SPD reports busy weekend for Capitol Hill nightlife patrol including five arrests in one hour on E Pike
It was a busy weekend for East Precinct officers on patrol amid Pike/Pine nightlife crowds including the Seattle Police Department reporting a flurry of five arrests on one block within an hour on a block of E Pike.
According to East Precinct and emergency radio updates, the largest incident played out at 2 AM Sunday in front of Cultura and the Comet as “a large family celebrating a special occasion was told to leave a bar, as it had closed” —
They took umbrage with this entreaty from security and hurled a bottle of beer at one of the bouncers, while others physically assaulted other bouncers. The security guards then forcibly removed the suspects into the street, at which point the fight was visible to officers
Police say they took three people into custody and one officer was assaulted but uninjured during the melee.
Meanwhile, SPD reports officers broke up a 10-person fight on the same block around 1 AM, taking two people into custody.
Earlier, police made arrests outside Neumos after security reported a male had threatened to return with a gun and knife after a “physical confrontation outside the club.”
“Officers located and stopped the vehicle at 10/Pike in the middle of a crowded street, which had an unholstered firearm in open view,” SPD reports. The vehicle’s driver and passenger were arrested for investigation of felony harassment and weapons charges and the car was impounded.
Some of the bad vibes continued Sunday night as a man was taken into custody just before 10 PM in a tangle with security at Big Mario’s in which a window of Cafe Vita was reported busted.
About 10 minutes later, there was a report someone had stolen chocolates from the nearby Salt and Straw ice cream shop.
SPD has increased resources to address the large Capitol Hill nightlife crowds by increasing staffing in East Precinct on weekends.
Officials say SPD has increased foot patrols during peak weekend hours and has been holding meetings with the area’s restaurants, bars and security staff. A new program placing the department’s freshest cops on the streets of Pike/Pine has also increased SPD’s presence. New officers who have completed their field training can join patrol in the nightlife area between Thursday and Sunday.
Mayor Katie Wilson, meanwhile, has put on hold a planned expansion of SPD’s Real Time Crime Center camera system to Capitol Hill and the Pike/Pine nightlife area.
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