The Stranger has a very interesting story asking why it took so long to catch suspected Greenwood arsonist Kevin Todd Swalwell.
According to the article, “court documents show that police had clues as early as this summer that Swalwell—a neighborhood fixture with a criminal record as a repeat arsonist—was the culprit.”
Olive You owner Timur Leno says that if Swalwell was captured sooner, his business wouldn’t have been damaged in a Nov. 9 fire.
18 responses so far ↓
1 jm // Nov 26, 2009 at 10:23 am
That is an interesting story from the Stranger.
2 John // Nov 26, 2009 at 11:09 am
And now the handwringing begins. I’m surprised it took so long.
Sure, that’s an “interesting” article, if by “interesting” you mean one that brings little new information to light and then fills in the gaps with a lot of speculation, weasel-words like “presumably”, and disingenuous quotes like “After the first three buildings went, why weren’t there cops at every corner?”
Why weren’t their cops at every corner? Because the very same people who would ask that question would just as certainly decry the new “police state” in Greenwood and rail against “the man.”
And of course, it wouldn’t be Seattle without a little faux compassion for the perp: “I just hope he gets the care that he needs.”
Three time arsonist spanning three decades. With an affinity for spreading his feces on ATM keyboards.
By all means, let’s get this man some help. We’ve got us police to blame.
3 jm // Nov 26, 2009 at 11:29 am
We need MORE police in this area. The problems with store front businesses being burglarized every week goes on. It’s all happening late at night when nobody’s looking.
4 john walker // Nov 26, 2009 at 12:03 pm
instead of spending billions on a tunnel, lets fix a few local things first. we seriously lack police officers in this town, and it isn’t just in greenwood. we need to take a step or two back in time, and rethink the laws that gave criminals more rights than the general populace. small wonder that the likes of swalwell can basically do as they please for so long, even under the watchful eye of the police, considering all the PC laws that the judiciary has enacted.
5 Michael Bowers // Nov 26, 2009 at 1:36 pm
John Walker, which “PC laws” specifically do you believe are hindering police efforts? Are there any specifically that you believe hindered capturing the arsonist? With more specifics we can all be on the same page and strive for real change more effectively where change is needed.
6 In Disbelief // Nov 26, 2009 at 8:56 pm
More police. Now. This is shameful. More outrage. Now.
If they had the palm prints on August 14th, had this known “victim of societies cruelties” in the system as an arsonist, and even HAD AN ADDRESS where he got mail at the liberal guilt food bank, there is a real breakdown here.
I”m not saying its sloppy, uncaring police or some ludicrous conspiracy. But I’m sorry, this is far worse than the once in 30 years snow not getting removed on time.
7 Tiktok // Nov 26, 2009 at 10:11 pm
We need to double our ratio of cops to citizens, from around 500:1 to 250:1 to meet DoJ recommendations for policing effectiveness. That means: lots more funding for the PD.
8 Whopper // Nov 27, 2009 at 6:13 am
Why didn’t the police get him sooner? He’s a member of seattle’s most protected class: vagrants.
Yet again we hear the whine about ‘lack of services’ even though this vagrant was ordered into free counseling and mental health services but refused to go. He should have been arrested at that point.
9 daniel // Nov 27, 2009 at 8:56 am
It’s easy to throw lots of blame around after the fact.
10 outside the box // Nov 27, 2009 at 9:48 am
Daniel..so you are all for throwing the blame BEFORE guilty before “the fact”? Give me a break…I think JW has it right….tell them on a sign out front of business that you are ARMED..and may be inside. I hope the UPS delivery man doesnt surprise him!
11 Wolfie // Nov 27, 2009 at 11:30 am
Considering the fact that most arsonists are not caught, I’d say we’re pretty lucky. Or should we change the name of the blog to PhinneyWhine?
12 Silver // Nov 28, 2009 at 7:50 am
Jonah Spangenthal-Lee has written an interesting, researched response the the Stranger’s article. See Burning Sensationalism.
13 jm // Nov 28, 2009 at 9:08 am
Thanks Silver, that is a better timeline of events.
14 Atamatic // Nov 28, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Im not trying to point blame but even I had a great hunch it was a homeless man setting these fires. I live in Greenwood right off 82nd and had seen the arsonist walking up and down the street many times looking all crazy and weird. I know thats not enough to arrest somebody but for peats sake in light of the facts comming out he should have been nabbed months ago. Greenwood I guess isnt that high on the patrol list huh?
15 In Disbelief // Nov 28, 2009 at 4:58 pm
The article still assumes based on a SPD spokesperson that a previously convicted arsonists hand print on a bottle of lighter fluid found at the scene of a set fire isn’t enough for probable cause. Sorry, I’m not an expert on these matters, but I sure would like to hear from someone else who is. Because that don’t sound right.
Atamatic, you should feel no guilt for your hunch. The fact that you do is part of the real problem here. And you are absolutely right to ask/state why aren’t their more visible patrols, officers in Greenwood??? Could it have something to do with the “hands off” policing strategy Seattle-ites prefer as a more “enlightened” liberal approach to criminals?
The “homeless” are not a singular, homogeneous ethnic or social group. Much like the level 3 sex offender who was boarding comfortably in Ballard, the problem is there seems to be that some of the “homeless” who are vile criminals can easily avoid detection from law enforcement due to their protected status.
16 SV // Nov 29, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Why is Timur Leno still in the news???
I’m starting to suspect that he is a bit of a media hound, While I agree that the arson is a tragic thing, I feel like Timur is blatantly using this as an opportunity to get any media coverage possible (anyone remember him on TV talking about the threatening phone call?). I’m calling BS on Timur
17 SPG // Nov 30, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Seattle is grossly underpoliced. We have about half the number of police of a similar sized city in this country and little effort to do anything about it. Don’t get me wrong, the police we do have are doing a pretty good job and I’m grateful to them, but it’s got to make the job tougher to know that there isn’t that much backup close by if something goes wrong.
The big flaw in the structure of the Seattle Police is that we’re doing it on the cheap. We’ve essentially removed the beat cop and patrol and replaced it with 911. Even with that scenario we’re now failing to keep up with the increase in population of the city. SPD has recently admitted that they aren’t going to do much regarding car prowls and this is exactly the wrong approach. An occasional nighttime emphasis patrol looking for these thieves would make a big impact in the quality of life for a lot of citizens. A change in the law to make the punishment more severe and a change in attitude in the prosecutors office would make a huge impact as well. These are things that are within the realm of possibility if only the people in charge decide to actually do it.
18 K. Chessen // Dec 16, 2009 at 11:05 pm
@SV: Mr. Leno did not come to me about the arson; I contacted him while I was researching the story. He was gracious enough to invite me into his cafe (Sweet on You, which was unaffected by the fires) and allowed me to conduct a brief interview. He was by no means in pursuit of media attention. We asked him to pose for the photo only because his other business, Olive You, was one of several that might have been spared had Swalwell been in custody earlier.
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