Sometimes truth escapes the best of us. Fear, adrenaline and chaos can distort reality, sometimes very quickly.
On December 9, 2009, at a community meeting in Ballard, I heard several individuals describe an incident in their neighborhood that, if true, revealed a troubling collapse of the city's emergency response services. A bar owner alleged that he was stabbed by a customer and that it took 25 minutes for police and medics to arrive at the scene. I apologized on behalf of city government. Here's a story in the Ballard News Tribune about
the community meeting. Here's the original story about the stabbing incident. And here's a follow-up story that repeats the 25-minute slow response allegation.
Ballard business owners and residents are right to call for a stronger police presence, to highlight street disorder concerns, and to work together to make their neighborhood safer. But, as I've learned in my two years on the City Council, all of us must make certain we get the facts right. Stories about government failures spread quickly; inaccurate information can create doubt, confusion, anxiety, even anger.
So, here are the facts about the Ballard stabbing incident gleaned from police and fire department dispatch records.
The first 911 call reporting the stabbing was received at 11:42 p.m. on Saturday night, October 10, 2009. Police dispatchers broadcast details of the incident at 11:43 p.m. Eleven police units responded, including a K-9 unit, the King County Sheriff's Guardian One helicopter, and a police lieutenant. The first police unit arrived at the scene of the incident at 11:47 p.m., five minutes after the first 911 call.
The fire department issued its first alarm at 11:45 p.m. and dispatched five units: Engine 18, Engine 20, Medic 16, Medic 44, and a battalion chief. Engine 20 was the first fire department unit to arrive at the scene at 11:50 p.m., seven minutes after the first 911 call was received.
At three minutes past midnight on October 11, 21 minutes after the first 911 call, police apprehended an accomplice of the primary suspect.
At 10:45 p.m. on October 27, 17 days after the original assault, SPD's North Precinct Anti-Crime Team arrested the primary suspect in the stabbing and booked him into the King County Jail for felony assault and felony identity theft.
I don't believe anyone deliberately exaggerated or distorted the facts here, but it's always good to check the facts before spreading stories.