You may recall that I blogged the Memorial Day shootings in Chicago. During the same time span, Seattle had an outbreak of gun violence, including your basic drive-by collateral damage disaster. I focused on Chicago’s ballistic woes because the Windy City is to the second amendment what Kelly McGregoris to celibacy. And, to my astonishment, Emerald City media mavens and civic leaders blamed the city’s shootings on gangs rather than, say, “easy access to guns.” According to seattletimes.nwsource.com, Seattle’s po-po didn’t get the memo. “Seattle police officials Tuesday told the City Council that the outbreak of violence through Memorial Day weekend and since the beginning of the year has more to do with guns than with gangs . . .

Deputy Police Chief Nick Metz and Assistant Chief for Operations Paul McDonagh [above] said that while gang activity has played a role in the 20 percent jump in homicides this year, the common denominator is guns.

“A person who has a gun is more likely to use a gun,” said Metz after the weekly council briefing.

The police officials outlined plans to curb violence, including an increase in emphasis patrols in areas with high crime and a high number of violent incidents.

So, more police then. Yup that ought to do it. Or not.

Seems the Seattle police are experiencing a little “community outreach issue”—to the point where the Department of Justice is “currently negotiating an agreement with the department over its finding of excessive use of force.” I wonder how that plays out down at the sharp end . . .

“If you punch a kid one day and come to talk with him about what he knows another day, he might not be motivated to help,” [NAACP leader James ] Bible said.

Councilmember Tim Burgess also said that settling the Justice Department’s findings against the police department and implementing recommended reforms was the best way to restore community trust.

“That doesn’t seem to be happening,” he said, alluding to stalled settlement talks between Mayor Mike McGinn’s office and federal officials.

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41 COMMENTS

  1. “A person who has a gun is more likely to use a gun,” said Metz after the weekly council briefing.

    So the first ones at the arms buyback will be Metz and his department staff?

    • Hmmmm…lemme try…

      A person with a syringe is more likely to shoot smack.
      A person with a lighter is more likely to smoke.
      A person with a bottle opener is more likely to drink.
      A person with a bong is more likely to do monster hits.

      Hey, this ‘logic thing’ is fun!

      • Don’t forget:

        A person with a penis is more likely to commit rape.
        A person with a vagina is more likely to be a prostitute.
        A person with a computer is more likely to be a blogger.

      • Correct. I have guns. I am far more likely to use them than some hoplophobic worm who will just lay down and die, happy with the belief that he had the moral high ground because he chose to be unarmed when a home invader kicks in his door.

        If he is attempting to state that people with guns are more likely to commit crimes simply by virtue of having guns, I think everyone knows that is insane.

        • You may be incorrect on that one Hal. The population of seattle wants to be “cared for”. They want someone else to keep them safe so they will tolerate police corruption and violence because “it makes them FEEL safer”. Defend yourself.

  2. The population of Seattle, judging by the comments left at the local news sites, are not fooled by deputy chief Metz’s attempted misdirection. They well know what the cause is.

    • It’s all theater.

      A while back, some SPD went a bit overboard in a minority neighborhood. The local ‘community organizers’ complained about oppressive policing… so SPD basically pulled out of the ‘hood- it’s not like any of them live in that part of town. Unsurprisingly, the local thugs took the opportunity to party.

      I feel sorry for the people who have to live in that part of town. Most of them are good people, and they’re basically stuck in a crossfire between thugs and jerks…. and now the DOJ is getting involved.

      Eesh.

      • I’m right there… and it is as you say. This part of town has also had some well-covered DGU’s in the last year, go figure.

  3. “If you punch a kid one day and come to talk with him about what he knows another day, he might not be motivated to help,” [NAACP leader James ] Bible said.

    I find myself agreeing with Mr. James Bible, a position that I am not used to being in, but he is right. Why would the folks of Seatle, or ANY community for that matter, be inclined to work with police if the police treats all non-police as potential bad guys to be intimidated, harrassed, and mistrusted? This seems so obvious to me, why don’t they get it?

