Woman raped in car dealership bathroom

Geeky Swedes Ballard

Updated: A woman was raped inside the bathroom at Carter Volkswagen on Leary Way on Monday morning, according to court documents.

The 40-year-old woman had taken her car in for service just after 7 a.m. After getting some coffee, she went to the restroom, which is in a temporary area due to ongoing construction.

After following her into the women’s bathroom, a homeless man forced open the stall door despite the woman’s best efforts to hold it closed, according to the documents.

After hearing the commotion, employees ran to the bathroom, but the door was locked. According to the probable cause documents, the suspect admitted to locking the door after he walked in.

“They got the door open and a few employees came to her aid,” said Jennifer Moran, executive manager at Carter Volkswagen. “They detained him until police arrived.” A customer also helped detain the man.

The suspect was identified by KOMO News and Q13 as Christopher Edward Teel. Court documents say he admitted to the rape and was “resisting, aggressive and non-compliant” with officers. His address listed in the police report is “99999 Homeless St. Seattle.”

Teel is shown on King County Jail records as being booked for charges of rape, assault and unlawful imprisonment. He also shows a prior arrest for trespassing in a home in Magnolia.

A November story in the Seattle Times shows photos of a “Chris Teel” as a resident of Ballard Nickelsville. The man is shown getting ready for the move to the Northlake Nickelsville camp.

The woman was taken to Ballard Swedish Hospital.

“We’re shaken,” Moran told My Ballard, who says her thoughts are with the victim. “The effects on all the employees are no where near what this customer was assaulted is experiencing. There’s a widespread concern about her.”

Moran said she’s also concerned about the rising homelessness and crime in the neighborhood.

“We’re a company that’s been around since the 1960s, and nothing like this has happened,” she said. “We used to not see tents on the sidewalks, or part of the sidewalk, even a couple years ago. And now we do. We see an increased number of vehicles that people are living in. The challenge that creates — not all of them are bad and criminal, but some of them are. And we’re trying to navigate through that as employees and a business here in Ballard.”

It looks like the first tip about Monday morning’s rape — which occurred several hours before the head tax vote — appeared on the Safe Seattle Facebook page Tuesday evening. The first media reports appeared this morning.

Seattle Police has yet to post details about the crime online, as it typically does for newsworthy events. We have reached out to SPD, which has yet to respond.

“Ballard is such a great community,” Moran said. “I sure hope that something gets figured out and something changes, because what’s going on isn’t working and getting worse and it’s affecting us greatly.”

Monday’s rape is the latest in a series of crimes in the Leary Way area of Ballard. Last month a man was shot and killed just two blocks away from Carter Volkswagen. A week before that, a man was found murdered in a camper on 15th Ave. near the bridge. In November on Leary Way, a man was set on fire and critically injured.

Last year a sex offender was arrested for attempting to rape a woman in the Golden Garden’s restroom. He was sentenced in March.

(File photo from Google Maps)

Geeky Swedes

The founders of My Ballard

102 thoughts to “Woman raped in car dealership bathroom”

  2. Conveniently not in the police blotter on Monday as to shield the truth from the public as a vote was carried to extort businesses for a head tax.

    Vote. O’Brien. Out.

    I’m so tired of this clown. Hire some officers and clean Ballard up… don’t attract people here… as this rapist was. Followed a 40 year old women out here from Texas.

    Nice Mike.

    Keep it up.

  3. I look forward to Mike O’Brien’s comment. How does he plan on keeping Ballard residents safe. He tells people to call the police. Ballard residents have informed O’Brien that the police simply do not show-up.

    Perhaps it is time to vote O’Brien out of office.

  6. @JOHN KLINE – Since not all crimes are added to the blotter in real time, please share your evidence to support the conspiracy. Also, he did not follow her…he came here from Texas, but it was stranger-on-stranger here. Outrage at this is great, but it’s still no excuse for spinning a crazy quilt from Dori’s threads.

  8. Time for Ballard to deannex from Seattle, maybe Shoreline would still take us? We need a functioning police department and school system. Seattle offers neither.

    At a minimum we need to bring in a private police force like they did in Magnolia and Queen Anne to enforce basic laws. The only laws SPD is capable of enforcing are related to parking…unless you live in your car and you are free to park for as long as you want, wherever you want.

  11. Nick.. gotta do your homework before you let O’Brien of the hook. Please educate yourself… or simply let that little kid in your avatar run around under the Ballard Bridge for a few minutes.

    You’ll clue in really quick why O’Brien needs to go.

  20. Nick. its liberals like you who need to be spoon fed that are really frustrating. Its not a hard storyline to follow.

    O’Brien. Sawant. Bagshaw. All of them are the problem and responsible for the vagrants, homelessness, and drug addiction that lead to these types of crimes.

    Open up a paper or turn on the radio. Turn on your brain and the lights out on O’Brien’s political career.

    Save Shilshole!

  21. It’s O’Brien’s policies of enabling this crap, Nick. If he’s going to call these campers “vulnerable community members,” he better be ready to be called out on that.

  22. LOL, “the police are worthless and never show up!” Except they came right away and captured this guy.
    “Mike O’Brien is responsible for everything!” LMFAO It turns out it Is your fault. If you want change, then make change happen.

  24. Nick is the troll this community needs. No one is responsible! Blame is not to put on anyone. Continue on. Nothing to see here.

    Get real son.

  25. For those mentioning the “gentleman” comment, that’s a direct quote from the manager at Carter Volkswagen when she spoke (very emotionally) on KIRO Radio.

    Quote marks that reference a person = direct statement from that person.

    We’ll also take this opportunity to remind everyone of our comment rules, and to please try to keep things civil: https://www.myballard.com/comment-rules/

  26. According to Dori Monson’s program the perp – Christopher Edward Teel – is originally from Texas. Was previously arrested by SDP for breaking into, stealing everything, and living in a Magnolia home- he was only charged with criminal trespass(not burglary) and let go for some reason. He never showed at the court date and had an outstanding warrant for the criminal trespass charge when he was arrested following the Ballard bathroom rape. Apparently there is also a photo circulating of him at a Nicholsville camp using free taxpayer services. According to 97.3fm, Illegal campers are not routinely checked for outstanding warrants by SPD – I dont know if this guy had the arrest warrant while he was at Nicholsville or not but the bottom line is he never should have free in Seattle following the Magnolia burglary.

