Drugs + P2= no good
162
post-template-default,single,single-post,postid-162,single-format-standard,bridge-core-1.0.6,qode-page-transition-enabled,ajax_fade,page_not_loaded,,qode-title-hidden,qode-theme-ver-25.7,qode-theme-bridge,disabled_footer_bottom,qode_header_in_grid,wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-6.0.5,vc_responsive

Drugs + P2= no good

The husband and I were walking around Pioneer Square last night when we passed a man standing in a store entryway on the corner of 3rd and James. With just a casual glance, we saw that he had a thin line of “white powder” and was getting ready to use it.

We walked around the corner and called 911 while we kept walking, although I was a little freaked out to be telling the 911 operator out loud about the guy using drugs just around the corner with a bunch of other P2 familiars still milling around. I thought for sure someone was going to yell “snitch” and beat us up or something. I also watch lots of movies.

drugp2

Anyways, I’ve called 911 before when I thought I saw someone dealing, but first I had to talk to Chris (with PSCA) and our local cop about what a “drug deal” actually looks like and how to report it.

Here is what the cop told me: “if it looks like a duck, smells like a duck, and acts like a duck”… see where I’m going with this? So just call – it’s proven that 911 campaigns can help clean an area up. To give the 911 operator the best information, make note of their age, what they’re wearing, and be accurate in what you actually saw. Oftentimes, by the time you even think about calling, the deal is done with a quick touch of hands and they’re gone from the area. Note: call anyways! Even if they can’t catch them in the act, it helps the cops be aware of the trouble areas so that they can keep their eye on that area better.

And lastly, I’d like to bring up the topic of why so much of the drug use and drug dealing is in Pioneer Square. P2 has a reputation – you know it and I know it. And although I’d like people to think I’m tougher for living down there and walking around in the evening, I don’t feel tougher. I still get a little nervous when I’m walking towards a group of guys close to Occidental Square. I would rather take the long way than walk through them and risk—getting robbed? attacked? Not sure. [also, don’t tell the husband that I feel that way even when he’s walking with me]

Why do we have this reputation, and what’s it going to take to get P2 cleaned up?

p.s. I’m going to take a stand and suggest that blocking the streets off surrounding Occidental Square is not going to hurt the drug traffic, it’s going to help it. It seems to me that down on 1st where there are lots of cars and people walking around and to destination spots, there aren’t the same groups just milling about, doing/dealing drugs. The logic doesn’t fit: remove the cars, remove the traffic that will make you uncomfortable to deal drugs in public.

This is what we need more of:
pioneer-square-Occidental-s

Image Credit: Pic 1
1 Comment