A Thousand Bucks of Copper. A Hundred Grand of Damage.
At 1:19 in the morning on June 27, a Seattle police officer spotted a man walking the shoulder of the West Seattle Bridge with wire cutters and bundles of copper. He claimed to be a Seattle City Light worker. He wasn't. Prosecutors say the wire he allegedly cut was worth about $1,000. The repair bill will run around $100,000.
Despite 16 prior warrants and an escape conviction, he was released on a promise to appear. He didn't. Charlie Harger on how one traffic stop touches every broken system — copper theft, revolving-door justice, homelessness, addiction, and a recycler market Olympia refused to fix.
Listen to Seattle's Morning News w/ Charlie Harger and Manda Factor every weekday at 5am on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM or go to MyNorthwest.com to learn more!