  27. “I can’t wait to read Elenchos’s take on this.”

    It will be along the lines of “you have a far greater chance of being raped by an uncle than a houseless person. Just ask my nephews!”

  29. @Paul, In an ideal world, he would have been picked up by the police for an outstanding warrant, but they probably didn’t have the time/resources to pick him up (trespassing/burglary isn’t considered a violent crime so probably not high on the priority list to get off the streets). We need more police (remember all the articles that we have one neighborhood beat cop) — but how do we pay for this in our growing city? Increase property taxes, head taxes, usage fees?

    P.S. We can’t incarcerate all the homeless for being homeless– the jails become overcrowded and then we have to release folks who are in for non-violent crimes. (Or we have to build more jails, which cost money)

  31. Actually, someone here floated the best beginning for a temporary solution I’ve yet to hear. I, like everyone else, wants to help those who are homeless but trying. If we could check everyone in the tents, RV’s, and Nicklesville’s for warrants, and lock them up, we should (in theory) be able to better allocate our ‘tax dollars for the homeless’ to those who really deserve (or at least need) them.
    This takes manpower, money, and jail space, none of which we have. However, it’s logical, and could be a stepping stone for improvement in how we allocate our tax dollars for the homeless.

  32. @Guest
    It never ceases to amaze how apologists for the city’s failed leadership argue against assertions that Seattle has “revolving door justice” by citing conditions that, in sum, exactly amount to revolving door justice. Ofc Guzley was suspended for 2 days for tackling a lunatic wielding a stolen ax from REI. He didn’t shoot (“aim for the leg” says people who have never used a firearm) and took the perp into custody without injury, yet he was punished by on overzealous internal commission. Now, you tell me if this kind of thing HELPS create an culture of proactive crime prevention and law enforcement. I’ll wait.

    To pretend that this city is lawless and punishes both citizens and police for protecting themselves is a level of intentional blindness that rivals anything I’ve seen from the Republicans. The entrenched leadership here is toxic and dangerous. Listen to your neighbors and vote these criminally negligent politicians OUT OF OFFICE.

  34. “I can’t wait to read Elenchos’s take on this.”

    I bet you can’t. You can hardly contain your glee, eh?

    A member of a group you are prejudiced against has committed a crime, and you think this is a golden opportunity to blame the entire group, and attack anyone who has ever opposed prejudice and bigotry against then.

    Safe Seattle is a hate group, straight out of the Jim Crow era of lynchings.

    It has always been wrong to round up whole classes or groups of people because a privileged group fears and despises them. It doesn’t matter if it’s because of their race, or nationality, or religion or because they are homeless.

    Rape is a terrible crime. So is lynching. Exploiting a rape to flog your phony agenda is disgusting.

  35. @Elenchos
    Yes, here you are with vitriol and accusations against your neighbors, yet you have none for the rapist or the other felons dwelling all over the city. It’s really a new low, even for you.

  36. To amend my previous post “to lock them (meaning the ones with warrants out for their arrest) up.” Not check all the homeless and lock them all up. Just the ones with outstanding arrest warrants.

  40. “We see an increased number of vehicles ”
    -from someone who sells cars?

    I can’t believe you guys are citing Safe Seattle Facebook as if that’s a legitimate news source

  44. @ELENCHOS – thank you for voicing what so many of us feel. I don’t usually read the comments, and therefore don’t typically respond to these threads, but I want you to know that it’s appreciated. The Safe Seattle Facebook page is so full of hate and anger that it makes me question what has happened to this city… or whether we are simply experiencing what has also been happening across the country in recent years – permission to hate groups of people publicly and an echo chamber for doing so.

  45. Ah, merely saying rape is a terrible crime isn’t nearly enough of a perfomative denunciation for Safe Seattle’s fake outrage squad. Aren’t you the same ones forever squawking “virtue signaling!!!” whenever anyone you don’t like takes a stand against the staus quo?

    Let’s tally the sockpuppet virtue signaling: first post? Any mention of the victim? Nope. His first thought is not for her, but for his enemy. “How can I use this against O’Brien?” Second sock post? O’Brien again. Long post, yet no room for one word of support for the victim herself. Third post: more of the same. Zero imagination.

    Finally, the regular socks let up long enough for a normal human to say a word of sympathy for the person who we should really be concerned about.

    But that doesn’t last. We’re baaaaaack with another ghoul working down their enemies list. “Maybe I can use this against some guy on the Internet! I’ll win my flamewar and be a hero!” Sad.

    And so it goes, on and on. Internet Tough Guys trying to out virtue signal each other with their macho posturing. Showing off how violently you would lynch the rapist.

    Obsessive revenge against rapists isn’t about preventing rape or helping victims. It’s about you, your slighted honor. Families commit honor killings against rapists because they see it as an offense against them. Harm to “their” property.

    Extravagant punishment of rape is just honor killing. It’s just another facet of rape culture. Yet another objectivation of women’s bodies.

    You perceive this as a failure of your rival: a rape on his watch is emasculating to Mike O’ Brien. He didn’t protect “his” women. Score a point against Mike! (You know he’s not even on the public safety committee, right? Never has been, not is he police chief or mayor. It doesn’t begin to make a lick if sense to drag him into it.)

    (And he doesn’t profit from homelessness, because that’s just stupid.)

    You have nothing to say about this woman who is the one who really matters. To you, this is all about your rivals, the rapist, and your own magnificent self. You’re here to advocate mass incarceration, lynching, and police bullying of powerless people in need. Because you ever cared about violence against women? Hardly. It’s because you find homeless people inconvenient, and an easy tool to use against liberal Seattle in favor of right wing politicians.

    Why won’t MyBallard permanently block these flame warriors? Every post turns into a flamewar between them and their enemies.

  46. So yeah, homeless guys rapes someone in Ballard. That’s on O’Brien

    But I missed the blame for the murder of Robert Baker, who are we pinning that one on?

    Also, my lights and pump were stolen off my bike a few days ago. Since its cycling related can I still pin that one on McGinn??

  47. What does Mike O’Brien have to do with this? The hands-off policies that he and other members of the city council support have created a welcoming environment for criminals. A big part of the reason people were so angry at the recent meeting in Ballard is that many have contacted O’Brien repeatedly about the worsening public health and safety in his district, and have been largely ignored. O’Brien has made it clear that public safety is not a priority for him.

