Goggles

this reports really happen up to present, many has bad plans to us even if we are not doing bad to them.

Cyclocrossmechanic

"Ask any police officer or self defense trainer what your options are when you are surrounded by 4 attackers. Even with a handgun, you are probably only going to get one or two of the attackers on the ground before the other two overtake you. Bad situation indeed."

Yep. Plus chances are that if you do have a gun and take out a couple of the assailants the remaining two will then use your gun against you.

Disgusting that none of drivers stopped (though hardly surprising!)

i bet i know

98% of the thugs around/on 85th are black - just so you know who to look out for

your robot master

Be aware of your surroundings? When your surroundings are 4 (count'm FOUR) attackers, your only chance of avoiding the situation is fight back with some serious force. You won't out run them and walking toward more light won't help, since none of your neighbors care if you are getting mugged. I bet 20 cars passed while this crap was going down, and no one helped this poor lady.

With or without the music in her ears, this woman was in serious trouble. She is lucky that she was not beaten to death or dragged in the bushes and raped.

There have multiple recent attacks in Ballard that involved 4+ attackers and 1 victim. One of which left a guy in critical condition.

We need to do something about this as a community, and iPods have nothing to do with it.

I understand that being aware is always good, but on another level we need be prepared to fight this trend with more force than a "thumb in the eye".

Ask any police officer or self defense trainer what your options are when you are surrounded by 4 attackers. Even with a handgun, you are probably only going to get one or two of the attackers on the ground before the other two overtake you. Bad situation indeed.

sienna the dog

Dear your robot master - The point I was trying to make was that if she was not preoccupied with her music and paid more attention to her surroundings this may not have happened. She can look around, listen to noise around her. If she senses something go towards a lite area and where people are or cross to the other side of the street. If she was armed with pepper spray or bb gun or sharp stick, she would not have used it as she would not have heard anyone behind her. Only her music. Seattle is not a safe city (was it ever) and one has to be aware. Your best defense is simply be aware of your surroundings, which dramatically decreases your chance of becoming a victim to begin with.

Bella

S'okay SPG, PDX Ballardite was the one who specifically cited my comment as laying blame on the victim. I'm still not sure why, but then, he is entitled to his own opinion.
I just wanted to make it clear that I don't blame the victim, and I agree that everyone SHOULD be able to get off the bus with headphones on without being mugged, but unfortunately, it's always a possibility, so some simple precautions are warranted for anyone. I mean, unless you like being jumped. And of course, you still could be anyway, but...

SPG

Bella, Sorry, didn't intend that comment specifically to you or to your comment, but to the general tone of the comments lately. I should have made that more clear, so I guess I'm guilty of what I'm complaining about.

Cyclocrossmechanic

Carrying a gun will likely only accomplish the following:
1) Supplying a gun to a criminal
2) You accidentally shooting someone

I grew up in a cop family and spent 10 years in the Army where I carried both 9mm and 45 caliber pistols. I'm a great shot and am trained in how to shoot in a high stress environment. Even with all that I still won't carry a gun. Way too easy for a thug to come up behind you and clock you on the head. Also shooting someone - even at close range - is a LOT harder than you think. Any idiot can hit a target when calmly shooting on the range. In a real world situation your adrenalin starts pumping and you're more likely to shoot an innocent bystander than your intended target. If you doubt this go out to a gun range and do 50 jumping jacks and then try shooting and see how well you do (we used to do this in the Army, BTW) Finally, keep in mind bullets tend to go in one side and come out the other, often with enough force to hurt a second person.

Stick to pepper spray or a stun gun. Better yet, stay alert to your surroundings.

What disturbs me most about the attack on 85th is that nobody apparently stopped! There are cars driving up and down 85th every 2 seconds at that time of day. Someone saw that attack but apparently couldn't be bothered with stopping. That or they simply were zoned out and not paying attention.

jules

i use that stop myself and REALLY appreciate this being posted so i can stay aware! this is really crappy news and i hope the gal is doing OK, to no fault of hers.

at least it is now staying light out a bit longer so hopefully that might help in some way, or maybe not as alot of these random acts of anger & violence seem to be happening in broad daylight.

troubling...

