‘It’s not a boogeyman’: Jake and Spike debate turning Seattle’s cameras back on after Pioneer Square shootout

Gunshots rang out in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood early Sunday after a fight inside Cowgirls bar at 1st Avenue and King Street spilled into the street. More than 20 shots were fired, at least one person was wounded, and multiple vehicles and a nearby business were hit.

Three city surveillance cameras in the immediate area, part of the Real Time Crime Center network that was active during the FIFA World Cup, have been offline since the tournament ended. The cameras and 19 others in the SODO and Pioneer Square area were previously linked to the network, which the Seattle Police Department has credited with helping solve crimes ranging from assaults to homicides.

Jake Skorheim and Spike O’Neill, co-hosts of “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio, agreed the cameras should be turned back on, but were split on how much weight to give the documented misuse of surveillance data.

Jake says cameras should be on and abusers should be prosecuted

Jake pointed to a recent poll showing 75% of Seattleites support more cameras, arguing the debate shouldn’t be driven by worst-case scenarios.

“This is a group that doesn’t want cameras, and they’re using this idea of it being just like, ‘Oh, the information is just completely accessible to everybody on the internet who knows how to do some hacking,’ and it’s making people less safe,” Jake said. “It would be nice if we had an idea of who’s going out there shooting.”

He acknowledged that misuse of camera data has occurred but said it shouldn’t shut down the entire system.

“I know it happens sometimes, but it is the exception and should not then dictate that we can have no cameras,” Jake said.

Spike says the misuse is real, not just ‘a boogeyman’

Spike pushed back on the idea that data misuse is rare, citing specific research.

“The University of Washington Center for Human Rights found that there were eight different law enforcement agencies in Washington that directly shared that information illegally with U.S. Border Patrol,” Spike said. “There were 10 different law enforcement communities that allowed backdoor access to U.S. Border Patrol to these Flock cameras and surveillance cameras in their law enforcement community. So it’s not a boogeyman. It’s not some nefarious worst-case scenario slippery slope what-if.”

He also noted that several officers have been charged or accused of misusing surveillance data, but Spike ultimately agreed with Jake that the cameras should come back on with safeguards.

“There have been over 50 officers charged and accused of misusing this information,” Spike said. “We could use the cameras. The cameras are a great tool. Let’s make sure that we can trust the information that is gathered is not misused. I think that’s all I’m asking.”

Jake drew the line between cameras and cops, arguing that cameras alone aren’t enough.

“Cameras are after the fact. Police are preventative,” Jake said. “If cops had been standing everywhere, if you can’t turn your head without seeing a man in blue at the Bite of Seattle, I bet that shooting doesn’t happen.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3