Today at about 5:15pm, East Precinct officers were involved in an incident that included shots fired, a collision, and a foot pursuit along Jackson Street.
It all began when a two-officer team was investigating a suspicious vehicle with stolen plates in the parking lot of the 7-Stars Mini-Mart on the southwest corner of 20th S. & S. Jackson. There was an altercation between the officers and the car’s occupants, and one or more shots were fired by an officer. It is not clear if any of the shots struck the suspects or their vehicle. The suspects then drove away in the white 4-door Lexus, headed westbound on Jackson.
Other police units were already responding to the scene when the suspects drove away, and one of those encountered the vehicle in the 1800 block of S. Jackson, causing the suspects to bail out of the vehicle and leaving it to roll down the hill, striking that second police car. An officer in that car suffered minor injuries in the collision, but was not taken to the hospital.
The three four suspects were pursued and three were successfully caught by police. One was caught several blocks away in the 1800 block of S. Lane, where a neighbor told me that he heard the suspect screaming in pain before he was taken away by police. One suspect is still at large.
SPD spokesman Jeff Kappel said that one suspect suffered a non-life-threatening injury to a hand in the incident and was transported to Harborview for further treatment. Although scanner traffic indicated that one suspect was shot in the hand, the nature or cause of that specific injury could not be confirmed by police. [update: police are now saying that that suspect’s hand injury was likely a bullet wound]
A loaded handgun was recovered near where the suspect vehicle collided with police in the 1800 block of S. Jackson. Police say it was dropped by one of the suspects as he exited the vehicle.
Jackson street was shut down in all directions for almost three hours while police investigated the crime scene.
Detective Kappel’s briefing is included as a video clip above. More details should be available later tonight – we’ll update this as we learn more.
Update – New details from an SPD press release:
The car was originally occupied by four suspects, and the fourth one is is still at large. Our update at 6:10pm described him as a light-skinned black male, 5’5″, stocky build, light shirt, dark pants.
The reason for the original investigation of the vehicle was because the plates didn’t match the vehicle description. This is a common occurrence on stolen vehicles – plates are swiped from another car and placed on the hot vehicle to keep it from being immediately identified as stolen.
The vehicle’s occupants were uncooperative when police approached, and the driver allegedly tried to run over one of the officers as they drove off, resulting in an officer firing multiple rounds at the driver. Police now say that the suspect with the injured hand was the result of a gunshot wound.
The officer involved in the shooting is on paid leave while the investigation continues, a common step whenever an officer is involved in a shooting.
Here’s our original breaking-news report:
Jackson Street is shut down in both directions with a large police response to a shots fired incident.
Medics are on the scene too, but it’s not immediately clear if there’s any injuries.
A white Lexus is parked in the middle of the street with front end damage.
A man in the crowd says that his cousin was at the store at 20th and Jackson, when police tased them, chased them, and then shot at the car.
More as we get it.
From the radio: 5:20PM An officer was heard yelling “Shots fired, 20th and Jackson”. Multiple officers were then involved in a foot pursuit with three black juveniles resulting with one officer apprehending two suspects at 19th and Jackson. The third suspect, with a gunshot wound to the hand, was apprehended several minutes later in the 1800 block of S Lane. There was some confusion locating all of the officers involved, but all were accounted with no major injuries. A firearm was located at 19th and Jackson.
Heard on the radio that there is a second event. What the heck is going on there? 18th and Jackson? Thanks for the great work! Also confused as to why the police opened fire… did someone really have a gun?
Was this either of the cars reported in the shooting at am/pm last night? I believe there was a green GMC Jimmy and a black escalade noted as being suspicious
Here’s the link to the king5 article, the video is informative… http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_070609WAB-spd-offi
No – this was a white Lexus, which was not ever mentioned as a possibly involved vehicle in last night’s shooting
Do you know the plate number of the white Lexus involved? There’s been a suspicious white Lexus that I’ve seen several times on my block and I’m wondering if it’s the same poeple.
Sounds like the SPD may have stopped a potential retaliation for yesterday’s shooting. Either way a gun and three bad guys off the streets – at least for the time being. Good job SPD!
Lexus? Wow, I wish I could waste money.
I want to alert folks to two events last week that make me suspect that this is all turf battle bs for the local gangs.
At 8 am last Wednesday, there was some unusually heavy drug activity at 23rd and Cherry and then on Thursday at 8am my girlfriend was accosted by a punk at 19th and Jefferson who grabbed her breast. According to the cops, her attack may have been related to gang initiation which they’ve seen an increase in lately.
Unfortunately no neighborhood or time of day is off-limits. One realitively easy way to fight back is to gather your neighbors on August 4th for the Annual SPD Night Out. It’s only a few weeks away and is a great way to get to know your neighbors. Check out: http://www.seattle.gov/police/nightout/docs/NightOutNewslett
Maybe a contest for the best neighborhood anti-gang chalk graffiti?
Remember, be aware and look out for each other!
May I suggest the best cure for gangbanging?
Parenting lessons.
And not by the Grandparents.
I just want to chime in and stress that today’s event appears to be unique, and not related to any other recent activity.
This wasn’t a shootout between rival gang members. It was a suspicious vehicle whose occupants panicked when police started to check them out. It appears that the only shot fired came from officers, although the suspects were allegedly armed too.
FYI
These people are not from Seattle and have nothing to do with the gang violence that has been occuring in the area.
License plates were not stolen and it’s a shame that the police can contact people and lie to justify what happens when they over step their jobs. If you were black it would be a shame something like this happening to you. The only thing suspicious was 3 black men in a Lexus.
Think about it before you judge people.
