Ballard police

Robber stabs man

Last week in the wee hours, Seattle Police officers went to the scene of an assault on Northwest Market Street near the fire station where a man from Puyallup said he was robbed of his wallet. He was on his way to a friend's house when he was told to hand over his wallet. When he refused, the suspect pulled out a knife and cut the victim on the chest. The victim grabbed the robber, then knocked him to the ground. At the friend's house, his girlfriend told him to call 911. They went to the fire station to receive aid. Police searched the area and found the assault weapon but no suspect.

Car stolen so man seeks help

The victim of a car theft in Ballard called the News-Tribune last week to report that his 1990 grey Nissan Pathfinder, license plate 144 LEU, was stolen and he has not seen it since the incident on June 10. The theft occurred at Earl Avenue and Northwest 75th Street during the night. The victim woke up to retrieve his Sunday paper and noticed the car missing. "I looked out and it was gone. You have an empty feeling when you go out and it is not there," said the victim, who did not give his name. The Seattle Police told the man the car could have been taken by kids for a joyride or by a thief looking for parts. "I just wish I could find it. Call 911 if you spot it," said the man.

Man hatchets his own car

Somewhere in the Emerald City, the neighborhood unknown because the address in the police report was blacked out, a man called the police, saying his roommate was destroying his own car with a hatchet. Officers arrived and saw the man hitting the trunk of his car. "I kept my distance and called for additional units. The suspect saw me and started walking towards me with the hatchet in his right hand. I immediately told him to drop the hatchet. He threw the hatchet on the sidewalk," the officer said. Once the suspect was in handcuffs, he admitted being bipolar and that he was in the hospital for mental issues two days ago. "He said he hasn't been taking his medication. He said that he was trying to get his guitars out of the trunk. That was the reason why he was using a hatchet," the report stated. The suspect's roommates said he had been acting strangely for five days and started living in his car. His next stop was Harborview for a mental evaluation.

"Undercover guys" abandon him

A police officer observed a suspect in a used car lot on Aurora Avenue at 4:13 a.m. and found this to be unusual since the business was closed. The suspect was standing next to a Honda, with the door open. When questioned, the suspect was at first evasive, making up a story about buying the car from a friend. "Alright, you got me. I was trying to steal the vehicle," the report stated. The suspect claimed there were two "undercover guys," helping him, but that ran off when they saw the cop car. The car thief spent the rest of the night in a jail cell.

Aggressive panhandler vs. cop

An off duty Seattle Police officer was sending mail at the Ballard Post Office last week when he passed a transient male sitting on the steps. He was aggressively panhandling with a baseball cap in his hand, thrusting it at people to collect money. As the officer walked by on the way to his car, the suspect yelled an inflammatory racial slur at him. The officer, who is not a minority, advised the suspect to be careful what he said around other people. A citizen then told the suspect to move along and go to the Ballard Food Bank for help. "I'll kill you both," the suspect said. The citizen called 911, then he assisted the off duty officer in restraining the suspect as he tried to walk away. The suspect told responding officers he had an open sore on his buttocks. Officers then noted feces on his clothes. He was sent to Harborview and was trespassed from the post officer property.

Animal abuser rejected

When a couple went to the Seattle Animal Shelter to adopt an animal, the staff recognized the woman. The staff had taken dogs away from the woman in the past when they were not properly cared for. The woman started yelling at the staff, grabbed some paperwork and threw them. The male suspect hit the staff member's chest hard enough to knock the wind out of him. The man suspect then said, "'I'm going to slap you in the face,' and when his female companion said that would not be wise, they drove away in the listed car," the report said.

This guy's no "Bruce Lee"

Since the Seattle Police Department put all their citywide police incident reports on computer disks, reports for the entire city are compiled together. This incident happened in Southeast Seattle.

Late one evening, police officers spotted a suspect holding "chako" sticks (two pieces of wood connected by a chain, a popular martial arts weapon commonly referred to as Nunchucks made popular by movie star Bruce Lee.) When the suspect realized the police were watching at him, the tried to hide the "chako" sticks. Officers took the suspect into custody. He said the sticks were his and that he was in training. He told the officers he was a "black belt" in kung-fu. (Kung fu does not have belt classifications.) His training, he said, was preparing him for a trip to Korea, where he would compete in a tournament and win a sword. The suspect's next training stop was behind bars.

Vandals leave pellet gun and tire tracks

While walking his dog at a North Seattle baseball field, a concerned citizen noticed some tire tracks and then a gun laying in the grass. The gun turned out to be a pellet gun. The tracks were made by a vandal driving a car around and around the field.

Ballard police reports are culled from official Seattle police reports.