Seattle police have combined an increased presence with high-tech measures in an effort to rid Kinnear Park of drug activity, but many of the 100 or so people who showed up at a Feb. 11 meeting at Bayview Manor about the ongoing problem remain frustrated and afraid.
The meeting was sponsored by the parks committee of Magnolia/Queen District Council, and Queen Anne resident Darrell Parker, who organized the gathering, was upbeat about the chances for a turn-around. "We have a lot of voice," he said, "a lot of power to clean that park up." All it will take is for each person to do a little bit for the cause, according to Parker.
While that may be true, police are also doing their part, according to Sgt. Paul Gracy, who heads up the community-police team in Queen Anne and Magnolia. Among the efforts, he said, is equipping plain-clothes members of the Anti-Crime Team (ACT) with night-vision goggles during the night shift in the poorly lighted park.
Officer Dave Hockett, who is taking the lead in Kinnear Park effort, added that 23 officers have been assigned to the park. It all started when one or two drug dealers started doing business there several months ago, he said.
They were soon joined by others, but the problem went unnoticed initially.
"They set up shop about a month before (nearby) neighbors started to tell us," Hockett explained. But judging from police reports, the word is out now. "So we've been throwing all kinds of resources (at it)," he said. The resources include bicycle police, who can suddenly "swoop in" on suspicious activity, Hockett added. Drug-sniffing dogs will also be assigned to the park soon, he said.
Undercover King County police are also involved because the dealers and those looking for them often arrive by bus, said KCPD Sgt. Thomas Reynolds. But because the county police are in plain clothes, they only ride the buses and patrol bus shelters, he said.
Going into the park itself is out of the question, Reynolds explained, because the plain-clothes county cops could end up in a standoff with plain-clothes Seattle police and neither group would back off. "That's the way people get hurt."
Cheryl Fraser, from Seattle Parks and Recreation, said that department is doing its part to help, as well. The help has involved clearing out underbrush to improve sight lines and to eliminate hiding places for drugs, she said.
Last week the department hauled away truckloads of non-native brush that had been covering the hillsides.
Terrie Johnston, who heads up crime-prevention efforts in the West Precinct, urged those at the meeting to call 911 about suspicious activity in the park, even if it's not a life-or-death situation.
"You are going to have to articulate why it's suspicious, why your gut tells you something is going on," Johnston said. "And it's OK if you're wrong."
[[In-content Ad]]
