The only significant event was a shooting that occurred on Aug.19 at about 2 a.m. I was at 15th and Roxbury breaking up a minor fight. Two Seattle Police officers were one half block north of me on 15th on a traffic stop. All of a sudden we heard about seven gunshots and numerous people running in all directions about one block from us. As it turned out, the shooting occurred near the Triangle Tavern in the area of 16th and Roxbury. Witnesses said two groups of people confronted each other. One person from each group pulled out a gun and shot at one another. No one was hit, which is amazing. One of the shooters was arrested shortly later. The other shooter was not found.

The only other activity worth mentioning was that we had a rash of smash and grabs to businesses again. This has been a problem on and off in the Center and many other communities for the last two years. It seems to be on again. Windows were smashed at the vacuum store at 1st and 108th, Top Hat Minimart at 1st and 108th, the computer store on 16th and at the White Center Liquor Store on 15th. In each case a window was broken to gain entry. In some of the cases a rock was used to break the window. In all cases the burglaries occurred in the middle of the night. At the vacuum store, vacuums were taken. A cash machine was taken from the Minimart. Computers were taken from the computer store and alcohol was taken from the liquor store.

Other than the above, not much happened in the Center in August.

If you like to see the cops doing proactive, crime prevention type police work, I would note that in the Center for August, we arrested 37 people for warrants and arrested eight people for possessing felony drugs such as crack, meth and heroin. We arrested four people for DUI and towed 21 abandon cars to make the place look a little cleaner. After several months of much fewer auto thefts, our auto thefts are slowly increasing. In August we had 23 cars stolen. Our average is 27. However, in the last few months we only had about 14 cars stolen per month. We had nine residential burglaries, which is about average. In four of those burglaries, entry was gained through an unlocked door or window. Lock your doors and windows when you leave the house, including the doors and windows to the shed and garage! Let's do something to prevent these burglaries.

One business owner in the Center told me that this summer has been the quietest summer in years in terms of crime. I agree. Let's keep it that way and seek to make the Center safer. Be sure to do your part. Report suspicious activity. Get involved and be a good witness if you see a crime. It's your community, take pride in it and don't tolerate criminal activity. See you next month.

Steve Cox is the storefront deputy sheriff in White Center and can be reached at 423 0393.