Be Alert to Anything Unusual

Although homelessness is technically not a crime, and unusual behavior isn’t either, a man whose unusual behavior is sometimes threatening, has been reported in the northeast Seattle area.  The man as shown in the photo often carries a sleeping bag and was around the Ravenna and Laurelhurst neighborhoods in the autumn of 2014.  He was arrested in October but now has been seen again on Sand Point Way NE and in View Ridge east of the playground on NE 70th Street.

The man’s behavior has sometimes  included yelling at people, screaming obscenities, banging on car windows while people were stopped at lights, making inappropriate comments in front of children, harassing and scaring people and turning on water faucets full force in front of homes and walking away thereby leaving some houses with the potential of flooding if the residents were gone all day.

There were numerous comments posted on NE Seattle Moms Yahoo Group detailing their interactions with the man:

Officer Strong told me that in order for the man to be arrested for criminal trespassing, a homeowner needs to see him on their property and be willing to testify in court that they saw him trespassing uninvited on their property. Or the police need to arrive while he is still trespassing and the homeowner would need to testify that he was uninvited. Even then, it sounds like he wouldn’t get jail time, but at least the court might be able to send him to a mental health facility and actually require that he stay there. Officer Strong said they are all well aware of this man and are working on getting him out of the neighborhood, although that doesn’t seem to be a simple task. Officer Strong wanted us to be reminded that they will respond quickly if the 911 call is made during the crime. If officers can get there when he’s still committing the violation (ex – trespass), they will observe the misdemeanor crime occurring in their presence, and have the ability to arrest him.