Bella

I did not say she did anything "wrong".
Someone else posed the question:
"what could this lady have done differently if she had not been using an ipod?"
My response to that question (which should have said specifically "@9") was that what she could have done differently to protect herself would be to:
Not wear headphones so that she could be more aware of her surroundings;
Be alert and make it obvious that she was;
Carry herself in a fashion that shows that she is on the alert and prepared for...perhaps not anything, but something.
Of course it is not the fault of the victim.
These are simply suggestions for how not to become a victim.
If you don't like them, ignore them or simply continue to listen to your ipod, and fumble with your belongings as you walk and generally set yourself up to be mugged, and hope it doesn't happen anyway. I hope you are luckier than this other lady was.

SPG

Let's stop blaming the victim while posting advice please. Just take a moment to re-phrase it so you don't sound like a _______.
Thieves and muggers are the lowest of the low, and despite all these postings we're statistically still a very safe community. Let's all keep an eye out for each other and let the thugs know we're watching them.

Hasfrau

I know or a teen who was also jumped this year getting off at that bus stop. He was also targeted for his IPOD. This was during broad daylight, I might add.

Sure am looking forward to my kids riding Metro to Ingraham...

PDX Ballardite

Like the comments blaming the businesses for having cash in their stores, @4 and @10 -- it's not fair to blame the victim. She was walking home in a high-traffic area, listening to music at 7 p.m. -- a safe and reasonable hour to be outside. She did nothing wrong.

Bella

Muggers are more likely to attack someone who is unaware and unlikely to fight back.
If you are obviously alert and looking around you as you walk, there is a better chance you would notice someone suspicious and defend yourself, even if only by jabbing your thumb in their eye.
If you noticed someone following you, you could run too.
I have an ipod, but no headphones for it - I only use it when docked, never while walking.
One of the simplest and most well known ways to avoid an attack is by simply not being a target, by being aware of your surroundings and walking tall as if you are prepared for anything.

your robot master

sienna the dog... what could this lady have done differently if she had not been using an ipod? She would still have been unprotected.

Pepper spray, self defense class, maybe even a handgun. These people will continue to attack people until they are met with force.

CK

WTF! This is highly disturbing. My little sister gets off near this bus stop every night.

Hey punks, take note: She carries a stun gun in her pocket and has a fast trigger finger.

queen frump

Thanks, Geeky Swedes. This information really is valuable and bolsters a sense of community. Keep up the great work!

HL

Here's a good answer:

http://www.butchsgunshop.com/

fuzzbeans

To the woman attacked getting off the bus and the boy shot by bb's: please take care of yourself as you deal with this attack. Make sure you talk to friends and family about the event to make sure that you heal psychologically.

This kind of attack is a big jolt to your sense of safety so make sure you take it seriously without letting the perpetrators get the better of you.

Peace.

sienna the dog

People really need to pay attention while walking on the streets. So many have either there cells or iPod's glued to their ears. Pay attention people. Put away your distractions on your walks. The life you may save may be your own.

Geeky Swedes

Hi Queenfrump. The police reports are not available on the web: they're .pdf files which we manually copy at the North Precinct to a flash drive. Each .pdf contains 5-20 scanned police reports organized in no particular fashion other than by shift. These 5-20 police reports equal 20-100 pages. In other words, not very user friendly to post. It would be terrific if SPD started posting them online, but I doubt that's going to happen in the near future.

Queenfrump

Me, too. It's hard to avoid walking home in the dark, especially in the winter. It's most unsettling that the attackers followed her off the bus. Beware, scoundrels, I have pepper spray!

PS
Can you post the link to the police reports?