Yeah, Teslas right, I was at the house trying to get the combatants to leave, and his story is basically accurate. It was just flower pot guys, no guns, no drugs, just a birthday party with a dumb kid running his mouth.

the

all right tesla,
despite that your own comments basically validated everything I said. that the cops over-reacted with their response, especially the helicopter. that there never were shots fired.

why don't you go back to your chums at the chai house then.

what exactly is a douce anyway?

Sorry, jeffo... you're acting like a douce.

"Since all firefighters are trained medics and since there were shots fired I’m quite confident that the truck was sent as a precaution in case the errant bullets found there mark."

see where your arrogance gets you? I'm QUITE confident an errant pot or pan didn't hit an innocent passerby.

Wow, this story escalated fast! Glad someone figured out that the breaking pots were not gun shots. With the information the police had, the chopper may well have been very neccesary... but with what really happened it was extremely excessive! Basically one kid made a rude comment about another kids brother, word got around fast, people got pissed off, shit got thrown, and eventually someone got punched in the face. There were no drugs involved, but everyone was extremely drunk due to 21st birthday celebrations. And regarding the paranoia at the party... that was nuts! We couldn't figure out for the life of us why every cop in Ballard AND a chopper showed up!

I just heard that the sound wasn't gunshots--but pots being broken. I posted earlier about my son getting stopped by the cops leaving a party that night. Apparently, the people involved who live next door to NEIGHBOR were at the same party earlier.

So, the cops were stopping everyone leaving the party. Gee, I finally get my kid out of Ballard, away to university, and he STILL manages to find the hot spots!

And, to BGC-- it wasn't a domestic dispute, but the parties involved knew each other. It was great that the cops were called, because I heard that the people who lived at the house were trying to de-escalate the situation and told the attackers that the cops were on the way.

When I worked with someone who had just moved here from a war zone, I got to witness how someone who was attacked by those things reacted when they flew over. Interestingly enough, she didn't see them as a toy that flies over once a year to entertain us. She was terrified. Add the expense, the danger, and the fact that they are Navy recruitment tools...why do we still invite the Blue Angels to Seafair?

randi said: "hehe Jeffo..you like the blue angels? really?do you know how much $$$ they waste flying those just for people to look at??"

A lot. An F-18 costs $50 million/20 year service life x 6 planes = $15 million a year in depreciation alone and maintenance probably costs just as much. Jet fuel isn't cheap and F-18s use a lot of it.
45 highly trained pilots and crew are needed for each show.
Add in the DOT/police cost of shutting down I-90 a few times, plus gas and lost wages of people stuck waiting on I-90.

My guess is that it's a few million just for the Seattle show alone. As much as I do think that jets are cool, I have to wonder what else could be done with the money?
I think the navy considers it a recruiting expense.

Wow... just found this: "During its history, 26 Blue Angels pilots have been killed in air show or training accidents.[9] Through the 2006 season there have been 262 pilots in the squad's history,[10] giving the job a 10% fatality rate." yikes! that doesn't even count all the times that they eject and let the plane crash. What would the costs be if one of these crashed into downtown? Somebody needs to do a serious risk analysis on this.

maybe your kids should move to the gaza strip then.

what were they doing up at 4am anyway? I'm sure they did great at school the following day.

"the terror caused by a low-flying helicopter "

What are you, 3? My kids loved it. Maybe you should try pull-ups if you get this nervous.

A drug related crime involving a gun and it wasn't the homeless, well fancy that!
A BALLARD (gasp) resident that passed a background check for the home and for the weapon I'm sure, cuz residents here are beyond reproach.

thank you pt for educating our novice on the ways of the world. even the obvious don't make sense to some. i will give jeffo credit for asking the question tho.

NEIGHBOR, when it's in your backyard (literally in your case) money isn't even a factor. i hope that this problem can be irradicated. are they renters? if so, contact the landlord and start keeping a record of spd incidents (you can contact spd for any incidents in the past at this address) if you need to start the abatement process through the city. it's worked on my block!

Jeffo,

Since all firefighters are trained medics and since there were shots fired I'm quite confident that the truck was sent as a precaution in case the errant bullets found there mark.

thanks for the real story, neighbor.
sorry you live right next to these thugs, but...

it's about as I expected, and I still think the helicopter was a bit much. and what was the fire enginer for?

this should entail a strong police response, but the terror caused by a low-flying helicopter does not outweigh the small possibility of catching the suspects (who were no immediate threat to the public at large).

I'm not trying to cause any argument here--just a debate.
I'm guessing most of you thought using the helicopter was just (now that we know the reason). I still think it was excessive.

btw, I'm not in love w/ the blue angels, but I don't call 911 as someone suggested.

Thanks from me too to Neighbor (post 49) for posting your story. Sorry this happened to you. And thanks to the police for showing up in force, no matter what the outcome. I live in that area and don't mind the flyovers to stop violence. I live in that area too.