    Monday’s rape is just the latest in a horrific string of crime that have occurred in his district, on his watch, over the past two and a half years. Those include:

    – April 2018 – man found shot to death in camper parked on 15th Ave. NW; a little more than a week later, a man is gunned down outside a Ballard nightclub
    – April 2018 – a postal carrier is robbed at gunpoint, his wallet and phone stolen, while making deliveries in north Ballard
    – November 2017 – homeless man sets another man on fire on Leary Way; both men were believed to be living in vehicles in the area
    – August 2017 – a person is stabbed at Ballard Commons; the same week, a homeless man sets the portapotty next to the children’s spray area in the park on fire
    – March 2017 – beating and attempted rape of a female jogger in a bathroom at Golden Gardens by a homeless convicted rapist from Arizona
    – April 2017 – Kirstyn Outen, a 29-year-old mother of two, is allegedly stabbed to death by her boyfriend, Bill Harrell, in an RV parked off Leary Way. Harrell had a lengthy criminal record in other states and the pair, who had recently moved to Seattle from Tennessee, had come to the attention of SPD several times; they were offered services but refused them
    – December 2016 – homeless woman living in the grounds of St. Luke’s church in Ballard allegedly attacks an elderly neighborhood woman walking by
    – September 2016 – the candy shop next to Ballard Commons, Sweet Mickey’s, is robbed at gunpoint
    – August 2016 – man arrested for threatening to kill families with children at Ballard Common
    – July 2016 – homeless man knocks a Ballard resident unconscious near Ballard Commons
    – April 2016 – man high on meth and PCP kicks in a window at La Isla restaurant on Market Street in Ballard and slashes two people with glass
    – February 2016 – Fred Nesbitt, an 87-year-old crossing guard from Ballard, is attacked by a homeless convicted felon while shopping at the QFC on Holman Road and later dies of his injuries
    – November 2015 – Ballard woman Ann Zachariasen dies of an overdose outside an RV parked near the Ballard Bridge; the two men living in the RV are charged with dumping her body in a shopping cart nearby to avoid drawing attention to drug activity in their motorhome

    We need to hold O’Brien and the rest of city council accountable for policies that are encouraging criminal behavior and endangering people.

  48. @Elenchos Nice overcompare to gin up the super lefties who have no idea what they are talking about. You’re looking for a reason to get pissed off by resurrecting an issue that is not applicable at all. None here.
    But please, if it makes you feel better, continue your activist banter and over exaggerate. I’ve gotta get back to my sandwich. Or as you would describe it, the raping of innocent roast beef and lettuce from the backs of Mexican slaves and bread stolen from native Americans all repressed by Safe Seattle.
    Grow up.

  49. @TicToc
    Baker was incarcerated for assault with a firearm over some minor debt he tried to collect, so in all likelihood he was involved in a deal gone bad or killed in a reprisal. The local activist tax fans went out of their way to portray him as some hero because he coached at some point and had children.

    I’m more interested in the burglar who caused the lock down at Ballard High the other day. The incidents are becoming so common, that sadly it is hard to keep up with them.

    Remember, according to the strange rules of the Far Left, getting angry at rapists, thieves, arsonists and murderers isn’t “OK” it’s “hate”.

    Tone policing reigns supreme in Seattle.

  50. @Nick – council member O’Brian supports policies that make Seattle a top destination for junkies, sex offenders and folks with criminal records wanting to live somewhere to avoid arrest. If the alleged perpetrator would have broken into a house and squatted in whatever small texas town he came from, the cops would have drove around until they found him when he missed his court date. Here, you commit a crime, and if you live in an RV or in a tent, you can’t be asked any questions or even be ID as having a warrant out for your arrest, because @Elenchos and the like would cry profiling and sue.

    Actions that need to happen in Seattle

    1) Have SPD report on property crime under $250 — currently this type of crime is omitted from all SPD reports. Check their published reports, and you will see an “*” then if you go to the back of the annual report, it states that property crimes are defined as over $250.

    2) Make receiving Seattle homeless services (city sanctioned housing, tent camping or from a non-profit distributing services) contingent on a police officer checking your ID to make sure we are not giving things away to folks with a warrant out for their arrest. Other non-profits could elect not to take the cities money and not do the screening.

    3) Schedule more community groups to do clean-ups. Right now, everyone complains about the trash eye-sores around town in the parks and greenbelts, but there is no real engagement to get regular citizens to take some civic pride and clean up the area.

    4) Push back on WA state and King county to help solve the problem. Most of the homeless in Seattle, were not born or recently lived in Seattle before becoming homeless. If we need affordable housing in the region, why build it in downtown on 3rd avenue when you could build it in Puyallup for a fraction of the cost.

    5) Crack down on camping in parks. These are public spaces for everyone to enjoy. That’s the basic definition of a public space, its for the public. Baker Park in Crown Hill (behind the Safeway) is normally overrun with homeless, and is no longer a park, and has essentially become 7-10 people’s property they live on.

    6) Create a non-jail detention/ forced dry space to send people to if they commit a crime while drunk or high.

    7) Increase the beat cop staffing. The recent head tax could have been received much better if a portion of it was to increase SPD headcount.

  51. This is SO SAD for the women ! Can you imagine ? What a nightmare ! Does she have children or a husband ? Her life is ruined & forever will not be ok , her own parents, sister and friend are deeply hurt. We need PROTECTION ! These scumbags are everywhere looking for innocent people to hurt, steal or kill. I have sympathy for homeless people at all they are all total creeps on drugs , don’t want to work and don’t have 1 friend or family member who will take them in. ..Why ? Is it because they molested kids or lied or stole from their mother
    Hit their kids, killed animals ? 90% are all disgusting and need to be in hospitals getting mental help while we are safer and they need to clean them off of the streets offer free housing in a hospital OR go to jail.
    We need POLICE in school and a neighborhood police center in Ballard, Magnolia to start.
    Carter VW is also very much to blame !
    Why would they allow a customer to go to an unsafe area where the public lurks around ?
    They needed to protect customers ! SHAME on all of Ballard residents letting these creeps hurt her
    The Ballard Food Bank is to blame also. It’s lije putting food out at night for the rats …If you feed them they will come. Mercer Island knows what it’s doing to keep hard working tax paying people safe. Next event will be worse and it could be me or you or your mom or friend. Breaks my heart ❤️

  52. Those are not unreasonable policy proposals. You could discuss those ideas on their merits, without having to make up out of thin air that Seattle is a “a top destination for junkies, sex offenders and folks with criminal records”.