  4. “A person who has a gun is more likely to use a gun.”

    That’s like saying that a person with a car is more likely to drive to the store, or that a person with a telephone is more likely to make a phone call. It’s true, but it’s stupid, and it does nothing to further your point. How about:

    “A criminal with a gun is more likely to commit a crime using a gun.”
    “A criminal with a knife is more likely to commit a crime using a knife.”
    “A criminal with a baseball bat is more likely to commit a crime using a baseball bat.”

    Fifty points to the first person to point out the common denominator here (hint: it’s not the inanimate object).

    • I will take “What is a Criminal for 800 Alex” lol
      It doesn’t take a genius to know that criminals don’t give a crap about laws or much anything else.
      I am willing to bet 99.9% of the guns used by criminals were illegally obtained, and better yet I am willing to bet much of that came from out of state. Someone please get me numbers. I mean seriously you present a case that the hoploph will love but don’t present any data as to why?
      I live in CA and with the state about ready to go bankrupt I wonder how we will protect ourselves. It will be like something out of robo cop.

    • Ooh Ooh Ooh i know, I know, pick me, pick me!………….is it……the criminal?……what do I win!!??

  5. I love this comment from the article:

    “Social math ->

    thug culture – a violent and juvenile culture that glorifies all the behaviors that lead to certain failure at life.

    welfare – removing any responsibility for actions and all sense of self worth

    ignorance – closely tied to the thug and welfare aspects. Not valuing education or establishing any marketable skill will lead to poor self worth and inability to solve problems.

    unchecked illegal immigration – allows the worst elements of other countries invade cities, and propagate those the aforementioned behaviors.

    liberal social engineering – courts and programs that fail to address root issue and instead work to achieve high-minded ideals that fail every time they are tried (ref: Chicago, DC, Detriot, etc).”

  6. Can Seattle, specifically the Seattle Police Department, do anything right?

    No.

    No they can not.

    They will only drive the wedge between them and the public even deeper.

    I certainly do not trust any of them, or the public officials who officiate over them.

    Personally, I try to stay the h@ll out of Seattle as much as possible. I prefer to spend my hard earned $$$ in a community that ‘respects me’.

  7. So, guns are the common denominator, right? Well, let’s go to the lowest common denominator, people who stand vertical and breathe. Let’s get rid of them. Oh, maybe some of them are allright? Maybe it’s the armed criminal? And not me, the tax-paying, voting, armed, knuckle-dragging, right winger?

    I never met a cop of any color who works the street that had a problem with me and my weapons. They know, we’re the onlt thing between the monsters and the meek.

  8. I finally get it! Guns cause crime! Now that’s why all (ok, not ALL) the cops are crooks.

  9. Is it wrong that when I looked at the photo all I thought was “Ill bet the lady-officer has a really pretty smile”? [/oafing]

    Yeah….cops in a notoriously left-leaning major metro blamed guns for the city’s problems. Color me shocked.

  10. Four great facts:
    It is a proven fact that a gun with a gang-banger attached to it (like a parasite) is more likely to be used in a crime than a gun carried by a law abiding American citizen.
    It is also a proven fact that a person in possession of a gun is less likely going to be the victim of a crime than an unarmed person.
    It is a fact that a member of the Seattle PD will stand a greater chance of not being prosecuted for theft, assault, drug dealing, murder, etc than an average citizen.
    It is a fact that super models are easier to look at than pics of Seattle cops.

  11. “A person who has a gun is more likely to use a gun,” said Metz after the weekly council briefing.

    A moron is more likely to say something stupid.

  13. The bad things some people do when given a gun is nothing compared to the bad things some people do when given a badge.

  14. I wouldn’t say we have a disarmed populace, necessarily. Not by anything other than choice, anyway. After all, we have pretty much the same gun laws as Florida, and more permissive gun laws than Texas, so we’re a far cry from California or New York, even if our police are apparently clueless.

