On Thursday afternoon a volunteer medic from the Capitol Hill Organized Protest intervened in a sexual assault occurring inside a tent in Cal Anderson park, stopping the situation from escalating any further, according to a police report of the incident.
The victim, signing through an ASL interpreter, told police a man "lured" her into the tent with an offer of food. While inside, he "started to hold her arms and touch her, kissing her face in the process," according to the report. She tried to sign, "Do not touch," but then he pulled her onto the bed while covering her mouth and telling her not to scream, got on top of her, grabbed her breast and buttocks, and tried to take off her clothes.
A nearby medic overheard the attack, intervened, and waited with the victim until the cops arrived. They arrested him "without incident."
Today a King County Superior Court judge found probable cause to hold Robert James for the incident on suspicion of indecent liberties, and set bail at $75,000. Last February James caught a misdemeanor harassment case in Seattle Municipal Court.
In another CHOP-related case, the court found cause today to hold Isaiah Willoughby for an arson and reckless burning investigation. The judge set bail at $30,000. Cops think Willoughby was the guy who set a fire early last Friday morning near the East Precinct, which CHOP sentinels have been guarding since police more or less abandoned the building early last week. CHOP residents rushed to extinguish the blaze seconds after the fire was lit and were successful in their efforts.
In the report, police say Willoughby told a relative he set the fire, and that relative called the cops.
The court also filed charges against Richard Hanks on a number of felonies, including a burglary and assault case that happened last Sunday at Car Tender, a mechanic shop just outside the CHOP. In addition to breaking into the business and attempting to light a fire on a desk, prosecutors now claim Hanks "attacked the business owners" with a "spike" knife and a box cutter.
Capitol Hill Seattle Blog has a good rundown of the incident, which followed up on their reporting of police not responding to calls from the protest zone.
According to CHS Blog's read of the police report, a crowd of protesters gathered outside Car Tender and knocked down the chainlink fence after the owners detained Hanks. They eventually handed him over to the protesters, who searched him for the stolen goods. One of the protesters then allegedly assaulted Hanks, and he escaped in the chaos that followed.
Hanks, who has a pretty substantial and recent history of robberies, appeared to be on a Benz-stealing spree. The day before, prosecutors say he busted into a Mercedes-Benz dealership in SODO and stole a car and a bunch of key fobs. Police finally picked him up on June 15, after he allegedly broke into the Seattle Auto Care Center and stole another Benz. CHS Blog noted that prosecutors have "not seen evidence that Mr. Hanks' actions are protest related."
In a June 16 blog post, a spokesperson for Mayor Jenny Durkan's office said SPD will limit its response in the CHOP to "significant life-safety issues," including "an active shooter incident, an assault, a structure fire, significant medical emergency (i.e. heart attack, stroke, trauma) and other incidents that threaten a person’s life safety." That leaves residents to handle most security issues on their own. In each of these cases, though to a lesser degree with the Car Tender case, residents seemed able to respond quickly to events and de-escalate dangerous situations until police finally arrived to take a report or make an arrest.