    Do you think the police can’t search people without probable cause because some guy on the internet would sue? If only you could convince this “elenchos” to stop being such a lib, the SPD could do their jobs! That’s not how how it works. The police aren’t bound by flames posted on blogs. They’re bound by the law. People sue the police if they have grounds for a suit. They win if they have a good case. That is determined by the law, not by liberal opinions on blogs. People are protected against unreasonable search and seizure. Even people you think are undesirable. Go argue with the 4th Amendment if you don’t like it. Yelling at me doesn’t change the bill of rights.

    It’s crazy how you’d gladly raise taxes if it’s being spent on wasteful police fishing expeditions. At least have your shiny new cops doing something productive with their time: following solid leads instead of running dragnets through whatever community looks suspicious. It doesn’t work. It’s a waste of police resources. You’re outraged that the hours tax might possibly be spent inefficiently on homelessness. You want a detailed plan, you want accountability, you want milestones and oversight.

    But cops? Eh, throw them some millions of our tax dollars. Dump it into headcount. More bodies, whatever. Send ’em out there to roust the hobos or whatever. You want to spend millions on police theater because it makes Scared Seattle feel better. Put those uniforms out on the street where we can *see* them.

    But fine. It’s not the most unreasonable policy. Can you at least cite some facts to support it? Don’t make up stuff about criminals moving to Seattle to be on easy street. And yes, if you heard Dori or Jason say it on talk radio, that counts as “made up”.

  53. I think we all need to be careful this summer and all the time around bathrooms especially the parks. I own a coffee shop and we have to watch closely because of homeless and drug use. I have young teenagers and they unfortunately cannot go to parks anymore with their friends. It is going to keep happening and even with this new head tax it is mostly addicts that are homeless and they are not going to want to go to shelters. They just want to get high. I think we really need to focus on drug use and getting help for these addicts. I would stay away from all public bathrooms especially now since homeless people are allowed to camp wherever and sleep in their cars!

  54. awful, terrible state of affairs. give ballard a break from these guys…the services at commons park, st lukes, and the shanty town camps are directly responsible for this and other crimes.

    all people, especially women out alone, should be prepared and able to defend themselves at this point in seattle. the “campers” can do no wrong according to the city…

  55. The homeless are an eyesore and blight on society. Seattle enables the homeless as well as addicts with its needle exchange program. Meanwhile, our cities are becoming more and more unsafe. Ballard is becoming like Everett. I can’t even walk the street here in Everett without fearing for my life as strung-out addicts wave their arms and shout obscenities. Just yesterday I watched from my car as a near-naked man crossed the street yelling and pointing at people. Now, when I drive around Everett, I always lock my car doors.

    It seems to me that a lot of homeless like their outdoor camping lifestyle and don’t want the menial jobs that Mexicans and other minorities are more than happy to have. For God’s sake, clean yourself up, go to Goodwill and get some clothes and apply for a job! If I were in that situation, I’d be happy to clean toilets for a paycheck! I worked in a hot, fly-infested slaughterhouse, wading in manure and guts, to pay my way through college (4 summers of this)! Would any of these homeless folks take this kind of job? I doubt it. They are too busy pitching their tents, bemoaning their fate, smoking pot or worse and turning Seattle into an embarrassing cesspool.

    When I lived on Lake Union in the late 80’s and 90’s, there was almost none of this. I felt safe. Now Seattle is becoming a cesspool of vagrants and addicts. And for all of you holier-than-thou people who think this must be a conservative talking, you’re wrong. I am a liberal and I despise Trump! He is a cockroach who is not worthy to clean Obama’s and McCain’s toilets.

  56. “People experiencing homelessness”. “unhoused residents”

    90% are BUMS. Enabling street life is not a sustainable model. Neither is giving away housing.

  57. Christine you are an obvious creative construct. That said, your satire might one day work out so I’ll be watching your posts.

  58. With the growth in tax revenue as our population, economy and real estate values exploded over the last 10 years there is more than enough money to fund basic police and criminal justice. The problem appears to be a poor allocation of resources. It’s so disgraceful and cowardly to suggest that it’s in any way acceptable or okay for this Texan-homeless-piece-of-human waste to have slipped through our legal system and so-called “homeless” camps without being picked up or booked. When rape-apologists attack us for calling for basic law and order and screening of campers at the drug-camps, let them. If they hear about these incidents the public is smart enough to understand things must change. Self-defeating snow flakes be damned. I realized how totally f-ed up the far-left is when they crucified Mike Malloy for supporting Clinton against Trump in the general election. They think they’re so enlightened and that their farts smell so good- but they’re just narcissistic jerks.

  60. @Paul Symington
    Yes, the rapist is from Texas, but he no more represents that place than if he were from Mass, Iowa, or Timbuktu. There are many fine people in each of those places, respectively.

    You are correct. There has always been enough money but it isn’t about money, but rather an ongoing attempt by these Far Left narcissists to conduct a citywide experiment in failed social justice concepts and punitive taxation. It’s about their sense of control over your money and how they can impact our quality of life for daring to even suggest their policies are based on flawed principles. Schoolmarms, all.

    They cannot, and will not, accept their part in this failure because personal accountability runs anathema to their credo. The junkies “just got addicted” “crime happens” “revenue is needed”. There are no causal actors or decisions that caused these crimes, just “happenings” that can all be attributed to some backwards, nebulous caricature they draw of “capitalism” or “patriarchy”.

    It very much resembles a cult, and they shake the taxpayers down as ruthlessly as any snake-handling tent preacher.

  61. Hmmm… is anyone else sensing a pattern?
    Can anyone explain why criminals from other states with outstanding warrants want to move here? It’s almost like they are attracted here because SPD is instructed to not enforce the law against the homeless. And that the City is creating a protected class through selective enforcement.

    https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/police-woman-raped-by-homeless-man-in-ballard-car-dealership-bathroom/750653217

    Any Councilmember supporters want to comment on why this person with an outstanding record was allowed to live on our streets and was protected by the City Council? I’d really like to know why a scumbag like this is being protected by you.

