Seattle residents have been left irate after a man in a stolen excavator destroyed a park in the crime-riddled city while attempting to build himself a cabin.
The man, who has not been identified, claimed he had permission to build the makeshift home at Dr. Jose Rizal Park in Beacon Hill.
Park steward and volunteer Genevieve Courtney said she noticed the man driving the excavator erratically before tearing into the green space bordering the orchard and dog park picnic area at about 6:30pm on Saturday.
The man, who was spotted dropping off pallets on a different occasion, was only stopped and arrested after a frustrated resident phoned cops six times.
Seattle residents are irate after a man drove an excavator through Dr. Jose Rizal Park
The driver (right) claimed he had permission to build the makeshift cabin in Beacon Hill
Seattle cops arrested the man for destroying the park with the heavy machinery
‘I just happen to come across him as I was coming home,’ Courtney told KOMO. ‘He was driving on the sidewalk.’
She said officers in the crime-riddled city took one hour to arrive on scene.
‘I didn’t feel like they were taking me seriously,’ she told FOX 13. ‘They were like, ”Does he have a weapon?” I am like, ”Yes, he has a backhoe. That’s a weapon”.’
The man was sitting inside the machine when police arrived. They led him out of a ditch and arrested him, a moment that was filmed and posted to social media.
The man’s recklessness undid the tedious efforts of volunteers to reforest and beautify the space. Photos of the aftermath show downed trees and deep tire tracks in the dirt.
‘He’s undone hundreds of hours of volunteer work,’ park steward Craig Thompson said.
‘What we have seen today is one person who decided to undo all of that work for the sake of whatever reason he had in his irrational mind.’
Andrea Suarez, executive director of We Heart Seattle – a grassroots organization that has come under fire itself for its mistreatment of homeless people – said the chaos should serve as a wake-up call for local leaders.
‘For somebody to have the nerve to take a piece of equipment of this value and destroy our urban forest, makes you question everything,’ said Suarez.
‘Why are we here in the first place? Why has Seattle become a no-rules playground?’
A dozen stolen credit cards were found at the scene, another resident claims
Five pounds of marijuana and methamphetamine were found by an encampment
Police confronted the man while he sat in the stolen machine
They took him into custody, in a moment that was filmed and posted to social media
While it is unclear where the man got the stolen excavator from, it is believed it was taken from a nearby construction site.
Suarez wrote on Facebook that it was expected to ‘take decades to repair the damage caused from the excavator that tore through the slope last night.’
She claimed propane tanks, chainsaws, five pounds of weed, methamphetamine and a dozen stolen credit cards were recovered.
‘It’s important to point out that it took several police calls and a long response time for our Police Department to arrive because other priorities, including two shootings in South Seattle that had them tied up,’ Suarez added.
‘Seattle is down 700 police officers since 2019 and we need to elect a city Council, who politically and financially supports funding a fully staffed agency.’
Crime in Seattle is soaring, in a city with a contentious history with law enforcement.
Violent crime, in particular, reached a 15-year high in 2022, according to the 2022 Seattle Police Department Crime Report.
A whopping 49,577 reports of violent and property crimes were recorded last year.
Andrea Suarez, executive director of We Heart Seattle (pictured), slammed city leadership in the wake of the incident
A tent was seen in the park where the man attempted to build his cabin
Park steward Craig Thompson claimed the destruction had ‘undone hundreds of hours of volunteer work’
‘Overall citywide crime increased by four percent (1,834) compared to 2021,’ the report reads, before noting that 2022 totals exceeded 2021 – previously an all-time high.
Amid the crime surge, Seattle police have been slammed for poor management, including by fellow officers.
Lieutenant Jessica Taylor, who served in the force for 23 years, addressed a 15-page-exit letter to the police chief in which she blamed ‘failed leadership’ for turning the city into a ‘playground for anarchists and criminals.’
Earlier this month, protesters marched on Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s home after he announced a $17million uplift in the local policing budget.
Amid residents’ push to redirect funding away from police, Democratic Councilwoman Lisa Herbold announced that the city had begun the hiring process for unarmed first responders who are mental health professionals, called ‘crisis responders.’
The program reportedly received $1.6million as part of the city’s midyear supplemental budget.