  15. I live in Olympia WA, and am offended by the stupidity of the Seattle police. “People with guns are more likely to use them”. Well no kidding. Seattle has always been a gun grabber city, and will do and say anything to try and over rule out state constitution. You make it illegal for people to own firearms, you turn a lot of law abiding citizens into criminals.

  16. Anybody in Seattle want to accuse gangs consisting largely of minorities of bad behavior or just blame the availability and possession of guns in general?

    • Yes, it’s the gangs but the commerce in illegal substances is much more important than their race. Just like in the ’30s with alcohol, prohibition today generates all kinds of violence around the trade and distribution. That’s the source of most of this violence and the guns are just tools. If they didn’t have them, they’d use gasoline in bottles, or whatever else they could get their hands on.

    • I don’t know what race has to do with it, so I certainly won’t bring up the fact that the suspects being sought in both of the shootings that just happened are white.

      What was your point again?

      Also, Seattle has plenty of legally armed citizens in addition to our thugs.

    • I don’t know what race has to do with it, so I certainly won’t bring up the fact that the suspects being sought in both of the shootings that just happened are white. What was your point again?

      Also, Seattle has plenty of legally armed citizens in addition to our thugs.

  17. “You see what happens when you have an armed police and a disarmed populace? Mexico, Seattle—it’s all the same.”

    Seattle’s populace isn’t disarmed.

    • Any guess at what percentage of the city’s less affluent residents have a concealed carry permit? “Statewide, there are about 239,000 active concealed-pistol licenses. King County has slightly more than 48,000.” [seattletimes.com] Population of Seattle: 600k. Actually, that’s amazingly high. Text amended.

      • King County is a lot more than Seattle, though. It’s about 40% the size of Connecticut (2307 vs 5,543 sq miles) with about 55% the population (1,969,722 vs 3,580,709). So that 48,000 or so represents around 2.4% of the population of King County. Limiting that only to adults (probably around 70% or so of the population) means the number is probably somewhere around 3%.

  18. This is my city; raised here since I was 5. Yes, there’s lots of problems with SPD and its relationship with the community of the city. Too many bad decisions, including a chief who kind of “fell into the job” instead of the city conducting a truly thorough search for a good leader. Most of the rank & file cops are OK, but there have been several high profile incidents (the unjustified shooting of John Williams, a First Nations woodcarver) that have really stained the department.

    Crime in Seattle is comparable to most other cities, but as other commentators have noted, a lack of good community relationships has really hampered SPD’s ability to prevent rather than react to violence.

    There was another shooting today in the city’s University District, in the more affluent north of the city. Reports say it might be a domestic violence issue.

  19. Guns are a disease, everyone knows that before the invention of guns, people lived in peace and harmony together, we all sang Kumbya, a place where everyone had true self- esteem!
    Get rid of the guns! They have strange and magical powers to control and manipulate the mind, magical symbols like the circle with a slash over the picture of a gun keep us safe from the malign influences of such powerful and evil objects! Otherwise, we’re helpless before them!
    Get rid of the guns!
    Then we would be in a true utopia!
    (Sorry, just that little bit of anti-gun thinking made it feel like my head was going to explode; just think of the people who live in that universe full time,
    what a strange and distorted reality they inhabit!)

  20. If more people own their own homes then it stands to reason that their home are more likely to be invaded. Can you trust the armed policeman 100%, the government 100%?

  21. If guns kill people mine are defective. They just lay there.

    I guess spoons make people fat.

  22. There is nothing anyone can do at this point to suddenly stop the violence. The thugs and gangsters have gone feral and aren’t coming back. Trying to buy them off with handouts and free stuff is a losing proposition. “Pay the Dane geld, never get rid of the Dane.”

    As long as there are people who refuse to take responsibility for their own safety and expect someone else to put their life on the line defending them they will continue to get not what they want, but what they deserve.

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