Beacon Hill/Wed June 30/11:29 pm Ernest Debella reports: "Suspect descriptions: Suspect One was a six-foot-three, 170-pound black male, age 17–20 years old. He sounded like a native-born resident. He was wearing a white hooded sweatshirt, white shorts, and slip-on sandals similar to the type worn to the beach or by athletes who have changed out of their gym shoes. He had a shaved head and a very dark complexion. Suspect Two was a six-foot-three, 170-pound black male, age 17–20 years old. He sounded like a native-born resident. He was wearing a black North Face hooded Windbreaker, white basketball shorts, and had a shaved head and a very dark complexion.

"The suspects approached the victim and asked: 'What time is it?' The victim said: 'I don't have the time,' and continued walking eastbound on Morgan Street. The victim sensed that this interaction was dangerous and tried to ignore the suspects. Suspect One then got real close to victim and yelled: 'What time was it!' Victim decided to run but she was not as fleet of foot as Suspect One, who grabbed her black leather purse and began pulling on it while yelling: 'Give me the purse!' Suspect Two assisted in the robbery by standing close by and intimidating her with his physical presence.

"With the purse, they fled westbound on Morgan, turning southbound in the first alley, where victim lost sight of the suspects. K9 responded but could not start a track due to the dozens of persons out on this warm night who had fouled the track. The purse was not located."

This report has so many things to consider. The first is Officer Debella's near-Victorian style. Not many officers in the SPD use such dated but charming expressions as "fleet of foot." And then there's Debella's willingness to push a sentence to its limit: "He was wearing a white hooded sweatshirt, white shorts, and slip-on sandals similar to the type worn to the beach or by athletes who have changed out of their gym shoes." In this sentence, the suspect's slip-on sandals travel from the warm streets of Beacon Hill to a tropical beach, and then to a locker room for an athlete who has major hoop dreams and has just given a game everything he's got. Lastly, Officer Debella points out that Seattle has a native form of black English: "He sounded like a native-born resident." Black English is rarely recognized as having regional differences. It's mostly registered as one big ball of Ebonics.