Yesterday a 21-year-old woman was beaten, choked until unconscious, and raped in the Jose Rizal dog park at the north end of Beacon Hill, by the Jungle. This makes at least the fifth sexual assault in this area this month. (See previous post.) Neighborhood activists are asking that women not visit the dog park alone at this time.
A work party is being held this Saturday, 6/28, at 9:00 to cut down some of the brush that allowed the perpetrator to hide until the victim was in close range.
No story on this has been posted at the P-I or Times yet; here is the Q13 story.
Julie, I love cutting brush (even more than our President does at his cattleless mansion in Texas), and would totally be there, but AJ and are I going to be in Spokane for a wedding.
ReplyDeleteBut they should probably just close down that dog park. It's never going to be safe. Before it was a dog park I used to joke about the city making it a dog park (that was at the expense at the dog people, who are the most powerful lobby in the city, next to developers). I thought it was hilarious when they actually did it. It's not funny anymore.
I also enjoy brush cutting. (Bagging up the mess is less fun, though.) I'm busy with out-of-town guests all weekend long, though.
ReplyDeleteI had the same thought about closing down the park for the time being. Not everyone knows how bad things are over there. If you look up off-leash areas on the Parks website, it's not like it says that the Jose Rizal one is a dangerous area to hang out in alone.
Hopefully most women who might go out there for the first time on their own would realize that it's probably not that cool to go check it out by themselves. I go out that way several times a week, and it's pretty clear virtually all the time that it's not currently being used as a family-type park. So hopefully most people would just see it and get it and take their dog somewhere else.
But it does seem like the city should treat it like a public beach where there have been numerous shark attacks. You shouldn't just say nothing about it and let people continue to swim there unaware. It should be closed, or at least there should be lots of prominent signs posted that the area just isn't safe.
I agree that they need to close down that dog park. I headed down there when I saw it advertised on the Parks website and I was so excited to find one in the neighborhood. I walked two steps in and turned back around right away. Thankfully my dog felt the same way, it was odd that the moment I took off her leash she wouldn't leave my side. I took that as a sign and got out of there - I will never return again.
ReplyDeleteThink pit bulls
ReplyDeleteThis park could be a gorgeous urban oasis. Too bad a few psychos ruin it for the whole community. No doubt the real number of attacks is at least double when you factor in the homeless population that camps out here and is probably not very likely to seek out police attention. This is just sad no matter how you cut it.
ReplyDeleteI was chased out of this park three years ago in what I can honestly say was the most terrifying experience of my life.
ReplyDeleteIt was the middle of a weekday in May and about 30 minutes after arriving, I realized I was the only person there (there has been about 4-5 others when I arrived). Within minutes of this realization, I was calling my dog to leave when a man dressed in a ski mask, parka, and snow pants (remember, this was MAY) came walking out of the woods along the service road. He locked eyes with me and then proceeded to walk directly towards me while staring me down. I literally ran as fast as I could to get the h*ll out of there, the whole time listening to the swoosh of his snow pants behind me getting fater and closer. Luckily, I had parked just outside of the gate, so I was able to jump in my car while I called 911 and waited for this predator to make it to the top of the trail. He never emerged and the 911 dispatcher said they couldn't take a police report if no crime was actually committed. I posted a sign on the bulletin board at the park about the incident and warned all of the dog owners I know in the area, but I've often wondered if/how many other women were attacked by that man. So sad to know that five women have been victimized in this park in just a month. At what point will the city take this seriously? When 10 women are raped in a month?