'It’s time to stand up and fight for our city:' Business owner's call to action for Seattle
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Beacon Plumbing and Mechanical owner Bill Cahill says he is calling on other business owners and citizens to get involved public safety issues. Cahill says he is a big supporter of Mayor Bruce Harrell’s work so far but believes other local and state elected leaders are not making good decisions for the community as a whole. He believes the legislature went too far in enacting police reform laws that took away the authority officers had to pursue suspects in stolen vehicles. “I’m frustrated. This isn’t the city I grew up in. This is where my 6 children live. This is where my 10 grandchildren live. I love it here. It’s home. Always has been always will be, but we need to make some changes.  I had a vehicle that was stolen. I saw a police officer from the city of Seattle and said, ‘Would you please help me to get my truck back?’ He says, ‘I have to stand down. We can’t get in a high speed chase’.  I was in that high speed chase.  Why am I doing the job for the Seattle Police Department? Our government here in Washington state needs to go against the grain because these officers have been told to stand down.  I think we’ve had enough of it. It’s time to stand up and make a fight out of it for our city. Let police officers do their jobs,” said Cahill.

The Spotlight: 2022 sets records for shootings, thefts, drugs and death
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The Spotlight may sound like a broken record because in 2022 so many records have been broken. Record numbers of shootings, thefts, drugs and deaths. All this data is collected on crime dashboards and, like a car that's been neglected, the warning lights on these dashboards have been flashing for months. Tacoma, Washington had 39 homicides as of Dec. 4, the city's deadliest year in four decades. Violence hit a new high in Seattle too. Shootings and shots fired calls are up 144% in Seattle in the last ten years.

Suspect charged in deadly hit and run after King Co. Council budgets $50K reward to crack the case
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A man has now been charged with vehicular homicide and hit-and-run after a tipster contacted Seattle Police and Crime Stoppers with knowledge of the crime. The victim's family said a $50,000 reward budgeted from the King County Council helped incentivize people to come forward.

The Spotlight: Genetic genealogy bringing justice to cold case victims and their families

More and more cold cases from decades ago are being solved with the help of DNA, and more killers who were once able to get away with murder are being convicted thanks to genetic genealogy. 

The Spotlight: Genetic Informants
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Just how long is the Long Arm of the Law? Again and again, criminals are finding out ? arrested for decades-old crimes thanks to a particular form of DNA evidence: Genetic Genealogy. Now, on the anniversary of the first-ever murder to test this technique in a court of law, the Spotlight talks with a Pulitzer Prize-winning author about the origins of genetic genealogy and where it goes from here ? there are other uses besides murder cases. Plus we show you the tool now being deployed in Washington state that?s finding evidence where none was thought to be present: just how does the M-VAC system work?

Seattle Police Chief wants to form department liaison to support families of murder victims

Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz told The Spotlight that he is trying to create a position within the department with the goal of helping and supporting families of homicide victims. 

Seattle Police Chief wants to form department liaison to support families of homicide victims
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Chief Adrian Diaz says he understands these families need support-- not just from groups like the Parents of Murdered Children chapter in Washington state, but also from the Seattle Police Department.

The Spotlight: Where's the justice?

The gap between a crime and a conviction can be a wide one, as seen in the latest FBI data available.  

Mom wants answers and justice for her son, who was murdered 7 months ago
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A family is still searching for answers nearly seven months after a 23-year-old was shot and killed in Seattle?s Chinatown International District. Police say on April 20, Gibson Moore was shot and killed outside the Addison building near Main and Fourth, trying to break up a fight.

The Spotlight: Where?s the Justice?
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The cities of Seattle, Tacoma, and Everett expect to end 2022 with record or near-record numbers of homicides, even as they experience staff shortages. Too many families seeking tips from the public are left grieving with no answers on their loved ones' unsolved murders as we head into the holidays.

Mothers turn grief into action, form support group for parents of gun violence victims

Teenagers Conner Dassa-Holland and Adriel Webb were shot and killed in Seattle just two months apart in 2020. Now, their mothers are turning their grief into action, co-founding the Parents of Murdered Children chapter in Washington.

Mothers turn grief into action, form support group for parents of gun violence victims
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Conner Dassa-Holland and Adriel Webb were shot and killed just a month apart in 2020. Their mothers, friends Alicia and Shalonie, have turned their grief into action?forming the Washington State chapter of Parents of Murdered Children. It's a sisterhood with six members so far.

Prosecutor considers 'special inquiry' to compel witness testimony in unsolved murder
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The parents of an Auburn man who was beaten to death while visiting Pacific County in 2015 say they can't sit back and wait for justice anymore. No arrests have been made, requests for information have been denied, and they say the sheriff's office has misled them, lied to them and even misplaced evidence?they say they're the victims now.

Recovery services organization in Everett facing funding challenges amid fentanyl crisis

Mike Kersey, who has been clean and sober for 23 years, works every day to help others overcome obstacles to getting treatment for addiction through his relentless work as the president of Courage to Change Recovery Services in Everett.    

Everett organization helps those facing addiction at any stage of their recovery journey
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Mike Kersey, who has been clean and sober for 23 years, works every day to help others overcome obstacles to getting treatment for addiction through his relentless work as the president of Courage to Change Recovery Services in Everett.

The Spotlight: Faces of Fentanyl
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In this episode, we shine The Spotlight on some people, places and things you might have missed?but need to know?in the never-ending parade of headlines focused on fentanyl. Lost in the shuffle of all the bloodshed, arrests and seizures are the faces of people experiencing heartbreak, and speaking plainly about the scope of this crisis. With fentanyl and meth equally stalking victims on the streets, we also found help, hope and possibly even a miracle cure.