The Seattle Police Department (SPD) had 11 fewer officers on duty at Seattle Center during this year’s Bite of Seattle than the year before — 39 officers this year, compared to 50 last year, according to The Seattle Times. The statistic raises a difficult question in the wake of the gang-related shootout: Would more officers have prevented the violence and saved lives?
Retired King County Sheriff John Urquhart said the answer isn’t simple, but the stakes are.
“You can’t say that having more officers there would have prevented the shooting, but you also can’t say that having additional officers there would not have prevented the shooting,” Urquhart told KIRO Newsradio. “You just don’t know.”
Fewer SPD officers on the ground
Last year, SPD staffed roughly 50 officers at the Bite of Seattle. This year, staffing was down to 39, despite similar crowd size…