We were just alerted to this post in the Forum about a drug deal that happened in broad daylight in Phinney/Green Lake:
Tonight (we) witnessed a drug deal in front of our house, just North of 73rd and Dayton. One guy got dropped off in front of our house, loitered around for a few minutes then went down the block and got into another car. (We) walked down the street and looked in the window of the car and saw two guys counting out drugs from a plastic bag. We chased them off by saying their license plate number out loud and they took off. We called 911 and they sent a patrol car out.
We talked to the patrol officers who said this activity was moving north after getting chased out of the Woodland Park Zoo area. In order to keep chasing it, the SPD needs to get statistics to support more patrols in our neighborhood.
Here is what the officers asked us to do…
1) Do call 911 immediately if you see a car with people sitting in it apparently going no where. They are waiting to make a drug connection. They connect by cell phone or text message and select a random intersection. That gives the police about two minutes to arrive before they go separate ways.
2) DO NOT confront the dealers directly. The officers chastised me mildly.
3) Get a license plate if you can do it discreetly.If SPD gets enough calls they will increase police patrols in our area. This is not the first time I’ve seen people just hanging around in cars. I’ve seen it a time or two before. Now I think we just need to call 911 as soon as we see someone sitting in their car doing nothing.
29 responses so far ↓
1 Jeff // Jul 20, 2009 at 11:49 pm
What was the make of car? We’ve seen the same thing from an off-white SUV near 100th and Greenwood.
2 Bridget // Jul 21, 2009 at 8:06 am
It was a bright red impala.
3 Not Surprised // Jul 21, 2009 at 9:11 am
Surprised this made it to the front page. These kinds of deals are normal around here - they pick a quiet street and make a quick exchange. There are plenty of quiet streets in the Ballard/Phinney region.
4 Bill // Jul 21, 2009 at 9:22 am
I recall a week or so ago someone mentioning a dark colored van… Are we talking about filthy Ford Aerostar with the entire back window covered in duct tape?
I saw it on our block. They pulled up, idled at one spot for about 10 min, then drove away. A few days ago I saw it at the gas station just north of the Zoo.
Bill
5 Bill // Jul 21, 2009 at 9:24 am
Bright Red (super clean) Impala! We have one of those around 6th & 74th. A couple of 20 somethings live there and drive by all the time with their stereos REALLY loud.
6 DRUG CRAZED // Jul 21, 2009 at 10:12 am
“Do call 911 immediately if you see a car with people sitting in it apparently going no where. They are waiting to make a drug connection.”
Oh come on, people! This doesn’t sound paranoid and irrational to you?
7 tiktok // Jul 21, 2009 at 10:24 am
This happens all the time on 6th Ave between NW 83rd and 82nd. On Sunday, during the afternoon, it was two old dope fiends in a beat up blue sedan. They park, a few minutes later the dealer drives by, does a u-turn, picks one of them up, goes down a block, u-turns around the roundabout, drops them back off.
8 Margaret // Jul 21, 2009 at 10:35 am
Drug crazed…uh, no, it doesn’t sound irrational to suggest that neighbors keep an eye out for people they don’t recognize, sitting idly in a car they don’t recognize. Once you live in an area plagued by drug dealers, as mine has been (78th/Linden), you too might become more sensitive to this type of criminal activity that otherwise goes unnoticed because it facially appears innocent. Wake up drug crazed, and look around…you’d be amazed at what you’ll see when you do.
9 Northend // Jul 21, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Jeff…
Was the off-white SUV a Tahoe with chrome rims and exhaust?
Seen him around the neighborhood recently.
10 John // Jul 21, 2009 at 1:08 pm
I’m actually with drug crazed, that’s a little too paranoid for my books. Margaret, I’ll make sure never to pull over in your neighborhood for fear you’re going to call the cops on me.
I mean, seriously? Margaret, if you want to pull over and read an email, make a phone call, or do anything else that you need to do but can’t while driving, you’re more than welcome to pull over and do it in front of my house. I won’t call the cops on you.
I’m sorry, sitting in a car ‘apparently going no where’ isn’t suspicious. In fact, the quote above is that if you do see that, THEY ARE WAITING TO BUY DRUGS!!!!!!
Uhhh, a) innocent until proven guilty. b) plenty of people sit in cars in neighborhoods that aren’t their own who aren’t waiting to buy drugs.
11 Jeff // Jul 21, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Northend..
Yep, that’s the one.
12 jm // Jul 21, 2009 at 1:55 pm
This happens on 1st NW too. Sometimes they move electronic gear from one car to the next and sometimes leave a stolen car behind. We report it. The police have arrested people once in a while.
13 tiktok // Jul 21, 2009 at 2:23 pm
No-one parks on the stretch I’m thinking of…except to get out of their cars and go visit someone right there. The rest are these strange two-car transactions, which of course we can’t be sure if they’re drug deals, so why not assume the best?
