A Seattle lawmaker has furiously denied her support for defunding the police is to blame for soaring crime in the city.
Council member Kshama Sawant said the city should not add police resources to the Central District neighborhood after 24 children had to crawl to the bathroom of a daycare facility following a shooting.
The incident happened on Monday outside of the A-4 Apple Learning Center, with a 47-year-old man being shot on the street.
A bullet pierced through the window of the center, with co-owner Appollonia Washington telling staff and children inside to ‘army crawl’ to the bathroom and hide.
In response, the facility shared a statement slamming the City Council and its members for allowing violence to ‘plague’ the area.
Councilmember Kshama Sawant said the city should not add police resources to the Central District neighborhood following the incident
The incident happened on Monday outside of the A-4 Apple Learning Center, with a 47-year-old man being shot on the street
Their statement said: ‘The shooting left windows broken and glass shattered where the children were sitting.
‘Our hearts are broken by this occurrence as it is our life’s mission to educate and nourish our children, parents, and trust their children to come each day to school with the expectation that they will be safe and educated.
‘This area has been plagued by violence for the past two years. Despite contacting city council members, community leaders, Vulcan, and even the mayor’s office, the learning center has not received any help.
‘From the staff on the Board of Directors of A-4 Apple Learning Center, we would like to ask the community: Is public safety a buzzword for politicians or can it serve as a call to action for our youth and community.’
Speaking to KOMO News, Washington said: ‘Show your face because your presence is needed to support us. Who is [Sawant]? I’ve reached out to [her office] for two years.
‘Nothing, they never support anything that people of color do in this community. We need police presence.’
Sawant represents the area on the City Council and has been a vocal proponent of defunding the police.
A bullet pierced through the window of the center, with co-owner Appollonia Washington, pictured here, telling staff and children inside to ‘army crawl’ to the bathroom
In response to questions by KOMO News, she said: ‘I am in solidarity with all small business owners, but the facts are that bloating the police department does not work.
‘My message to them is that increasing funding to police is not going to help them, you know why?
‘Because that is the strategy that has been tried for a decade and a half. Police have got more and more money. This whole idea that ‘police got defunded’, no it did not, unfortunately.’
Despite her remarks, The Seattle Met reported that the budget dropped from $402.3 million in 2020 to $361.7 million in 2021 and then to $355.5 million in 2022.
The Seattle Times reported that after protests in the city against police brutality in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, the City Council committed to a series of police reform ideas.
At the time, Sawant said: ‘My office and my organization Socialist Alternative, have been proud to have marched with the community every step of the way.
‘And of course, as the socialist city councilmember I have joined the movement that I am a part of in the call to defund SPD by at least 50 percent starting immediately.’
Despite their ambitious plans, the city council eventually decided to ditch the move to half the budget of the police, with the majority denouncing of council members now denouncing the idea.
In the wake of the killing of George Floyd, the City Council committed to a series of police reform ideas.
In response to the shooting, the office of Mayor Bruce Harrell issued a statement saying: ‘Mayor Harrell believes every community deserves to feel safe and be safe, and this shooting is both scary and tragic for impacted residents and our broader Seattle community.
‘After inheriting a historic SPD staffing low, Mayor Harrell has made it a priority to drive meaningful improvements in both officer recruitment and retention efforts to keep and attract applicants who share the values of the city and reflect the diversity of its communities.
‘Mayor Harrell’s budget proposal makes critical investments in reducing gun violence, which requires a holistic approach including thorough investigations, community-based programs, new technologies, and upstream solutions.
‘Mayor Harrell will continue to pursue policy changes to reduce gun violence at the state legislative level, as the City is prohibited from setting our gun laws due to state preemption.’
A bullet pierced through the window of the center, with co-owner Appollonia Washington telling staff and children inside to ‘army crawl’ to the bathroom and hide
The Seattle Met reported that the budget dropped from $402.3 million in 2020 to $361.7 million in 2021 and then to $355.5 million in 2022
Seattle’s police department have investigated 57 homicides so far this year, and could exceed the record of 69 from 1994 according to the Times.
The overstretched force has investigated 33 murders in 2019, 53 in 2020, 41 in 2021 and 54 in 2022.
Jim Fuda, executive director of Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound, told The Times: ‘It’s a sad state of affairs.’
Fuda added that there are not enough detectives to investigate the murders, while less severe crimes are also going unpunished.
He continued: ‘Criminals know how to take advantage of that’, adding that more police officers are desperately needed for the city.
In June of this year, expectant mom Eina Kwon was shot four times while her Tesla was stopped at a red light in the city.
Kwon, who was eight months pregnant with her second child, was rushed to surgery, where doctors performed an emergency cesarean section to deliver her child.
The restaurateur was pronounced dead shortly after the baby was born, while the child died a short time later.
Her husband, Evan Sung Kwon, 37, was also injured in the unprovoked attack but has since been released from the hospital.