A violent confrontation between a couple who had items stolen from their car and denizens of a homeless camp in downtown Seattle on July 27, 2021, led to a camper being killed, Seattle TV station KIRO-7 reported on August 13, 2021 (see story and video here).
The couple were attacked with a machete, wood pole, rocks and sticks, and fists. They had their 2-year-old child in the car. Killed was one of the homeless camp residents, who was struck and run over as they fled in their car.
A witness said, “It was a car being attacked. Being surrounded by people from this encampment. And they were bashing the car to pieces with bars, sticks, whatever they had. Then the car made a run for it to break through this crowd.” The incident was caught on a surveillance camera.
Seattle police arrested two of the assailants. One has 12 felonies, the other 9, on their records. It’s not clear yet whether they’ll face felony murder charges; they’ll be arraigned (have charges read to them) on August 18, 2021. Potentially, they could be prosecuted under Washington’s felony murder law. Given their records, putting them away from many years seems like a good idea. The couple aren’t facing charges.
It’s not surprising that criminals wind up in homeless camps, or that impoverished people steal. This doesn’t describe all homeless people, of course, and the homeless problem is far bigger than the homeless crime problem. Crime and homelessness aren’t synonymous. They’re different problems, calling for different approaches.
There are no easy answers. Some folks with political axes to grind blame city policies. But homelessness is a national problem, and all major cities are experiencing it. Some simply try to drive the homeless away, but that only pawns the problem off on someplace else. A more enlightened approach is to study the problem and determine what works to reduce the problems associated with homelessness.
The issue has been controversial in Seattle, as in other places. It likely was a factor in the defeat of longtime city attorney Pete Holmes in the August 3, 2021, primary election; after 3 terms in office, Holmes will not be on the November ballot, which will feature a face-off between a progressive and a conservative. Seattle’s current mayor, Jenny Durkan, also is leaving office, having opted out of running for reelection after a tumultuous and controversial first term that was swallowed up by protest and policing issues.
Some people, fed up with crime and litter, want the police to clear out homeless camps and beat up protesters. Others want more social services and less law enforcement. Seattle is known as a progressive city, where voters lean more toward the latter. There are things that probably could be done better, but there’s still a need for police and prisons.
The couple involved in this incident aren’t faultless. They shouldn’t have left their stuff in a parked car if they didn’t want it stolen. Going into the homeless camp to take it back was reckless. Doing it with their child present was extremely bad judgment. They could have prevented the whole incident by not setting themselves up to be victims.