Written by UPDATE Wednesday Afternoon:
This information has just been provided by the police department:
A single incident was reported to police. The report, which was made two weeks after the event, stated that an individual was assaulted while walking on the trail. The reporting party was unable to identify the subject in a photo montage, and has since decided not to pursue the case. There have been no other formal reports of incidents occurring on the trail.
We have been told that there have been other incidents that are associated with the same suspect, however the Police Department has not received a call. This is a common theme as citizens are hesitant to call 911 unless it is a serious life threatening issue. We encourage our citizens to call 911 whenever they observe suspicious activity.
Because of the increased community concern, we have been conducting additional emphasis patrols on the trail.
There have been no arrests of any subject in relation to the alleged incidents on the trail. A person of interest has been identified. This person has been arrested recently for criminal violations not associated with intimidation on the trail.
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Original entry:
Word comes to us tonight that a suspect has been arrested in a case that was described this morning by Renton Blogger Lady P of the Picaroon.
Lady P’s description of events can be found here, and the mayor’s email informing us of the arrest is attached below.
Anyone who has been harassed is encouraged to contact the Renton police department to provide a statement.
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From: Denis Law
Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 8:41:37 PM
To: Marcie Palmer; Terry Higashiyama
Cc: Council; Jay B Covington
Subject: Re: Cedar River Trail safety concern
Auto forwarded by a Rule
We will get you some details. A suspect has been arrested.
From: Marcie Palmer
To: Terry Higashiyama
Cc: Council; Jay B Covington; Denis Law
Sent: Tue Jan 26 18:40:10 2010
Subject: Cedar River Trail safety concern
I was surprised to read on the Picaroon blog (http://thepicaroon.blogspot.com/) the info about the creepy weird angry man harassing walkers on the Cedar River Trail. Our family walks this all the time and now I’m scared to do so. Can you advise us of details and anything else we should know please.
Thank you!
Marcie
I’m so hoping that the suspect “got into an altercation with the K-9 unit” and “resisted arrest.”
Because a real squirming human is much better than the boring training chew toy.
Whew, since I wasn’t arrested it must have been another creepy weird angry man. Also I don’t remember harassing walkers on the CRT, although I probably have upset a couple of them since I choose to ride my bike on that trail.
I was a bit worried that people were thinking it was me – but then I realized that they all sad that the subject was coherent in his ravings.
My Police Department contacts say that the guy I am writing about IS NOT in custody, that they only had one couple who filed a charge against him and that they are not pursuing it. This guy is still out there. What is the true story!!??
Lady P
Oh good god! That drives me nuts how the public will not files charges.
If we ever want the police to do anything, we have to give them the support they need to put the people behind bars – to do that, the witnesses need to act like adults and be willing to be testify.
A conviction needs evidence, and most evidence is in the minds of witnesses. We have to give the courts the evidence!
My family has gone to Renton court to testify, and if you tell the officers that you’ll see the process all the way through, they’ll move mountains for you once they know they their labor won’t be in vain because you’re too lazy/scared to testify.
But I don’t want to get involved.
Buzzzz: Wrong answer.
Actually…
From what I know, they were unable to positively ID the suspect.
Unfortunate
How incredibly unfortunate that the City’s own City Council members are so out-of-touch with their own Police Department, that they feel it necessary to rely on a private citizen’s blog (which was chock full of inaccuracies) to get their information on this “trail harasser”. Sad That’s what we would normally call a pot-stirer. A frequent occurence amongst Council. . . .
re:unfortunate
It’s separation of powers. Council does not get regularly briefed on every crime. We typically do hear about homicides immediately, most shootings, violent robberies and any other crimes likely to make it into the media. The police also give us statistical reports which we use for determining response times, budgets, staffing, high crime areas that need emphasis, resolution rates and other policy level issues. Beyond that we have to ask about a particular crime if we want more information, and the police have to be careful how much info they release to us in on-going investigations to avoid harming their cases. We are most likely to ask about a crime if we are doing it for a concerned citizen, or we witness/hear about police activity in our own neighborhoods or –as in the case– somewhere we frequent. Citizens and businesses often do this too. Note that the police will occasionally put out a media release even for lesser crimes if they feel that the general public needs a heightened level of caution for some reason, and council receives them at the same time as the newspapers. I wouldn’t call this relationship between council and police “sad” or “incredibly unfortunate”. By state law, Council Members are policy makers, not police department managers.
I’m sure Lady P had some reasonable sources for her blog, probably people she knows downtown.
As for me, the information I received and posted was from the mayor and the police, both excellent sources.
Police Report Statement
It looks like there is a lot of rumor and misinformation on this one.
Renton PD sent us this letter: http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/ren/news/82847367.html#storyComments