Questions answered about Seattle’s tent-based drug operation

Seattle police have cleared away a tent hidden between the northbound and southbound lanes of I-5 near downtown. Inside, officers found a massive drug-processing operation.

KIRO 7’s Amy Clancy reports that detectives found five cellphones, 660 hypodermic needles, 100 baggies, a scale, heroin, meth, crack cocaine, lighters, pipes, a “processing table for narcotics,” an ax, machete, knife and $209.07 cash. A single bed was inside the tent, large enough to fit six people.

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Speaking with KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson Show, Clancy explained what is known about the case so far.

What are the details of this case?

“This is an area near downtown, it’s Washington State Department of Transportation property that’s right there by I-5. It’s kind of hidden between the northbound and southbound lanes … Officers were hearing that the tent pitched there was used to process and sell large amounts of narcotics … police were granted a search warrant. Within the past week they searched that tent and what they found was not evidence of a tent used to shelter people, but a tent used for the processing and sale of meth, heroin, cocaine. You name it, it was being sold there … it looked like this tent was set up for business, not for shelter.

“We do know that this is a ‘no trespassing,’ fenced-off area. My photographer and I went there yesterday for our story and the fence had been pulled back and we saw a number of people milling about the area. Even though it’s posted ‘no trespassing’ and fenced, people are getting access regularly and it’s not difficult to get to.”

Who was arrested?

“At this point, the police have not made any arrests … this was a six-man tent that had one bed in it. The rest of the tent was being used for business. For apparently drug sales … I had many questions I wanted to ask the Seattle Police Department, but nobody was available for an interview yesterday. We got a statement that said, basically, multiple people were questioned, but nobody was arrested.

“That happens routinely if you find a police document. If it’s an ongoing investigation, and they plan to make an arrest or hope to make an arrest, they often times play things close to the vest. If there is an arrest, I hope the Seattle Police Department will let me know … At this point, there have not been, and it is ongoing.

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“I do know that all 660 hypodermic needles and everything else they took out of that tent have been possessed and are now in police evidence. So they have a strong case if somebody is arrested to prove that this was illegal drug activity, not necessarily someplace for somebody to live.”

What does this story say about the line between homelessness and crime?

“It appears that some people, and I’m not saying all people, but some people are taking advantage of the city’s compassion for those who are down and out to hide their criminal enterprise. As a reporter, that is what seems to be the issue when I look at documents – police documents and charging documents. There are definitely many people who are down and out and need help. And there are many others who take advantage of peoples’ compassion to hide in their tent and do drugs, or rape teenage runaways. That was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen.

“Obviously, the city took that very seriously. They took it so seriously that when I requested an interview with the Seattle Police Department for that story, I interviewed the chief herself and the head detective. They said it was their number one concern right now to make sure the children in the City of Seattle were safe. Well, the children who were living in those encampments were not. They were being raped. This is a drug example, but there is definitely a difference between people who are in need and people who are taking advantage. And I think that’s a very difficult thing to discern if you lump them on the compassionate side or the criminal side.”