  62. The crazy thing is the homeless advocates grip their talking point that the homeless are all locals like the NRA grips their guns. They are completely disconnected from the reality that homeless are choosing to come to Seattle or even worse being shipped here by other municipalities as a solution to their homelessness issues…these are not a bunch of Ballard High dropouts.

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2017/dec/20/bussed-out-america-moves-homeless-people-country-study

    We are a dumping ground for the nations homeless. The solution is not local it’s national, and short of a national effort we can’t tax ourselves out of our own homes to solve it. We need people at the Greyhound bus station getting names and addresses of the homeless as they come into the city and then transfer them directly to four star hotel rooms. The bill can be sent directly to the cities who send their homeless to Seattle and our State AG should aggressively pursue compensation.

  63. Yes but that means accountability for those in office and their supporters. Something we know they are 100% against as it would lead to results.
    Elenchos and the batcrazies can continue to protect these people or, which may be hard for them, the residents of Seattle by allowing SPD to just enforce the law.
    But the narcissist way left won’t. And I’m a Liberal from Canada and I’m even like wtf????

  64. I love hearing from the people in the comments section of stories like this that say we shouldn’t hate the homeless, they are people that have needs too. We shouldn’t categorize them all as bad people that are criminals.

    You people are naive at best and I hope are just trolling. I used to be homeless, I know what its like to be on the street. I also know these people and can tell you that for every 10 homeless people you see here in Ballard at least 6 of them are criminals and don’t plan on being anything else but homeless. I don’t feel sorry for them, as I didn’t feel sorry for myself when I was homeless. I improved my situation to where I now rent an apartment in a brand new upscale apartment building here in Ballard. Did I get help along the way, of course. But did I try to improve my daily position in life so that when an opportunity presented itself I was actually capable of taking advantage of that opportunity, absolutely. So When I see people defend most of the homeless here in Ballard I honestly look at them like they need to wake up.

    At least 2-3 times a week I see homeless stealing from stores like QFC and Bartells. And its to no surprise that QFC is no longer 24hrs because the theft got so bad they were losing more product to theft than was being purchased. 3 weeks ago Bartells got a notice from corporate saying that due to concerns of the neighborhood being a high crime area they would be reducing the store hours from closing at midnight to closing at 10pm citing theft and employee safety as the main reasons. When business like QFC and Bartells are taking notice and closing there doors early there is a problem.

  65. This is less Mike O’Brien’s fault and more that of the car dealership.

    Because they felt the need to remodel and expand, they created an unsafe environment for their customers. Unacceptable– you don’t put temporary bathrooms way out of the way, especially if you supposedly know there’s some criminal elements abound.

    To the person above who cherry-picked a bunch of crimes from the past 3 years– how many of those perpetrators were caught? Most of them, right? Just how would these crimes have been stopped in advance? Would you look in your crystal ball and call the police to let them know?
    I could cherry pick crime data from any 3 year period in the past 50 years and it would read as bad.

    I’m really getting sick and tired of hearing MOB blamed for everything. How about some sympathy for this poor woman instead of figuring out how your favorite scapegoat supposedly screwed up

  66. Also, ‘Deborah’ (I went back and found your name),

    How about you show us a list of crimes in South Seattle over the same period?

    Relatively speaking, MOB is doing an extraordinary job!

  67. I love how stupid Seattle people are.
    It’s the car dealership’s fault. Really? Still protecting your homeless criminals to out compassion and get the moral high ground huh. Shoving accountability away from the homeless criminal who did the crime, the council that protects homeless criminals and let’s them lie and wait so they can commit this crime, and away from Mike O’Brien who does not even support SPD and onto the dealership is the height blind stupidity.
    This after a homeless person commented on this string about how the criminal element is supported by the city policy. Unbelievably ignorant and stupid. It’s idiots like you that make this happen. It’s partly your fault Carlyle the Enabler.
    Nice job. You got one of your neighbors assaulted so you can hold up the compassion flag. Very “compassionate” of you.

  69. @TRINITYNZXT:
    If you really were homeless, and you have firsthand knowledge of the population, you should request a meeting with our ‘leader’ Mike O’B and discuss the realities with him firsthand. He may not believe or want to listen to you, but trust me, our homeless issue is getting exponentially more coverage now that it has in the past. Last week there was an article in the PI, yesterday Yahoo ran a story on Seattle’s homeless problem, and this morning, a local radio station (one that plays music, I might add, not a talk radio station) was commenting on the homeless explosion and how tiring it has become. Once something reaches mass saturation, our leaders will have to change course if they truly fear being voted out of office. Yesterday’s rape might be that tipping point.
    We should all feel compassion for the woman who was violated by what many here feel to be a ‘protected’ class of citizen, when in fact, the woman who was raped should have been safe in her own neighborhood. No amount of SJW’s can (although they are trying hard) condone this action without a high degree of self-loathing at this point. And who was blaming the car dealership? @Carlyle…wow. How about you blame the sky when it starts to rain? No, let’s call it what it is…a homeless felon, already on police radar for squatting in a house in Magnolia. One from Texas, who moved here not for a fresh start, but, more than likely, to leech off the compassionate people of Seattle. Oh yes, did you read, he also headbutted one of the officers once in police custody. A real gem of a guy, but go ahead…defend him.
    Not every human is worthy of redemption. One day, you’ll figure that out. And if you want to say “hey that includes you too buddy”, go ahead. I can sleep soundly at night cause I’m not out there tweaked out, robbing and raping to support my scumbucket lifestyle, all while living in city-provided microhousing.

  70. @Wendy – No stupid enabler, I’m a Ballard resident who knew this guy.
    Caught him stealing cable from the construction for the new bank off of Ballard Commons park. As SPD says, “Well, we didn’t catch him committing the crime even though we know exactly who he is and what is rap sheet is. He’s got an outstanding warrant but we can’t enforce it as we’ve been directed to selectively enforce the law.”
    I live up the street and knew this was going to happen because people like you and Carlyle are pro-crime. Period.
    Everyone did. This one took one of our own down by a crime that was completely preventable. Idiots like you who do not want any enforcement on the homeless are by extension, pro-crime. Look at the facts: – known to SPD, known rap sheet, outstanding warrant already but not able to be enforced due to guidance from the City Council.
    So really, the blame is more on you and Mike O’Brien for harboring a known criminal at Ballard Commons park than the dealership.
    Nice job Wendy. Thanks for letting a known homeless criminal live in our parks and prey upon residents here. Especially being a woman, you’ve let this happen by allowing people like this live wherever they want, free of laws. Your compassion and protection of the homeless criminals supersedes the safety of another woman. Wow. You are truly stupid.