Children, children! We're going to have to separate you if you can't play nice.

I'm with boardbrown... the MyBallard.com comments area has become Hostility Central, just like the comment boards from the Seattle Times and the news stations. It seems people enjoy baiting each other and kicking insults back and forth, which is just a sad reminder of one of the real reasons for our world's state of affairs.

hehe Jeffo..you like the blue angels? really?do you know how much $$$ they waste flying those just for people to look at??

This city needs more ghetto birds.

Just as I thought. Someone who's in the know chimes in, and the rest of you can abandon your silly debate.

If I had to live next door to that mess, I'd be losing my head.

Thanks NEIGHBOR for letting us know what the incident was. That is really scary. I'm sorry that's happening so close to your home. :(

Yeah, I wondered what woke me up... scary, happened only a block a couple blocks from me! That copter is sure loud!

Hi, I live next door to where this incident occured, and I can tell you that this was absolutely not a waste of resources.
There were two incidents involving my neighbors (a group of young men), the first of which was a loud fight between another group of men who were threatening them, which escalated into a group fight. It was loud enough to wake me up.
About twenty minutes later, after the fight had seemingly been broken up, three gun shots were fired, and another yelling match broke out. The cops were called, and showed up with 3 cars, a search dog (to search the nearby yards, because the suspects had fled) and a fire engine.
One of the suspects apparently ran through my yard.
I was terrified, and I was certainly glad to know that the helicopter might help fine this potentially armed suspect.

I heard from fellow neighbors that this was all a drug-related fight.

I too was woken up at 3 wondering what was going on. From my experience, a hovering helicopter is not a good sign BUT I am glad they were there addressing the matter.

I find it a real shame that some think the helicopter is a waste of resources and are quibbling that their tax dollars are being spent that way. Like many stated before, I don't think you would think it was a waste if you or someone you knew was being assaulted. Do you think the cops are up there just passing the time thinking of how else they can "waste" our money and resources? They put their lives on the line for YOU every single day!

You should be glad you can pay taxes because that means you probably have a job, unlike the thousands of people who are getting laid off and losing everything they have. Now THAT is something to be concerned about.

Helicopters aren't cheap, real costs of about $500 to $1,000 per hour of rotor time on all but the oldest cheapest ones, but what's the cost of not rescuing someone? What's the cost of letting a dangerous criminal get away to victimize someone else?
I would hope that the SPD had the good sense to use the helicopter appropriately, and with a lack of information at this point that's all we can do.

I enjoy seeing the blue angels from the distance ballard affords me. they're kind of neat when you can barely hear them!

it is fun to speculate though.

isn't that enough?

jeffo,

are you one those people who calls 911 and complains every year during seafair because the blue angels are too noisy?

This is crazy...a whole lot of comments on here by a handful of folks who know nothing about the incident.

Now THAT is a waste of resources.

I'm just impressed that GS are on the job at 4AM Sunday morning!

whatever gave you that idea?
oh, post # 4.


hopefully we will learn more about this situation, but I'm dubious.
when there's no arrest. and little other info. it tends to get swept under the rug.

I would rather be asleep than sorry.

jeffo,

like you point out, none of us know the details of the crime. your absolute assumption that the police over-reacted to a relatively non-dangerous criminal, and your continual posting of this belief, suggests that you have some sort of an axe to grind with law enforcement in general. I think this is why people have a problem with what you are saying.

Of course there is a threshold for this type of thing, but you seem to be CERTAIN that the cops crossed this threshold, and like we both keep saying, you have no more information than the rest of us. I for one would rather be safe than sorry.

did no one read the helicopter was in the vicinity, and becuase of that went by the area to investigate? From what I understand it was not sent just becuase of that 911 call. Read the article posted again...

Jeff is too busy playing with his toy helicopters with his playgroup.

my resources are the mere lack of reporting.

if this person were 'armed and dangerous', don't ya think the police would've made SOME statement?

my point is we need some threshold for this sort of response. it doesn't need to be a high-speed chase, but neither should a mugging warrant a military-style helicopter waking me and my family at this hour.

My son was a party last night at 14th and 63rd. They got all paranoid when they heard the chopper. They couldn't believe it could be for their party--but it kept them quiet! They saw cop cars everywhere all over as well--all the kids wondering what was going on, and if the attention was for them!

When walking home with friends quite early in the morning, my 18 yr old son was stopped by the cops and questioned--they were looking for a young man in a dark blue hoody (which, of course, my son was wearing). He finally, finally has learned to be polite and respectful and answer all the officer's questions. They took his name and let him walked on.

New benefit from the chopper-- party control mechanism!

yes jeffo, your resources please?

For those who keep asking what the copter was for, read the post by the Geeky Swedes. It is explained there. Assault at 14th and 73rd.

