Seattle officers not allowed to police homeless encampments: Jason Rantz
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The homelessness crisis in the city of Seattle has become so dangerous that not even the King County Sheriff’s Department can keep its professional staff safe.
Citing the "unsafe environment around the courthouse, administration, parking garage and corrections facilities," King County Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht ordered most of her non-commissioned staff to abandon their offices Tuesday and work to 100% remotely. The order was effective immediately. The staff who must remain in the office are employees who have routine and necessary in-person interactions with the public.
The Sheriff’s office is located in the downtown Seattle complex that houses the King county courthouse and is close to a homeless encampment in City Hall Park.
A view of the homeless encampment at Seattle's City Hall Park. (Jason Rantz)
This staffing change comes after a scary incident last week when a homeless man allegedly tried to rape a woman in a courthouse bathroom. Court documents reveal that the man, Clint Jory, 35, snuck into the woman’s bathroom, took off most of his clothes, and waited for a victim.
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When a 7-months pregnant woman entered, Jory "savagely attacked" her, according to court documents. Pants around his ankles, police say Jory put his hands over her mouth and neck and attempted to rape her. But she still managed to scream for help. Luckily, a nearby Sheriff’s Marshall heard her cries and intervened.
In the Monday afternoon memo, Johanknecht told staff that she will only allow a small group of public-facing staff back into the offices.
"I will be meeting with other County leaders to discuss short and long term safety solutions for the courthouse and surrounding area. I am committed to doing all we can to make sure this [is] a safe workplace," Johanknecht said.
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The impetus for this decision wasn’t the frightening attempted rape, but months-long crimes committed at City Hall Park next door. It’s quickly become Seattle’s most dangerous park.
A view of the homeless encampment at Seattle's City Hall Park (Jason Rantz)
Homeless men and women took over the park and thanks to COVID-policies barring encampment sweeps, the area has started to resemble a third-world country.
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Tents line the entire park, spilling over into nearby property. There’s trash everywhere. Open drug use is rampant. The smell of urine permeates the air for blocks.
It’s also been the site of a stabbing homicide, frequent fights, and a brutal attack leaving a senior citizen’s beloved 14-year-old dog kicked to death.
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Courthouse staff have been sounding alarms for months, complaining that they are harassed and sometimes assaulted as they walk to work. The situation has deteriorated so rapidly that 33 King County superior judges wrote a letter to the City of Seattle asking that the encampment be swept.
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County leaders have taken unprecedented step of offering proposals to either declare the park a public safety hazard or acquire it from the city in a property swap.
But Seattle’s progressive leaders, thanks to a City Council that is ideologically opposed to sweeps, refuse to lift a finger, sometimes pretending the problem doesn’t really exist at all. They claim sweeps lack compassion. Well, tell that to the pregnant woman nearly raped at the courthouse last week.
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I’ve covered this issue for well over a year on my Seattle-based talk radio show. I used to say that it would take a murder or rape for the city to act. This year we’ve already seen a stabbing homicide and attempted rape.
At this point, I’m honestly unsure if anything will get Seattle’s city council to take action.
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