  71. the food bank is closed on Mondays, so this ha nothing to do with the food bank.. the food bank has two parts one is for people with out an address and the other part you need an address they help with the elderly and family’s trying to make it .. its gotten uglier there the last two years that they actually hired security .. for there safety and the people that come in safety.. they also have programs in there to help people that need assistance on rent power bills excreta.. if anything there there trying to help people not just the homeless

  72. Apparently nobody in Seattle has ever heard the old expression “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”.

    Seattle Far Left: This street violence epidemic resulting from your failure to properly deal with the homeless invasion is your “Iraq War”; your unwinnable, decade long ideologically driven descent into chaos, suffering, and denials of reality. Own it.

  73. Here’s a quote from Scott Morrow of the Nickelsville Initiative: “criminal history information is not legally required or commonly expected for residency or movement, transient or otherwise, within Washington State”. OK, I get that. However, might be time to amend that ‘is not expected for anyone except a transient transplant with no fixed address upon arrival in Washington state. Meaning, if you’re in a tent or a Nickelsville encampment, you consent to to having a background check run on you. Hey, if I have to do it for a new job opportunity, why aren’t we requesting the same from someone receiving ‘free’ money from the taxpaying, lawful residents of the area? Oh, wait, does this offend the SJW’s? Are we hurting those poor homeless people’s FEE FEES?
    From the same article: “The dealership says in recent months they’ve seen a spike in vandalism and property crime, something they attribute to the growing homeless population in the neighborhood”. Correlation is not necessarily causation, but in this case, I think there’s enough information to say that, yes, they are correlated.

    Here’s the article in full in case any of our SJW’s think I’m making these quotes up:
    http://komonews.com/news/local/homeless-man-arrested-for-raping-woman-in-ballard

    Anyone else wanna defend the homeless, the ‘real’ deploreables?

  74. Thank you, to the employees of Carter Subaru who apprehended the ‘noncontributor’ who assaulted one of us. Taking action against a crime can be difficult and dangerous, but is necessary.

  75. As a former resident of Ballard so sad to see the continued downhill spiral of 98107 and beyond. I was a victim of a crime that ^ Deborh listed. After a year and a half I was contacted by the City Attorney that the city was moving forward with criminal charges and a “no contact order ” was filed. At that time I was in the process of moving out of Ballard due to repeated sightings of the the individual in Ballard. He would be in the Commons having the best of times playing music and getting high. After receiving the city issued no contact order I called them to update my information and let them know I was in the process of moving, I also informed the prosecutor that the defendant was permanently camping across the street from where I was moving out of. Her kind response was ” well it sounds like a good thing your moving, we wouldn’t what to inconvenience him”. This was in October 17 I have not heard back from the city. Long story short I feel the pain of all of the victims of these degenerates crimes. “F**k Fishermen” -O’Brien

  76. @Mark B Calvert: Her kind response was ” well it sounds like a good thing your moving, we wouldn’t what to inconvenience him”.
    I really hope that is sarcasm. I’m afraid it’s not.

  77. Sounds like mine. Had a homeless guy from the Ballard Commons break into my house. Out of jail in 2 months and landed right back at the Commons where he did the exact same thing again.
    He too was protected by Wendy and other Mike O’Brien enablers like Carlyle and Elenchos. Thanks ignorant neighbors for protect homeless criminals over your neighbors. You are so moral and compassionate.

  78. So in terms of solutions, how do we pay for all this? Remember, head tax has been passed, it’s going to the homeless (so that’s water under the bridge).

    Jailing all the folks on bench warrants (and they probably put trespass/vagrancy on the bottom of any priority list the police may have) requires more trained police , and likely more jails will have to be built. Asking every homeless person whether they have a warrant will probably lead to a lawsuit; who pays for the legal fees and judgments? More police to handle property crime under a certain amount– again, more money required. Same with increasing the number of Ballard beat cops.

    Remember, there is no state income tax. Increasing property tax again is politically difficult. Sales tax is already too high. Amazon isn’t going to pay for an increase in head tax.

  79. Last year’s city revenues were $4.8 billion. It shouldn’t be that hard.
    Let’s just start with basic law enforcement. Like the drug dealer that sells openly at the Ballard Commons in front of police. Just the basics would be fine.
    Or as Wendy, Carlyle and Elenchos would say, “An attack on the homeless… ahhh!” False again jobless community organizers. Basic public safety. That is all.

  80. So is the crime the dealer is committing in front of police a misdemeanor or a felony (might depend on substance)? I thought we don’t have enough police in Ballard from the articles I’ve read– are you accusing the Seattle PD of not stopping felonies that they witness? If it’s a misdemeanor, meh– we could put jaywalkers in jail, but it’s probably not the right move policy wise (and misdemeanor crimes means the person is usually back out on the street that evening, or at most, one night). Remember, prisons aren’t free– nor is the cop who has to take time off from work to testify in court

    We do know that the police don’t investigate “small” property crime that they don’t witness which we heard about from Danny Westneat of the Times and well as my own (and others) experience filling out a police report online.

    We get what we pay for, in terms of city services.

  81. @MDNative

    That’s why you don’t allow people to camp en masse IN THE FIRST PLACE.
    People like Mark Sidran tried DECADES AGO to get this curbed before it metastasized into the current crisis.
    The whole Democratic strategy here generally amounts to creating a terrible public safety hazard through some Utopian tolerance scheme, etc then taxing the people aggressively to “solve” it once it becomes untenable. Some people even go so far as to say this is intentional, but even giving the city “leadership” the benefit of the doubt it’s hard to believe they would want to reinforce a perception of corruption and ineptitude, yet here we are :/

    Oddly, the Democrats accuse the War Hawks, and Repubs generally, of the the very same kind of “break it then fix it at super premium expense” which of course never really happens – as the money just goes up in a big puff of pork, flag waving, and avoidable casualties.

