SEATTLE — Residents near Magnuson Park in Seattle filled the park's community theater on Wednesday to discuss growing crime concerns with representatives from city council, the mayor's office and the police department.
The safety meeting comes on the heels of two recent homicides, several teens being arrested at the tail end of a car chase and repeated complaints of loud, late night parties at the park's boat launch.
"The issues are not just at Magnuson Park," said District 4 Councilmember Maritza Rivera. "We wanted to broaden it because I've heard from other constituents about other areas within the district."
According a letter published by the neighborhood group View Ridge Community Council (VRCC), there have been several incidents of loud, late night parties being held at the park's boat launch.
"Even in Kirkland, we get 911 calls because they can hear it too," said Seattle Police Department North Precinct Captain Lori Aagard, one of the panelist at Wednesday's meeting.
She said they believe up to 200 people have attended the parties, which include loud music and alcohol after the park's posted hours. Despite the city hiring security to ensure the gates to the launch are closed and locked, Aagard said people have driven around them and the parties have continued.
As a result, Aagard said she's ordered more patrols in the area, but acknowledged staffing remains an obstacle.
"We're always below what we want," she said, answering a pre-screened question submitted for the panel. "I know it's gonna get better, but right now we're dealing with staffing shortages."
Aagard said the precinct has 20 officers, but admitted they're rarely at full staff.
She said last weekend, the precinct's night shift operated with 14 officers on Friday, 13 on Saturday and 15 on Sunday.
"I know Chief [Sue] Rahr's priority is to get more officers hired and trained," Aagard said.
According to Robert Johnson, president of the VRCC, more than 200 people RSVP'd to the event.
Questions were pre-submitted and read to the panel by Rivera.
She opened the meeting by questioning Deputy Mayor Tim Burgess about how the mayor's office responds to inquiries.
"We receive hundreds of [letters] every week from all over the city," Burgess said. "We either respond to them directly [or] we send them to the department that was raised by the resident or business or whoever is sending them to us."
Burgess, Rivera and Aagard all acknowledged a series of incidents in the area that prompted widespread concern.
In August, a man was murdered in the parking lot of 7-Eleven across the street from the park.
In September, another man was killed in the 6900 block of 62nd Avenue Northeast, less than a mile south of the gas station homicide.
"Both of those make all of you fearful. No one ever wants to have that in their community," Aagard told the community.
Just days after the 62nd Avenue homicide, five teenagers were arrested inside the park after police say they led cops on a chase in a stolen vehicle.
"Every day there is something going on. Police are here all the time," said William Schut, a nearby resident. "If you ask anyone in the community, they'll let know you it's way worse than it's ever been before."
Rivera insisted the city is responding.
"A lot of people may not know all the efforts that have been going into public safety issues that really, in the park, the city has been working on since the summer," she said.