SEATTLE — Frustrated residents packed Alki United Church of Christ Wednesday evening.
They demanded city leaders take action against the surge of violent crimes happening along Alki Beach. The top demand from a majority in the audience? More police officers patrolling their streets.
"Why are there no police to stop these people? If they're not stopped, they're going to continue doing this," Martina Loeffelmann, who lives just blocks from Alki Beach, said.
A deadly shooting over the weekend prompted Wednesday night's public safety meeting. It was led by Councilmember Rob Saka who expressed his frustration and sadness about what is happening in his district.
CM Saka was joined by Councilmember Tanya Woo, Interim Police Chief Sue Rahr, and representatives from the Mayor's Office, SDOT and the Parks Department. They promised a multi-faceted, interagency approach to address the issues.
"If we start to change the atmosphere and climate that rules matter, I think that will help a lot," Chief Rahr said.
She committed to deploying more officers to Alki Beach starting this weekend. However, Rahr acknowledged that police alone cannot solve the societal problems that drive the unprecedented spike in crime.
"We live in a gun culture. Our society celebrates guns," she said. "Our social fabric has frayed... put that together with guns everywhere and the police department is not going to turn that around. We will do everything we can, but it's out of control."
Chief Rahr said police found more than 160 shell casings at a recent shooting. That volume drew audible gasps from the crowd. She shared that with the crowd to show them what officers are up against. Seattle police are also down nearly 400 officers according to Rahr. Extra patrols for neighborhoods like Alki will be funded through over time.
Community members also brought up the following as possible solutions to cut down on crime: traffic cameras, speed bumps, permitted parking, and more patrols at parks. City leaders said those are all possibilities in the near future.