“Seattle residents are clear about their priorities: turn the cameras on now, increase visible police presence now, and provide a comprehensive, action driven public safety plan in the next 100 days.”
A 21-year-old man was shot in the back, and more than 30 shell casings were recovered after a gun battle in Seattle’s Pioneer Square early Sunday, within view of three city surveillance cameras that had been turned off after the World Cup.
Seattle police said officers responded around 1:34 am to multiple 911 calls reporting gunfire near 1st Avenue and South King Street. When officers arrived, they found more than 30 shell casings from multiple calibers and a firearm that appeared to have been dropped as someone fled the area.
Nearby security personnel told police that a fight had spilled out of a bar and into the street before several people became involved in a shootout. No suspects or victims remained when officers arrived. A short time later, a 21-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound to the back arrived at Harborview Medical Center. Several vehicles and a business window were also struck by gunfire.
Investigators may be missing what could have potentially been valuable footage of the shooting. KOMO News reported that three city surveillance cameras were positioned within view of the shootout but were offline, after Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson ordered Stadium District cameras deactivated following the conclusion of Seattle’s World Cup matches.
The Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) blasted Wilson over the decision. “Here we go again, Mayor Katie. Another violent shootout. Three city surveillance cameras within view. All turned off by the Mayor’s order. SPOG warned what would happen when proven public safety tools were taken offline. Now Seattle is right back where we started. Déjà vu.”
https://twitter.com/SPOG1952/status/2089450404602060844?s=20
The cameras had already become a political flashpoint earlier this Spring before the World Cup, the socialist mayor had paused expansion of Seattle’s surveillance-camera program while the city conducted a privacy and data-governance review. The debate centered in part on civil-liberties concerns about how surveillance information could potentially be accessed or used, including fears involving immigration enforcement, reproductive care and gender-affirming care.
Wilson ultimately agreed to activate the Stadium District cameras temporarily during the World Cup after the FBI and local law enforcement identified “general but credible security threats” connected to the internationally prominent tournament. Wilson said the cameras would be activated only for the duration of Seattle’s World Cup matches because of the event’s “high global profile and the unique circumstances surrounding the event.”
Once Seattle’s World Cup run ended, Wilson followed through and had the Stadium District cameras switched off, pending completion of the privacy review. The decision drew immediate criticism from public-safety advocates and business leaders who argued that the need for crime-fighting tools did not disappear when World Cup visitors left Seattle.
The Pioneer Square shootout has now put that decision back under scrutiny. It also comes as Seattle voters are signaling overwhelming support for the surveillance technology. A poll released Monday by the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Challenge Seattle found 75 percent of Seattle voters support the city’s CCTV program, while only 34 percent said they were confident Wilson has an effective plan to improve public safety.
Support remained strong when voters were asked about specific uses for the technology. Seventy-four percent supported expanding cameras to Seattle Center and other major event venues, 71 percent backed cameras in areas affected by open-air drug markets and high levels of street disorder, and 68 percent supported real-time monitoring by civilian public-safety officials in designated high-crime areas and during major events.
“The public isn’t asking for a debate on public safety. They want action now to solve it,” former Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire, CEO of Challenge Seattle, said. “Seattle residents are clear about their priorities: turn the cameras on now, increase visible police presence now, and provide a comprehensive, action driven public safety plan in the next 100 days.”
The polling also found 90 percent support regular foot and bicycle police patrols in areas with persistent public-safety problems, while 86 percent support requiring the city to produce a public-safety action plan within 100 days with measurable goals and monthly progress reports. The survey was conducted by Fulcrum Strategy Group among 500 Seattle voters from Aug. 10-13 and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
Pressure on Wilson to restore the cameras had already been building before Sunday’s shooting. Earlier this month, a coalition representing major Seattle venues, sporting organizations, tourism interests and events, including the Space Needle, Seattle Storm, Seattle Convention Center, Climate Pledge Arena, Visit Seattle and Seattle Sports Commission, urged Wilson to reactivate 22 CCTV cameras in Pioneer Square and the Stadium District while the city’s review continues.
Now detectives with the Seattle Police Department’s Gun Violence Reduction Unit are investigating a shootout that occurred in view of cameras installed to help police investigate exactly that kind of violent crime, but the cameras weren’t recording.
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