1. 

   HL
   

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   I know it upsets some people to read another Ballard crime post, but the crimes keep happening. In this case, I think a police presence would have made a big difference. Why does Alki beach merit the big SPD RV/Command Unit and lots of officers and Golden Garden gets zero proactive SPD presence? Why not assign a couple of officers (on bikes perhaps) to stay within the park boundaries on summer nights when the crowds are out?

   Mayor Nickels, are you listening? (Oh wait, you live in West Seattle, so you probably think every big waterfront park is patrolled like Alki! Kinda like that B+ you gave the snow response in December while they were out plowing your street.)

   "A man in his mid 20s was taken to an emergency room Sunday night May 31st after a group of seven men attacked him at Golden Gardens, apparently breaking his jaw.

   According to a police report released Friday, the victim said he didn't get a good look at his attackers, who assault him after claiming he was a rapist. Friends who went to a Golden Gardens fire pit with the victim didn't recognize the attackers, and the victim told police he'd done nothing wrong.

   No arrests have been made in the case."

   Read the narrative from the police report, redacted by police, here:

   http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattle911/library/golden_gardens_report.pdf

   Posted 3 years ago #
2. 

   Watchful not Paranoid
   

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   Hi HL,
   Thank you for the information. Please never apologize for providing information on this blog. Many people read it and rely on these posts (as well as other venues) to help us understand our area and how to stay safe and help improve our community.
   cheers!

   Posted 3 years ago #
3. 

   MichaelSnyder
   

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   HL,
   Thank you for sharing this incident. You have information which is useful.

   Just as a FYI, when I sat in on the Parks Commission meeting last fall when they were discussing the idea of banning bonfires at the beach, the park ranger explained how many problems they have with the huge influx of people that these parks get every hot day and every nice weekend. At that time they had two park rangers and two SPD officers working continually from dusk until well past closing just dealing with the illegal fires (fires outside of pits), illegal alcohol use, and people illegally parked all over the area. It is possible that they have made cutbacks in this enforcement, but we as a general public create a pretty expensive set of problems.

   It was also interesting to hear that the situation has gotten quite a bit better in recent decades. At one time people were routinely bringing mattresses onto the beach and lawn and setting them ablaze, leaving both a huge mess and a hazard.

   The park ranger also said that Alki and Golden Gardens have had the same level of enforcement...they are both disasters on weeks like this one.

   I left that meeting feeling like they really needed 8 or 12 officers. This poor guy had been doing the job for decades and seemed rather shell shocked. Banning fires altogether would have significantly reduced his workload. The rangers spend half of their time just telling people that they need to extinguish their illegal fires and the other half telling people that they need to stop drinking alcohol because it is illegal to do so in the park.

   Posted 3 years ago #
4. 

   blueben
   

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   This is a good illustration of why vigilante justice is never pretty, and almost never justified. :(

   Posted 3 years ago #
5. 

   oxssanna
   

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   That comment beggars belief. Vigilante justice by a group of white males in their early 20s, dressed like skaters or rockers, one of which had orange hair, and who drove off in a car with University of Washington plates? More likely a bunch of drunken students and their dimwit friends.

   I know, I know, "They said he was a rapist." Of course, we believe THEM.

   The conclusion does not follow. There probably ARE a thousand good reasons why vigilante justice is a terrible idea, but this incident does not serve to illustrate one of them.

   Posted 3 years ago #
6. 

   chopper 74
   

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   Thanks HL. Never tired of hearing about what's going on.
   oxsanna, once again, thank you. Vigilance = good. Vigilantism = bad.
   A citizens arrest, is not vigilantism.
   A beat down, is not vigilance.
   If you see a rape or sexual assault, please stop it.
   If you hear about a rape or sexual assault, please report it.
   If you think that you can do anything else, you are mistaken, and will be held accountable.

   Posted 3 years ago #
7. 

   Watchful not Paranoid
   

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   WTF Blueben? Here you are on a posting that is clearly about crime in Ballard. I thought your sensitive nature had a problem with this content? YOU can CHOOSE to avoid it you know!
   It's called selectivity.

   Posted 3 years ago #
8. 

   phoo
   

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   Could we please stop haranging and harrassing each other? We all live here. We all have different opinions. Let's roll with it and make things better for all.

   Posted 3 years ago #
9. 

   pattr
   

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   Ok...20 year olds get drunk...20 year olds are filled with testosterone...20 year olds fight. Big deal.

   This makes it sound like if you take your kids to golden gardens during the day to play in the sand they will be jumped and Beaten! BS!

   It is what it is. Its not homeless junkies jumping out of the woods to beat someone up.
   Its stupid young males being stupid young males. Period

   Posted 3 years ago #
10. 

    eyewitnessIII
    

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    pattr,

    I was a stupid young male once, though I always avoided fights. But I did do stupid things that got me in trouble. Trouble is what stupid young males should get when they do stupid things.

    "Boys will be boys" is also a stupid attitude.

    Posted 3 years ago #
11. 

    SunsetHillMarauder
    

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    Damn! Things around this neighborhood have never been worse than they are now!

    Posted 6 months ago #
12. 

    BallardTrees
    

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    I believe you meant this as satire. Consider the possibility that people no longer take the time/care enough/think it's "worth it" to raise these kinds of issues in a MyBallard public forum. I believe stuff like this continues to happen in Ballard. Unfortunately.

    Posted 6 months ago #

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