@Kevin P:
The suspicious thing was 3 juveniles in a white Lexus with plates that belonged to a completely different car. Multiple sources are reporting that the plates were, if not stolen, at least on the wrong car.
3 kids in a luxury car with the wrong plates = suspicious. 3 grown men in a luxury car with the plates registered to it would be a completely different situation.
Actually, to the police, any teenager driving a car is worthy of investigation, if I remember my teenage years correctly.
Also, who the fuck runs from the police? Seriously, that’s both stupid and illegal.
I have always been told, the first step to understanding something is to look at it objectively. Your opinion of the police does not sound very objective to me at all. How about thinking of each situation as an individual event, giving everyone involved the benefit of the doubt; including our local police. From your comment, you seem to have very specific information about this situation. I encourage you to contact the police if you have any information on this matter that could help to ease our community’s fears and their investigation.
I humbly and respectfully offer this Food for Thought:
The definition of Prejudice as listed in Websters Dictionary is, the unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason.
The only way we as a community can unite and do our part to begin to fix our neighborhood problems is to start with open, honest communication and close evaluation of the Police Departments response to situations of this nature.
May we all find peace some day.
You’re right, the cops should just stop patrolling the CD all together. Put a big fence up around the hood and let people settle their problems among themselves.
They ditched the Lexus only AFTER crashing it into a second police car at 18th and fled on foot. One of the men dropped a loaded handgun in the street. But I’m sure they were good kids, just trying to get their lives straightened out.
That should really drive up the property value of those new condos and apartments on Jackson.
Move in to the hood! Free entertainment! Hope you’ve got insurance. First month’s rent free.
That seven star mini mart should be replaced with something useful like a cafe or a quality grocery market. The parking lot is 100% a mess, all the time.
excuse me can four black men ride in a car and not be profiled? What was suspious about them? Why did the police feel they needed to shoot? Here again is another action taken on a community that is in transition to run the african americans away.
Yeah, I’m not too worried about this “good kid” losing his hand (actually it will probably be reconstructed at enourmous hospital expense…) if it means he can’t: 1) roll in a lexus in the middle of the gd day (my folks would have whooped my ass just for that!) 2) hold a gun 3) and it’s not like he was using the hand to work anyway…. what a punk!
Stolen license plates = suspicion. I don’t care what race they are!
Besides the fake license plate? I’m damn glad they WERE profiled before they killed you or one of your loved ones.
But you’re right, these guys should be just allowed to run amok in the CD, afterall they are what keeps the ‘hood affordable: thugs. As long as they only **** with their own kind, why should anyone care?
That’s just ridiculous. They had a fake license plate on. Yesterday, I was pulled over near the post-office on 23rd and Union because a cop sitting behind me at the stop light noticed my little license plate tags were expired (forgot to renew them in May 09). He noticed a little 1-inch x 2 inch sticker on my moving Toyota plates and pulled me over.
I took the ticket as I deserved it for my stupidity and departed. Just imagine what would’ve happened if when he turned on his lights I just floored it and rolled out of the car like these four morons?
Racial profiling my ass.
(BTW, I’m white, not that it should matter.)
Nowhere on the news does it say that the license plates were stolen.
That’s called an excuse to approach 3 men in a car.
I’m not saying that they were right for driving off but what would you do if you were tazed in the neck. Probably didn’t have control of ones reflexes.
Before white people moved into the neighborhood it was not one of your concerns what happened to us.
It also doesn’t say anything about the driver being “tazed” before being shot at.
I was around the area and saw the beginning then drove off, but if your “good police” would tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The facts would be present.
Don’t believe everything you hear.
playing the race card on this just makes you look dumb.
Know your history. This has not always been an African American neighborhood.
Seems like you came back for whats yours.
USA wasn’t always American either.
Does that make it right?
Hey, go for it, hug this thug tightly and blame others for his long, drug dealing criminal history. Why do I care, it’s not my community that he sells drugs to and victimizes. So you’re right, you don’t need the police. Enjoy life with your new found criminal friends.
The precise term used by police is that the vehicle was investigated because “the license plates did not match the vehicle description”. I just placed a follow-up call to SPD spokesperson Renee Witt, who added that the front and back license plates did not match. However, she could not confirm whether the plates or the vehicle itself was stolen.
We heard from someone else at the scene yesterday that one of the suspects was tased. Officer Witt did just confirm to us that one suspect was hit with a taser “shortly after” the officers made their initial contact in the parking lot at 20th & Jackson.
http://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2009/07/06/officer-involved-sh
Jeff says “You’re right, the cops should just stop patrolling the CD all together. Put a big fence up around the hood and let people settle their problems among themselves”. What shallow racist crap! This is way of thinking is typical 1950″s Jim Crow. This is, unfortunatly, what the Seattle Police did before the Black Community rose up and demanded equal treatment. This is not the 1950’s Jeff, please grow up and try to expand whatever feeble social concepts you may hold dear.
” the front and back license plates did not match”
Gotta laugh….I guess reading wasn’t high on their list of priorities.
“Before white people moved into the neighborhood it was not one of your concerns what happened to us.”
That statement represents the continual us vs. them problems faced by all residents of the CD and beyond.
You just sound ignorant, Kevin P.
These guys were obviously not all right.
I’ve been “racially profiled” by the cops too… if that means pulled over for missing a front license plate, and another time for having expired tabs. My skin is pale. That cop was just looking for any excuse!
Of course, I wasn’t driving a suspicious vehicle, didn’t mess with the cops, and didn’t speed off and bail out of the car and flee the scene. I’m also not a f*cking retard, like apparently these 4 were.
It’s all a conspiracy!