Columbia City Safeway Watchtower Removed

SEATTLE, WA — The Seattle police watchtower erected in the parking lot at the Columbia City Safeway was taken down Friday, according to Q13. The SkyWatch tower was installed only at the beginning of the week due to an uptick in crime.

Here's the story we reported on Tuesday just after SkyWatch went up:

The Seattle police SkyWatch tower in the parking lot at the Columbia City Safeway is hard to miss — and that's the point.

The Rainier Avenue Safeway shopping plaza, which also includes a Ross, Mod Pizza, and other stores, has seen a spike in crime recently, according to police. The tower is there to make people think twice about breaking into a car or dashing out of the Safeway with a t-bone steak.

"We want people to wonder whether or not there's police officer on a walkie-talkie up there," Seattle police Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said.

The tower, which is topped by a booth with tinted windows, went up earlier this week after police reviewed crime stats for the plaza.

Whitcomb said the Columbia City Safeway has become the No. 1 place for police calls in the South Precinct this year. There have been 123 calls at the Safeway so far compared to 74 in 2018. Most of the calls are for theft — there have been 43 calls so far in 2019 for larceny compared to 13 at this point in 2018.

This is the only SkyWatch tower owned by Seattle police. It's been used in other places around the city, including in the north parking lot at CenturyLink, and at the Sodo Home Depot. Whitcomb said that there are officers up in the tower, but it's not staffed 24-7.

The tower has been discussed, with some unease, on south Seattle neighborhood Facebook pages and NextDoor.

"It’s an issue because it’s not normal and adds on safety anxiety. If SPD is going to have one of these put up it would be nice for the community know," south Seattle resident Mehret Tekle-Awarun wrote.

Others seemed to agree with, or at least understand, the crime-prevention mission of Skywatch.

"I'm all for it if it stops people from getting robbed, mugged or hurt in the parking lot," resident Carol Angel wrote.

A recent Crosscut op-ed said SkyWatch made the Safeway feel like an internment camp.

"You are being watched. We have you in our sights. And like at the camps, the intent is to intimidate rather than protect," Japanese-American Citizens League board member Stanley Shikuma told Crosscut.

The department often uses large vehicles or other objects to deter crime, Whitcomb said. Police horses, for example, are highly visible and are a beacon for people looking for help. The South Precinct's mobile command unit — a large truck that's almost like a police station on wheels — has been stationed at the Rainier Beach Safeway.

The company FLIR Systems, known for its thermal-imaging devices, manufactures SkyWatch. The tower is just over 30 feet tall, can withstand winds up to 60 MPH, and can be sized to fit up to two officers (as long as they're not taller than 6'5"), according to the company.

On NextDoor, South Precinct Community Outreach Liaison Eric Crane said SkyWatch will be up for two weeks. At that point, police will evaluate crime data to see if SkyWatch will stay or go.