The Heaviness of Cars, Runners, and Pedestrians/Rainier Valley/Sun Aug 17/10:41 am: Officer Whitlatch reports: "I was at a traffic post at 50th Ave S and S Genesee St for the Danskin Triathlon. Runners from the triathlon were running in the westbound shoulder on S Genesee St from Lake Washington Blvd. On my radio, Officer Flagger reported that a white male in a vehicle was disobeying directions while [Officer Flagger] was attempting to conduct a traffic control at 47th Ave S and S Genesee St. Officer Flagger requested backup. When I arrived, Officer Flagger was assisting pedestrians and vehicles at her intersection. Vehicle traffic was heavy, the triathlon runners were moderate to heavy, and pedestrians were light to moderate.

"I observed a yellow Subaru station wagon resting on 47th Ave S at S Genesee St. Officer Flagger confirmed that was the car she had reported on the radio. As I approached the vehicle, the driver looked at me, put the vehicle in reverse, and started to back down the street. I ordered the driver to stop at least four times and ran up to the car. I observed that suspect was not wearing his seat belt. I ordered the suspect to turn his vehicle off and provide me with his license and proof of insurance. I asked for these items two more times before he provided them:. [His papers were not in order.]

"I placed the suspect under arrest for Disobeying a Police Officer, for No Proof of Insurance, for his Seat Belt, for Expired Tabs, for Unlawful Use of License Plates. I filed these citations directly and transported the suspect to King County Jail."

In all of James Joyce's published works you will never find a sentence that is as enigmatic, as slippery, as marvelous as this: "Vehicle traffic was heavy, the triathlon runners were moderate to heavy, and pedestrians were light to moderate."

Mean Streets/Rainier Valley/Sun Aug 17/3:11 pm: Officer Winterer reports: "I was on routine high-risk uniformed patrol in a marked patrol vehicle. I was conducting a premise check at Rainier Beach Playfield when I saw the suspect riding a red electric scooter into the park at the northeast entrance. This was a violation of City of Seattle parks rules. I contacted the suspect and explained to him the violation. I then asked the suspect if he had any weapons on him. He told me he did. He told me he had a '9mm.' I ordered the suspect to put his hands on the hood of my car and called for backup. When my backup arrived, Officers Settle and Hiserik, I pulled up the suspect's jacket from his waist and recovered the pistol. I also found drugs. I asked the suspect what the gun was for and he told me he needed the gun because the streets were 'tough':. I returned to the South Precinct with suspect's red electric scooter:."

While I might usually question an officer for confiscating a suspect's property, in this case I must ask something much more important: What has become of Seattle's tough street gangsters? A red electric scooter?