14 Margaret // Jul 21, 2009 at 3:51 pm
John, I was only suggesting that neighbors become sensitive to this issue because, like it or not, aware of it or not, drug transactions are clearly going on in the phinney/greenwood neighborhood and the police need our help to stop that type of conduct. Watching out for odd or suspicous behavior is our responsibility as neighbors, at least most of my neighbors feel that way about our neighborhood. so, yeah, if you are going to park on my street, and after a while meet up with someone for what appears to be some kind of transaction, you can count on me or one of my neighbors paying a bit of attention to you, your friend, your activities, and your license plate!
15 April // Jul 21, 2009 at 4:21 pm
I think there are other reasons for stopping your car other than waiting for drugs. Sometimes I pull over if I’m lost and need to call for directions, or I get a call while driving.
16 Jennifer // Jul 21, 2009 at 4:36 pm
This Impala is often at this corner, and 73rd and Dayton is notorious for sketchy characters loitering about. Some of the people have dogs (including a pit bull) who leave it in the car, barking, for hours. I live just a few blocks away from this intersection, and have been very frustrated by the number of shady dealings and random strangers roaming the streets at all hours of the day.
17 SPG // Jul 21, 2009 at 4:40 pm
“I think there are other reasons for stopping your car other than waiting for drugs. Sometimes I pull over if I’m lost and need to call for directions, or I get a call while driving.”
Yes, and you look like you’re making a phone call. I’m going out on a limb here, but I’ll guess that you don’t look like a meth head, or pull up and start looking all around to see if someone is watching you either. Let’s all get a grip and realize that the advice does need to be taken with an appropriate amount of common sense. Sketchy people doing sketchy things tend to look sketchy. Normal people doing normal things tend to look normal. Use your judgement and intuition. Worst case, the police will roll up, realize it’s a real estate agent on a business call and move on. Best case the tweakers with three outstanding B&E warrants get busted.
18 Whopper // Jul 21, 2009 at 6:31 pm
Keep this up an folks from Greenwood will feel right at home in Phinney.
19 StephenC // Jul 21, 2009 at 7:09 pm
No drug deals up at 107th and Greenwood. Do try and keep the sleaze south of 85th would you please.
20 robert o // Jul 21, 2009 at 9:08 pm
lots of blatant drug activity going on at the corner of 77th and greenwood in the cheap brick apartment. i live in the apartment block kitty corner from there so i have a good view. cars come and go all afternoon and late into the night and early morning. typical scenario is the car pulls up, the guy gets in and they go for a short ride. the neighborhood is going to hell.
21 jm // Jul 22, 2009 at 11:44 am
Get photos or video to share with the SPD.
22 John // Jul 22, 2009 at 1:04 pm
@spg “Yes, and you look like you’re making a phone call.”
Except when I’m on speaker and then it looks like I’m talking to myself.
As for looking like a meth head, there’s a lot of issues there, aren’t there? Profiling and the like?
23 SPG // Jul 22, 2009 at 4:03 pm
John, do you look like a meth head? I doubt it. It’s not profiling to recognize a tweaked out person trying to score drugs. We’ve all seen them and we can recognize the behaviour, especially when it’s on our block.
24 Whopper // Jul 22, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Start getting Phinney residents parking cars on their front lawns and the Greenwood cracker invasion will be complete.
25 KLIM // Jul 22, 2009 at 7:12 pm
what a waste of 911….
26 2ndhandgiantdwarf // Jul 22, 2009 at 8:34 pm
After having lived in Georgetown as well as near High Point in West Seattle, as well as “Phinneywood”(Phinneyhood?), among other places far worse elsewhere, I do find this whole thread pretty darn funny (thankful though that no one got harmed in the making of)… I would certainly advise you please not to go running up to the next deal you see going down yelling their license plate number out… just call the cops, if you feel they ought to document the call, but chances are most times the ‘perps’ will be gone before the cop even arrives anyway. Still worth calling it in though so they can gather stats on such calls for later justification of stepped up patrols if nothing else. They actually do keep track of that stuff…
27 StephenC // Jul 22, 2009 at 11:32 pm
All that stopping and starting and short around-the-block trips are just hell on a drug dealer’s car engine — I hope Matt’s Greenwood Auto Care is at least getting their oil change business. You know, keeping the drug money local and all.
28 Neighbor girl // Jul 24, 2009 at 4:29 pm
This happened today in front of my house and I called 911, but they would not send a patrol car because there was no proof of suspicious activity and the operator informed me, “it’s not illegal to park in front of your house and sit in the car.” Um, okay, but they were blocking my driveway and loitering. I called the non-emergency number at the precinct, and the officer took all the information and said that was the right number to call. Thank you Phinneywood for providing the info.
29 Neighbor girl // Jul 24, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Just to reiterate, the correct number to report suspicious activity the ACT (Anti-Crime Team) at the North Precinct, 206-684-0850. Of course, if you actually witness a crime in process, or are in danger, call 911.
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