Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

In Burien, A New Police Chief Seeks To Calm An Anxious City

Will James
/
KNKX
Burien residents gathered for a summit on youth safety on April 9, 2018, following the fatal shooting of two teenage girls

Residents of Burien have been shaken by two deadly shootings this year, spasms of violence police attributed to warring street gangs.

In September, Gabriela Reyes-Dominguez was shot through a window as she sat at her desk at the chiropractic clinic where she worked. Police have arrested three 17-year-old boys in connection with her death and believe they were aiming at a member of a rival gang.

In March, two teens, ages 13 and 19, died after gunfire broke out at an apartment complex. Their deaths prompted city officials to convene a community meeting about youth safety that drew a crowd to City Hall in April. 

Crime and safety were on the minds of many Burien residents even before this year's deaths. The topics were central in last year's City Council election, with one slate of candidates arguing Burien's so-called "sanctuary city" law tied the hands of police and contributed to crime. The law, passed shortly after President Donald Trump was elected, prevents police and city staff from asking about a resident's immigration status or religion. 

Credit Courtesy of the City of Burien
Burien Police Chief Ted Boe

Ted Boe took the helm as Burien's police chief in the middle of all this.

A longtime member of the King County Sheriff's Office, he was hired to lead the Burien Police Department weeks after the teenage girls' deaths.

In a statement at the time, he said he would strive to be "more responsive and culturally competent with all the diverse communities of Burien."

Burien's population is a quarter Latino, and that community has grown rapidly over the past two decades.

In the wake of Reyes-Dominguez's death last month, KNKX reporter Will James spoke to Boe about the balance between fighting crime and building relationships with the people he serves. 

Boe praised a recent announcement by King County Executive Dow Constantine and Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht that they would seek funding in next year's budget to restore a gang task force in the sheriff's department.

"We know this isn't a Burien problem," Boe said. "This is a regional problem and we in Burien can't solve this on our own."

Burien's leaders contract with the sheriff's office for police services, and the city's police are sheriff's office employees.

Boe said Burien police are ramping up patrols and investigations into gang activity. But he said the city's leaders are also exploring ways to expand programs designed to stop young people from joining gangs in the first place.

"If you don't start looking long term and addressing the underlying issues, we're just going to keep spinning our wheels," he said. "You're not going to arrest your way out of this problem." 

You can listen to the whole conversation above. Below are some highlights.

Is crime actually getting worse in Burien?

"There's two different things. One is you have to look at the overall trends, which are either stable or going down a little bit. But then you also have to look at the impact of these events. And you look specifically at the homicide rate that's going up, and largely tied to these organizations that are willing to commit acts of violence in our community."

"There's been gangs in Burien for a long time. There's been gangs throughout the South Sound for a long time. They definitely go through periods of being more active and less active. They go through periods of being more violent and less violent as well, depending on who is most active in the gang and what the current feuds are within the gang culture."

How do you respond to people who have said "sanctuary" policies in Burien and King County make it harder for police officers to fight crime?

"I disagree with the statement. I think that in order to be effective in providing safety in your community and providing law enforcement in your community, you have to be engaged with your entire community. And that requires that you build trust within your entire community. I don't believe that it is in our best interest for law enforcement to be engaged in immigration actions within the city." 

What is your message to Burien residents who are worried about these recent shootings?

"We're doing everything within our power to make Burien safe. These are going to be community answers that are not going to be exclusively criminal justice answers. There's going to be answers to solving crime in the community that require all of us to come together: the school district, the community members, the police department, city leadership. We all have to be on the same page."

Tags
Will James is a former KNKX reporter and was part of the special projects team, reporting and producing podcasts such as Outsiders and The Walk Home.