SEATTLE — The Ballard Mailbox & Shipping Centre has been a staple in the Seattle neighborhood for more than four decades.
After an encounter with a customer earlier this week that the business said caused thousands of dollars in damage, the business is hurting.
"We're just a small business in Ballard struggling to make ends meet and this is just not fair,” said Fraser Thomas. “We shouldn't have to deal with this."
Thomas is an employee at the longtime Ballard business. He said a customer came in around 3:45 p.m. Sept. 23, accusing him and other staff of stealing a package. And then things escalated. The customer dashed into a storage room and threw items. He then pulled out a knife and climbed onto the roof.
KING 5 is not identifying the man because he has not been charged with a crime. Fraser said other employees, customers and nearby businesses called 911 at least 20 times.
Thomas said the suspect left at 7:30 p.m. and then police showed up about 30 minutes later.
"It really shouldn't happen again. It shouldn't have happened in the first place,” said Thomas. “If somebody from [the Seattle Police Department] had come, even in the first hour, they could've done something about it."
According to data released by the police department, police response times have been going up over the last four years. The average response time for priority 1 calls in the North Precinct from January to March was an average of 13.8 minutes. The average response time in the first quarter of 2023 was 12.2 minutes. Meanwhile for priority two calls it takes an average of 83 minutes to response and 176 minutes for priority three.
A report released by the police department notes that in comparing the first quarter of 2024 against the same period last year, "all five precincts lagged behind their 2023 average and median response times" for priority 1 and 3 calls.
"There has to be a combination of an iron fist and a velvet glove,” said Thomas. “I think there really has to be a balance between getting people off the streets and spending money on the treatment they deserve. Those people don’t deserve it, but we're taxpayers, we don't deserve it either."
No employees or customers were injured during the incident at the Mailbox. The business said none of the mail or packages were damaged either. Besides closing on the day after the encounter, Ballard Mailbox is open for its customers Monday through Sunday.