    Ed Murray declared a “state of emergency”, so why not bring in a federal task force and/or National Guard and process the warrants and detain the felons? Those without warrants can be put into a converted military base or some other campus safely from the dangers of the felons and so they can get treatment, housing, and maybe eventually employment. If it isn’t just Democrat drama calling it a “crisis”, then let’s treat it like one and use everything possible to restore order. The city has demonstrated ZERO COMPETENCE in dealing with this army of felons and addicts. Giving them more money is, well, just as dumb as handing a drug addict $20 for “food”.

    We’ve created conditions similar to a hurricane or other natural disaster where there is rule of law disappears and the looting and anarchy starts. We have a disaster aftermath situation in the city and the police are told to lay off. If you aren’t shocked, offended, and frankly a bit worried then you aren’t paying attention.

  83. We got to choose between Durkan and Moon for the last mayoral race. A lot of folks here liked Murray more than McGinn in the election previously.

    If you think Moon could have done better than the current mayor (or McGinn would have done a better job than Murray), feel free to express how. Choosing a candidate from almost 20 years ago (in a much smaller and affordable Seattle) doesn’t really move the discussion forward.

  84. Every single one of the jobless wonders like Wendy, Carlyle and Enchirito will vote. Not many Amazon, iron workers, engineers, CPAs, and others have in the past but they will now. They’re activated.
    It will be interesting to see how it shakes out. Hopefully, we don’t end up with Nikki Oliver vs Carey Moon or something completely ridiculous. It would be a colossal fail as their policy of keeping the homeless, homeless and selective law enforcement would make it worse than it is now. But of course, they’d feel better and not know the difference because the have no idea what accountability means.

  85. You know in the Mayor primary, your Safe Seattle Harvey Lever types would need to triple their votes just to have passed Mike McGinn, and all you have to show for that is fourth or fifth place behind Nikkita Oliver, who still didn’t quite have what it took to make it out of the primary. You’re also also also also also also rans. If that. Seattle’s right wing xenophobes are a good 30,000 votes shy of even beginning to be close to taken seriously. If I forget to vote, you’re still 29,999 in the hole.

    You guys need to let go of the obsessive hate the makes you so intensely concerned with some guy like me posting on the internet, or even with one city council member. Putting a face on your opposition is not helping you. Your problem is the WHOLE REST OF SEATTLE doesn’t like you. You need to be asking yourselves why you’re so unpopular. Might could be the voters are wise and know something you don’t. Respect the voters, and listen to them. Or lose and be sad.

  86. And our Seattle city council members want to continually insert even more homeless deeper into the heart of residential neighborhoods without any consideration for the safety and protection of those of us who are homeowners and businesspeople. They’ve placed the rights of the homeless so far above those of the employed that our neighborhoods are no longer safe. This is such a sad story but is one that can be avoided if the city council prioritizes laws that forbid homeless camps in busy neighborhoods and along tourist centers. Most cities around the US make it illegal for the homeless to pitch tents on city land – Kshama, Lisa, Teresa and other council members triumphantly celebrate allowing it to happen here. Enough is enough with the council’s loose regulations governing the homeless!!

  88. Glad you feel that way Elenchos. But what you’re missing is that you’ve now got an activated community of people who work at Amazon (45k headcount) and Starbucks (15k headcount) that really don’t want their livelihood messed with at all. These sideliners will now be voting and even better, they have deep pockets too.
    So really, prior stats don’t matter. I’ve already contributed $5,000 to get these idiots out of office. Ironically, that amount was earmarked for charity. Tipping point reached.

  89. The money is there, but the city is simply INCOMPETENT. The homeless debacle is as poorly managed as the transportation debacle.

    https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/seattles-transportation-department-struggles-with-rising-costs-promises-not-kept/

    “SDOT is paying an independent consultant, CDM Smith, about $150,000 for ongoing oversight of the Move Seattle levy’s management.

    CDM Smith’s recommendations led SDOT to spend $125,000 last year on a leadership coach to work with its executives to “build more trust and improve morale.” SDOT has spent $275,000 on leadership coaching since 2016.

    And the city is paying $400,000 for a consultant, KPMG, to review the troubled streetcar project independently of SDOT.

    “We need to understand what has happened and where we are going forward,” City Councilmember Mike O’Brien, who chairs the transportation committee, said at a committee hearing Tuesday with SDOT officials. “So that you all rebuild trust with us, but more broadly the city rebuilds trust with the public.”
    O’Brien did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Neither did City Councilmembers Rob Johnson and Kshama Sawant, who also sit on the transportation committee that oversees SDOT.”

  90. “So that you all rebuild trust with us, but more broadly the city rebuilds trust with the public.”
    O’Brien did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
    I think you could insert that phrase into any argument, about any of the number of ‘hot button’ issues the people on this blog comment on. Transportation fiascos have taken a backseat lately thanks to the homelessness issue. I’d like to say that ‘busses’ are not adequate transportation for a city this size, and yeah, light rail is ‘in progress’, but it’s ridiculously expensive and too little too late. This city foolishly voted against it twice before, which led to Atlanta getting the federal funds earmarked for Seattle. Seattle…head up it’s butt since 1901! The busses are pee-scented, bum-infested no-go zones for me.
    The last time I took a bus was when the weather made driving problematic (so, thank you Metro for running.) I remember riding the bus home, and two stinky, dirty bums got on and sat across from me. Their conversation was “we’ll get off at stop (X), cause the gas station there has the cheapest wine.” Yeah…homeless people looking for work. Oh wait, no. Looking for the cheapest hooch. Contributing members of society!

    Most on here (not you, Elenchos or Truth..also not ‘your friends’ you speak of either apparently…none of whom post on here to show you their support) have no trust left in the council. I (and probably most of the people here) think the CITY can turn itself around, but the COUNCIL is flat busted. Replace them, we’ll see. And Elenchos, before you say “but..but…but…all the other people got fewer votes, you lost!” Yes, we get it. We lost…that time. But, as I’ve said before, a loss can become a win over time. This might be the time.

  91. @Homeless on the Range

    To commute downtown I bicycle, bus, and occasionally Uber depending on weather. Of course the geniuses at the City Council (looking at you, Bruce Harrell) are forcing Uber to raise their rates to protect the taxi companies(!) THANKS! I guess it’s a “game recognizes game” situation for these vultures.

