The arrangement worked out well. Jay Kealey, a fraternity member who's also on the UW student senate--he was on frat row before things got out of hand--describes the Greeks' relationship with the cops as "chummy." In fact, Officer Thompson spends much of his weekend-night patrol time stopping by the frat row parties, even walking through them if he's got backup.
But last weekend's fracas destroyed that relationship, in a very public way. While the UW and police may have been able to let the fraternities and sororities "self-police" their parties before, the increased public scrutiny following the rioting has already sparked changes in the way cops will handle weekends on frat row. The out-of-control partying on September 28 may have effectively ended house parties near UW, at least for the near future. Starting this week, there will be more cops in the neighborhood, armed with a new law against neighborhood noise--which the public probably didn't even know existed before the frats drew attention to their parties this week.
The cooperative frat-cop relationship ended the moment 300-plus people cornered Thompson and his partner against a house, after he stopped by to quiet three parties. Thompson was forced to use his pepper spray against the crowd early on Sunday morning, after revelers gathered in one house's front yard and started causing trouble. More officers were called in around 1:00 a.m., when the crowd took over the intersection of 18th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 47th Street. By the height of the melee, every available on-duty SPD officer--plus Washington State Patrol, King County Sheriff's officers, and UW police--was at the site trying to quiet the riot. The streets weren't silent until after 3:00 a.m.
The next day, Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske, along with Thompson, North Precinct commander Dan Oliver, and UW officials, pledged that things on frat row would be different from here on out. "We're sending a message," Kerlikowske said. For starters, Thompson will be backed up by an extra dozen officers each weekend, dedicated to party central. And secondly, Seattle's strict new noise ordinance, which passed while the Seattle City Council was making changes to the University's lease lid agreement--the law was practically written for frat row, where loud residences full of students are sprinkled in a residential neighborhood--goes into effect on Friday, October 3. Before, cops like Thompson could give a friendly warning to noisy parties. Not anymore: Starting October 3 at 11:00 p.m., cops can--and more than likely will, given what happened last weekend--start handing out $250 tickets, without a warning, to folks whose noise is "clearly audible from a distance of 75 feet." During the week, the cutoff time is 10:00 pm. In other words, if your neighbor complains, you'll have to pay. If the cops have to come by a second time, it's a possible $500 fine and 60 days in jail. Have a good time, kids.
