In our cover story last week, Ellis Conklin delved into “the baffling, torturous, and incredibly profitable world of Seattle parking enforcement.” In doing so, Conklin shed light on the often depraved and deplorable treatment Seattle’s Parking Enforcement Officers (PEO) are subjected to on the job. Reading through the insults hurled at Seattle’s PEOs wasn’t for the faint of heart.
Sometimes, however, PEOs are more than the unlucky recipients of ticketed rage. Like Monday morning, for instance, when police say an alert PEO helped police locate a truck that had recently been reported stolen, and aided in the arrest of the suspect behind the wheel of (and sleeping inside) the vehicle.
As SPD Detective Mark Jamieson details on the Blotter blog:
Two suspects were arrested this morning inside a reported stolen truck in the SODO neighborhood after a Parking Enforcement Officer (PEO) discovered one of the suspects sleeping inside the parked truck she was about to ticket.
Just before 8:00 am, a PEO was in the process of ticketing a truck parked in a prohibited zone in the 100 Block of 6th Avenue South. As she was entering the license information into her computer, the information came back that the truck was reported as stolen. The PEO glanced in the truck and saw a man inside the cab sleeping. She backed away and radioed for officers. While officers were enroute to the call, a second suspect walked up to the truck and got into the passenger’s side. The sleeping man woke up and the the suspects drove away.
The parking officer maintained sight of the truck and gave responding officers a clear description of the truck, its direction of travel, and good descriptions of the suspects.
West Precinct officers arrived in the area and stopped it a 4th Avenue South and South Royal Brougham Way. Both of the occupants were taken into custody without incident. Officers located keys in the ignition, but it is unknown if those keys actually belong to the vehicle.
Police say the adult male driver of the truck was booked into King County Jail for investigation of possession of stolen property. The man’s companion was released after being interviewed at the precinct. The investigation has been forwarded to SPD’s Auto Theft Unit.