    The buses are a nonstop zoo of awful behavior. Today, in fact, while waiting on Market we were treated to 2 inebriates/junkies hassling people, screaming. One guy sauntered up to the bus stop with 2 (TWO) open tallboys of malt liquor and was yelling about something. Just another day on Market Street.
    Yesterday on the way home, a red faced drunken – sorry probably homeless by her looks – was just openly drinking a Mike’s Hard Lemonade (oh the irony, Mike!) right at the front of the bus while yelling and cursing about some street guy she hated and intimidating the workers seated nearby. You guessed it, she got off in Ballard.

    Ever seen that old movie “On The Bowery”? Our hardened hobos make the drunks in that movie look like model citizens.

    To make it even worse, the bus drivers are told NOT to enforce fares, so if these dirt bags are pushy, the passive drivers just let them on to harass commuters and stink up the place. The hobos don’t even respect the fact that they are getting a free ride. The whole situation is disgusting and makes me ashamed to live here. I hope, for everyone’s sake, that this tax fiasco and the unfortunate violent crimes in Ballard and the rest of the city is waking up slumbering sane centrist voters.

  92. @Bhagwan,
    When the first of us decides to openly revolt and become violent against the homeless (out of frustration, probably), we know that we will face repercussions, because that is how laws of entitlement work. Those of us who choose to obey society’s rules face consequences. Those of us who choose to ‘drop out’ of society are allowed to continue their bad behavior cause it’s ‘easier’ than holding them accountable (through arrest, jailing, etc). Granted, that costs money we have in short supply. Until one of society’s zeroes rapes a poor woman in a bathroom. Then and only then does he receive punishment, and even then, does not understand the rule of society (as evidenced by him headbutting a detective after his arrest.)
    So, instead of investing more money to ‘solve’ the homeless problem, let’s take all this new revenue and put it into more police, more jail space, and more enforcement of laws. Get the homeless off the streets legally, by arresting them for criminal trespass, harassment, intimidation, and violence.
    There you go, problem solved. It’s sad that the ones who are jerks/junkies give the ones who are truly trying to turn their lives around a bad rep.

  93. Even a liberal like me has had it with the protected class. I mean seriously people, we have homeless drug addicts coming here in droves. And I don’t blame them. If i was as severely addicted as many of these people are, I would too.
    It’s the protection they get from the City Council that is more concerned about offending the drug addicted homeless scavenger than ordinary citizens. Enough.

  94. @Homeless on the Range

    Meth causes psychosis, sometimes violent psychosis. Heroin causes such severe withdrawal that addicts will do just about anything to get their fix.

    Our city has decided that allowing them to camp everywhere – without warrant check, no less! – is a an act of humanitarianism even while they chisel us for liquor taxes, sugar taxes, cig taxes, etc to “for our own protection”. Don’t forget the ammo tax and the fact that criminals know that most Seattleites don’t carry a firearm. Hmmm…I wonder if that makes them more bold? *sarcasm*

    We’ve reached a South Park Episode level of stupid here and it isn’t funny.

  95. @Bhagwan:
    Protracted heroin use causes a thickening of the spinal column, which is part of the reason addiction becomes worse over time. An instant cure for heroin addiction is a severing of the spinal column where it causes lower-body paralysis. If these junkies want a quick and easy way to get clean, we could go have ourselves a paralysis party! No more addiction, no more danger to society (tough to rob a house when you can’t get up the stairs), yet they could still leech off of us through government disability benefits.

  96. Male here, I like rocking the alley way better, it takes 10 seconds and is way more sanitary as far as me not touching dirty bathroom

  98. @CÁCH TRỊ DA KHÔ – “Relatively speaking” is a lazy way to move the goal posts. “Relatively speaking” we’re doing better than living in Syria. We don’t live in South Seattle and we don’t live in Syria. We live right here and we’re allowed to be displeased with what’s going on here and demand better here. We’re mad as hell, and we’re not going to take it anymore. You have a nice day.

  99. Well maybe we don’t live in Syria, but South Seattle is still part of our city which shares the same resources we do– especially police and mental health resources.

    There’s more crime in South Seattle, but you don’t hear people complaining about that because they’re generally poorer and don’t have the time to chime in on neighborhood blogs all day.

    I’m really curious what you mean by “we’re not going to take it anymore.” The only true solution there is to move because a changing of the guard (which is doubtful enough) won’t really change thy dynamics of a growing city.

    You have a nice day, too.

  100. Do you read the South Seattle Emerald or attend meetings of South Seattle community groups? They are completely fed up with the inequity of law enforcement there. It’s clear as a bell this city doesn’t do a good enough job down there and community leaders will tell you so. I don’t have access to online community groups in S. Seattle so I cannot address your comment about them having time to engage but plenty of studies suggest that poorer people have less access to the internet, but I *think* that’s due to costs versus some special lack of hours to do so. In any event, no part of this city should lack for city services and no community should feel so beat down by crime that they just give up complaining about it (but they haven’t, as I shared above).

    As for “not going to take it,” I mean standing up to vote, attend meetings, express my opinions/experiences/facts (yes, even some of those) online and to friends, contribute money to causes and maybe even some good old-fashioned activism and civil disobedience. Our city needs to grow, density needs to happen and we should be taxed to support services, but the money needs to be spent as if it were a precious resource vs unlimited taxpayer ATM and the services funded need to work better than what we have today. That’s what has me woke right now.

  101. @Sorry That Won’t Work

    Seattle effectively runs a de facto protection racket. We pay thru the nose at every turn or face serious consequences but the city is not held accountable for ineffective law enforcement, much less the homeless nonprofit industry that costs hundreds of million$. No other entity could require its customers to pay a premium for NOTHING, but somehow the Seattle voters line up for it year after year.

    Mafias are evil, but at least they tend to keep their respective neighborhoods fairly safe. The City of Seattle has no obligation to do so and takes no pride in the safety of its citizens while exacting vast sums of money to waste on consultants, czars, vague programs and the respective whopping pensions for all the city employees.\

    Whether one is liberal or conservative, it is fairly obvious that we have a simple racket run by “fake” liberals who have can move the goal posts and change narrative at whim by simply invoking “Evil Trump!” and running some Op-Eds in the Stranger. It would be almost funny if it wasn’t a citywide, and soon to be, statewide tragedy.

  102. The puzzling thing is Seattle cannot do the basics. I’m from Atlanta via Houston and apparently clean sidewalks is too much to ask for here They’re pretty normal in every other city. Remove the service resistant drug addicts, don’t coddle them, and clean up their trash after. Why is this so hard Seattle?

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