Belltown residents express frustration about crime, lack of open air drug law at safety forum

SEATTLE - With a pregnant woman recently shot and killed in Belltown in what has been called a random act of violence, residents and business owners met with city leaders Tuesday to hear what's being done to stop the incidents of drugs, violence and crime. 

One of the points of frustration clearly expressed Tuesday night—police staffing and the lack of an open air drug law in Seattle.

Just about a month ago, city leaders had promised that they were going to crack down on open air drug abuse in Seattle, but as of now, that hasn't happened.

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Some residents at the Belltown United Safety Meeting were angry with the lack of progress. That frustration was echoed by some city leaders in attendance Tuesday night. 

"We are the only city that does not now have conforming legislation," said city council member Sara Nelson.

Nelson told the crowd that city leaders need to urgently pass legislation to bring Seattle into conformity with new state drug laws, her statements on that subject were met with rounds of applause. 

"I believe we should pass the conforming legislation right now, last month, there is no excuse for it," said Nelson. 

Seattle is the only city statewide where it's okay to use hard narcotics in public. The city council voted just weeks ago to not allow the city attorney to prosecute drug crimes in line with new state law.

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Mayor Bruce Harrell and other city leaders have since promised new legislation to address that issue. FOX 13 News asked council member Andrew Lewis, one of the members who voted against the initial legislation, when residents might see that unveiled. 

"That law is only going to be useful if it’s paired with a lot of the other interventions we are discussing. So, there is going to be a comprehensive package of interventions, and in the next couple of weeks, folks are going to see that publicly, but I can’t really say anything more specific," said Lewis.

Lewis says the deadline is Aug. 14, per the guidance received from the state.

However, Nelson was not satisfied with the delay, calling out Lewis directly Tuesday night.

"Lewis can talk about all the processes that are happening right, but the fact is June 6—since then, it’s been about six weeks or so, and about 20 people have died of overdose in King County every single week. I have the week of June 25, 19 overdose deaths," said Nelson. 

Nelson says there have been a total of 72 deaths since council members shot down the legislation.

Some markers of progress Tuesday included increased staffing in the Park Ranger program, with the first of the new rangers deployed in June.

"I’ve been really focused on Bell Street Park in particular, and it’s been part of the motivation behind the Park Ranger program that Mayor Harrell and I created through the Metropolitan Park District Expansion, we went from two to 28 rangers," said Lewis.

"The difference is that there is more of us, so we can make some harder contacts, because we are not by ourselves; we have a partner that helps," said Sandra Wilcox, a Park Ranger.

Lewis says the mayor has also convened a new fentanyl task force mid-June, though details are limited.

"I can’t step on any announcements okay? Sorry about that, but the general thrust of what our focus is as a city, is what can we do to have the most efficacious interventions, in the situation on our street that plays out through open and public drug use," said Lewis.

Violence was also discussed at Tuesday's meeting. In 2022, Belltown United says that violent crimes and car thefts reached a 15-year high citywide, with verified criminal shootings and shots fired incidents increasing by around 19% compared to 2021 data, 69% compared to 2020, and 125% compared to 2019 data.

The majority of homicide victims died from gun violence. 

West Precinct Commander Captain Steve Strand told audience members that he hears and feels the frustration. He says the department remains in a staffing crisis, with only around 900 officers that are currently deployable. He says the goal is having a staff of 1,400. He says they are continuing to work on it. 

In the meantime, the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office was also represented at the meeting. The office issued a statement about what prosecutors are doing to stop crime. It reads in part:

"Addressing gun violence is a top priority for the KCPAO. Our office tracks every single report of a shooting in King County. Every time there is a fatal shooting, a Senior Deputy Prosecutor is at the scene, regardless of the day or time of night. They also go to the autopsies and may assist with search warrants. Typically, the same Senior Deputy who responds to the crime scene and autopsy is the prosecutor who takes a case to trial once it is referred."

"The most commonly charged felony crimes in Belltown are assaults and drug dealing, particularly fentanyl and meth. We're seeing those as the predominant drugs-not pot deals. County-wide, the KCPAO charged 150 drug dealing cases through May and nearly 70% of those involved fentanyl or meth. That's a 93% increase in the number of cases filed from the same period last year-we're responding as we are seeing more fentanyl being pushed on our streets."