Lymus - I grew up in LA. You obviously know zero about that city -- east. west, north or south -- because your comment is patently absurd.

Ballard is the new East L.A.

The one article posted about a home invasion robbery was in the U-District at the same time so couldn't have been related. Has anyone heard what happened yet? I'm not sure how we in my house all slept through the choppers ... except maybe we don't hear them anymore after living on Capitol Hill during the WTO protests. And I like having my tax money go toward police investigating a crime. That's why I pay taxes - police, fire dept. schools. If more of my tax money went to that stuff I'd be happy.

First of all, i don't believe the police would send a helicopter in the case of an assault were the victim knew the assailant (domestic violence). If they did, I agree that it would be a waste of resources and would be needlessly disturbing the neighborhood, since they will most likely apprehend the perpetrator within a few days as per usual methods. So let's assume the worst case scenario of a home invasion/assault. Call me crazy, but if this is happening in my neighborhood you can't throw enough resources at the problem, I don't care what the cost. The fact that some of you would rather have a dangerous criminal on the run in your backyard rather than be disturbed by police activity is astounding to me. I'll go ahead and give the police the benefit of the doubt for now, and sleep more soundly tonight knowing they are on the job, which will more than make-up for the disturbance last night.

Jeffo had no idea he was an *ss until everyone told him he was. Sorry you needed a blog to find this out. Now he's just trying to intentionally provoke people.

jeffo,

were you the one that perpetrated this crime? I have no problem with the cops doing what ever they need to do to find a violent criminal. Even if it does interrupt your beauty sleep. I hope the victim is OK

Thanks for letting us know what that was. I heard it go by super low & had a sleepy blurry moment of "Is a plane about to crash into my house"?

Different article with some details about the chopper:

The new Guardian One’s home base is King County, but it is truly a regional asset. It will provide seamless service throughout the region because cities can use it at no additional cost for any threat to life or property. Partnerships with Pierce and Snohomish counties mean it will be available from Marysville to Puyallup. Contracts with the Coast Guard and the state Department of Ecology mean it’s on hand for emergencies from the Cascades to the Puget Sound.

Having a state-of-the-art helicopter is critical because 21st century crimes call for 21st century approaches to criminal activities. Local governments in the region will accrue many benefits through access to this Bell 407 helicopter. First of all, it is a much more efficient way of implementing search and rescue efforts. In the air, Guardian One can replace approximately 50 officers on the ground.

Second, it has special features including a heat-sensing infrared system, a night-to-day spotlight, mapping software, visual connections from ground command bases to view what’s seen in the air, the capability to track transceiver signals from special bracelets worn by those with Alzheimer’s and an ability to track cars with a new technology called “LoJack” – an inaudible radio signal police can activate when a car with this system is reported stolen.

So this would confirm that they don't need a spotlight at night to find a suspect, they have higher-tech methods these days.

It might have something to do with this:

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seattle911/a...

This is from an old Seattle Times article, so thes figure have probably increased some, but it's doubtful to the level Jeffo is implying. ($10k-$20k per flight?)

"There's no argument: Nothing gives law enforcement a greater edge than a helicopter," said King County sheriff's Sgt. Sydney Jackson, who supervises the air-support unit out of a hangar at the south end of Boeing Field.

The edge may be undisputed, but the price tag has, in the past, made others balk. Under its old billing system, the Sheriff's Office charged $595 an hour for a helicopter and crew (plus overtime if the crew worked late).

As a result, other agencies would radio for a helicopter only in extreme situations, such as homicide investigations and search-and-rescue missions, or they would schedule flights when they needed a helicopter's vantage to get information that couldn't be gathered from the ground.

"Basically, they didn't use us because they considered it too costly," Jackson said.

After recalculating the costs, the Sheriff's Office has come up with a new scheme: All requests during life-threatening incidents, natural disasters, injury accidents and violent crimes — especially when a suspect could be nearby — will be free to any law-enforcement agency in King County, though the requesting agency will still have to pay any overtime.

For search-and-rescue missions, other agencies won't pay a dime, even if a crew works overtime. For less-serious calls or evidence-gathering flights, agencies will be charged $431 an hour, plus overtime, if applicable.

wow, I'm being watched now.
I feel safer already!

ok, I'll admit it was conjecture as to what the nature of the assault was, but I have faith that a more serious, lethal crime would've been reported.

I recall a few years back, watching the helicopters trying to flush out the guy who walked into the northlake shipyard and shot a few people. that seems like a more appropriate crime/response proportion.

If anything. the $10k I mentioned is low. you can't compare a search or rescue mission with a tourist trip around san diego.

this is the government after all--I'll bet it's closer to $20k

My point is, we have it pretty good here.

We should feel lucky the police are in our area doing their job, since alot of people feel they aren't that often.

