The message was clear at Wednesday night’s community meeting:
“Give us a call,” said Officer Kipp Strong, a member of Seattle’s community police team.
He said officers rely on residents to be their “eyes and ears.”
“We’ll do the dirty work – you just do the work. Give us a call,” said Strong, a 19-year veteran.
To make things easier, he gave the crowd of around 40 attending the Maple Leaf Community’s Council’s general meeting his direct phone number: 206-233-3734.
But that’s not the number to call if you see something suspicious. For that, “call 911,” said Mike Sanford, assistant police chief.
Strong said Maple Leaf is not a hot spot for home burglaries and car prowls, despite a “slight uptick in those types of crimes in the area.
“It’s not a huge one, nothing that would make you go ‘wow,'” Strong said.
Sanford also talked about the Seattle Police force response to the federal Department of Justice findings that the department has used excessive force. He suggested that a test of new procedures will come on May Day, next Tuesday May 1, when a collection of organizations hopes to shut down Seattle with a “general strike,” under the banner of “No work, no school, shutdown the city!”
The community meeting also heard an update on the Maple Leaf Reservoir Park, a briefing from King County Councilman Bob Ferguson, and information on emergency planning.