Part of the CESS POOL ............
95 arrests as Seattle cops target downtown 'open air drug market'
By KOMO Staff
Published: Apr 23, 2015 at 12:16 PM PDT Last Updated: Apr 23, 2015 at 1:31 PM PDT
SEATTLE - Nearly 100 suspected drug dealers and thieves have been arrested following a four-month law enforcement investigation focusing on the area around 3rd Avenue and Pine Street in downtown Seattle, city officials said Thursday.
Seattle police said the investigation and 95 arrests are aimed at shutting down the "open air drug market and street corner swap meet" that has flourished literally in the heart of Seattle's retail and tourist district.
And, in a bid to prevent the dealers from returning to the streets, they are being shepherded into a pioneering diversion program, known as LEAD, that is designed to give them a new start in life rather than sending them to prison.
The LEAD program, an acronym for Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, provides suspects with opportunities for housing, treatment or other needed services. A recent University of Washington study of the program showed participants who entered into diversion were nearly 60 percent less likely to commit new crimes.
The investigation and arrests were a joint effort of the Seattle Police Department and the FBI dubbed Operation Crosstown Traffic. Police approached 186 street dealers in the area and made 177 purchases of heroin, meth, marijuana, crack cocaine and other drugs, all caught on hidden cameras.
Police discovered many of the suspects involved in crime around Pine Street had multiple prior convictions for auto theft, burglary, drug crimes, robbery and assault. Police had previously contacted several of the suspects more than 100 times.
Detectives also got a good look at the area’s underground economy in action, as shoplifters sold armloads of stolen goods, including Seahawks jerseys, sunglasses and even bottles of shampoo, to crowds at bus stops and on street corners. Shoplifters took the cash from those sales, detectives say, and went straight to area drugs dealers, before heading to nearby alleyways to shoot up or smoke narcotics.
The widespread and wide-open drug dealing has also led to other problems in the area, investigators said.
Over the past year, police have received 10,000 calls in the area surrounding the 1500 block of Pine Street, including frequent reports of drug dealing and property crimes, as well as violent brawls, shootings, and stabbings.
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray praised the police for their proactive approach to the problem.
“Seattle residents and visitors should not be forced to navigate a dangerous open-air drug market between the downtown retail core and Pike Place Market,” Murray said.
He said the arrests and diversion program "will help break the cycle of addiction ... while removing violent repeat offenders from our streets."
“This operation is about much more than locking up offenders," added Acting U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. "It is about taking back a key part of our city by addressing the range of factors that allowed it to become a one-stop shop for drugs."
The city is also working with King County Metro Transit to relocate several bus stops in the area, which have served as offices for some dealers. Officials are also working to relocate garbage cans, newspaper stands and benches in the area, and close several alleyways associated with repeat criminal activity.
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