No comment on the assault/copter. Just a word of praise for myballard.com -- when we were woken up by the copter, I turned to my significant other and said "what's a helicopter doing in this neighborhood? Better check myballard.com."

So, kudos to geeky swedes once again. :)

Sometimes they would not use a spotlight because they could be using night vision or thermal imaging cameras. I think this would explain circling with no spotlights.

If a police helicopter doesn't make some of you reactionary people in Ballard feel any safer, then what will? I can't believe how some people can't post anything but complaints on here.

Think people in Iraq have time to whine about helicopters?

I don't have a stat, but it's pretty expensive to fly a helicopter for any length of time. I agree this was a waste of resources. When I finally rolled out of bed and looked out my window the copter didn't even have a spotlight on, so it was just circling. Jeffo is also right that the helicopter is unlikely to spot a subject on foot, as it's pretty easy to hide. The dogs would be much more likely to do the job.

Not only is it a waste of taxpayer money, it's also an annoyance to taxpayers trying to sleep.

jeffo - you certainly do know everything. I'm so impressed that you are able to divine the exact nature of the crime that was committed. Great that you can make the decision for the police and the rest of us where all of our tax dollars are spent. You should run for council instead of wasting our time with your lame quips about domestic violence and 'unless the suspect had killed someone....'
If it was my family or friend that was assualted (and clearly, you really don't know the nature of the crime), I would want a swift response by my local law enforcement.
When it happens to you, make sure you tell the police 'not' to scramble the helicopter so you save your neighbors tax dollars. I figure it costs everyone in Seattle about a penny to launch the copter and I sure could use that for my next coffee run.

The helicopter probably burns 16-25 gallons per hour of avgas at $4 a gallon would be from $64 to $100 per hour.

$9900 just for an hour's maintenance costs and pilot costs? doubt it.

To take a tour ride on the coast of San Diego is $300 for an hour. I doubt that they are charging $9700 less than it costs them to run the helicopter.

"it costs taxpayers minimum $10 k every time that stupid helicopter goes up. great use of money, right?"

Is there a source for this statistic? If this is true, then I agree it's something we should be concerned about.

But, that number seems a little off kilter... $10,ooo everytime it flies?

I'm sure it was domestic or similar, not at all a random attack, and likely not a home invasion or botched burglary.

which makes the helicopter all the more ridiculous.

I sure would like more information on this assault since it appears to have happened on the street directly behind our house. Does anyone know if it was a break in? Assault at a house could have been a party gone bad or a domestic issue.

last time I called the SPD (burglary IN-PROGRESS at my next door neighbor's house),
it took them 45 minutes to arrive. I chased the criminal down the street and gave the police a license plate number.

did anything come of it? of course not.

tell me vagrant, where are your tax dollars going? it costs taxpayers minimum $10 k every time that stupid helicopter goes up. great use of money, right?

seattle isn't like a lot of cities; there are plenty of places to hide from an aerial view. helicopters are just dumb. good for "safety reasons"--like what? crashing into the local school?

you must have really liked T.C. from Magnum p.i. or something

The suspect was probably a homeless person! (I kid... I kid...)

I hope that the victim is okay, and that whoever did it is found.

Well do us a favor jeff, next time you, your wife or kids get assaulted, call the ACLU not 911. I don't want my tax dollars wasted on you.

Woke us all up and was pretty unsettling last night. No activitiy this AM - walked down 14th and all was quiet. Any news on what really happened?

you're right.

we just need more cameras.

love having my privacy invaded.

if you like these helicopters so much, move back to L.A.

love the comment Vagrant. so true. and Goofy love yours too. most major cities have police helicopters. we also had one back in the 60's and early 70's. they are very useful and i believe neccesary. not just for catching thugs, but for safety issues as well.

It was weird - to hear that helicopter
........thought I was hearing things, but was able to go back to sleep.
But I know that the world is just going to hell in a handbasket. At least there were no accompaning sirens nor barking dogs or knock at the door.

Hardly a "waste of resources" here. In fact a city this size needs a full time copter. Unless cameras give you that warm/fuzzy feeling crawling up yer leg? How to turn a conservative into a liberal? Simple. Have them spend a night in jail. How to turn a liberal into a conserative? Simple. Break into their house/car etc. Where are those 100,000 cops I heard about a few years ago anyway?

maybe she deserves a slapping. sometimes that's all it takes.

the suspect was probably a teen girl whom the police were hoping to catch, then slap around a bit.

Unless it was YOU AND YOUR WIFE who assaulted right Jeffo?

How come everyone around Seattle is a hippie until they need a cop?

sounds like a terrible waste of resources to me.

unless suspect had killed someone, there's no need to go on this extravagant witch hunt and waking an entire neighborhood.

I was wondering what I was going on! He (or she) was sure flying low. I just kept hoping that they didn't wake the baby! -which they didn't.