Mugme street news

This came out just before Boomershoot and I set it aside for when I had more time. That time has come.

I have frequently posted about what Barb named “Mugme street” in downtown Seattle. In case you ever had any doubt as to the validity of claims of this being a “bad part of town” we now have this news:

SPD, FBI Target 3rd and Pine Drug Market In Operation Crosstown Traffic

A four-month operation by the Seattle Police Department’s Major Crimes Taskforce (MCTF) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation has led authorities to 186 suspected drug dealers and thieves, who turned Seattle’s downtown core into an open-air drug market and street corner swap meet. As of Thursday morning, police have arrested 95 suspects, and local officials are now working to get some of those dealers off the streets by connecting them with a pioneering and promising diversion program, instead of sending them to prison.

Since January, MCTF detectives and West Precinct officers have been working undercover as part of Operation Crosstown Traffic, a partnership with the FBI, US Attorney’s Office, King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and City Attorney’s Office, aimed at identifying criminals involved in a thriving underground economy around 3rd Avenue and Pine Street. Over the last year, police have received 10,000 calls of service in the area surrounding the 1500 block of Pine Street, including frequent reports of drug dealing and property crimes, as well as violent brawls, shootings, and stabbings.

Detectives also got a good look at the area’s underground economy in action, as shoplifters sold armloads of stolen goods—like Seahawks jerseys, sunglasses and even bottles of shampoo—to crowds at bus stops and on street corners. Shoplifters took the cash from those sales, detectives say, and went straight to area drugs dealers, before heading to nearby alleyways to shoot up or smoke narcotics.

Ry and I used to work in the Century Square building. It was a very nice building on the inside and on 4th street, but one side of that building was on 3rd street from Pike to Pine. We are both glad to have escaped from there.

Seattle is extremely hostile to gun ownership and even though you can legally carry a gun on the bus and on the streets company (California based) rules didn’t allow us to carry into the office.

Share

9 thoughts on “Mugme street news

  1. After the last remodel (after you left) they basically had two cops inside the doors on the third street side all day. This was before the emphasis patrols, though, so that may be past.

  2. I was down there on Sunday and was a bit surprised not to see the typical crowd outside of McDonald’s and the surrounding bus stops. I don’t think I smelled any pot smoke either which is unusual.

  3. Big drug bust = reduced supply = increased demand = higher prices = more incentive for someone else to move into that market niche to take advantage of the increased profit potential. Huge incentives exist there also, for police or other official corruption. As often as not, I figure, this kind of operation is done for the sake of some other drug running kingpin and his network, in exchange for a better cut.

    This is why I refer to the WOD as a price support program for violent criminals, or a government enforced monopoly for criminals.

    The incentives are all wrong. Another among them becomes obvious when you contemplate the impact of legalization on the enforcement infrastructure– Large numbers of enforcement personel lose their jobs, and billion dollar budgets dissappear.

    They CANNOT let that happen.

    SO; just as with gun restrictions, the War On Drugs provides both criminals and government with more power and money. They need each other. They both have a very large stake in the status quo. The rest of us are caught in the middle, paying the prices for it all, while government and criminals cash in on the pathology.

    I find that the term “deliciously evil” tends to spring to mind.

    I used to say that we failed to learn the lessons of alcohol Prohibition, but now I know better. The lessons WERE learned, and learned well, which is why we’re still doing it, only now we’re doing it harder.

    Top Down, Bottom Up, Inside Out.

    Do any of you have any idea what you’re up against? Or is it just too crazy, too extreme to even contemplate?

  4. I think you need to clarify your closing statement about Seattle. It’s the elite there that are anti-gun; the city overall is quite gun-friendly and the police (no matter what the Chief’s personal views might be) are well-trained enough that open carriers are rarely if ever hassled any more.

    And no, I don’t have a solution to the problem of the elite and their anti-human viewpoint.

  5. Most cities are going to be hostile to gun rights. Did you read about what happened in Hollywood the other day? Guy pulled out a gun and a couple of cops happened to see him and just shot him. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-police-shoot-man-hollywood-20150524-story.html

    Did they ask him what he was doing? Did they care? They probably saw all they needed to see and decided to nip the problem in the bud.

    Unless you’ve got eyes that can rotate 360 degrees around you, it’s very risky business pulling out a gun in the city.

    • Also, note the charge “exhibiting a firearm in the presence of a police officer.” That’s a little different from brandishing.

    • Who on earth said “pulling out a gun” was a good idea? The ONLY reason you should ever do that is if you have an immediate need to USE it.

      I was referring to something completely different: the peaceable carrying of handguns, concealed or not, in proper holsters just like the police do.

      • And the lede from the article you linked:

        “A man who pointed a handgun at a group of people in Hollywood was shot and wounded by Los Angeles police officers early Sunday, a police spokeswoman said.” [emphasis added]

        Idiot got what he deserved… less than deserved, actually since it appears he is still alive.

  6. The amount of people selling obviously stolen goods on 3rd has really gotten out of hand. Never knew a lot of homeless people owning armfulls of mach 5 razor sets until now.

Comments are closed.