A homeless man in Seattle was caught on camera causing a disturbance at an ice cream and coffee shop, and the small business owner said his employee called 911, but no police were dispatched.
Baxter & Frost owner Ian Halcott said the incident occurred around 7 p.m. on April 24 in the Pike Place Market area near Seattle’s famous Gum Wall. Surveillance camera footage showed a man wearing a beanie and hoodie with his hands in his front pockets, talking to employees, pushing items away from counter displays and causing chaos inside the store.
In the second clip, a man can be seen pushing a mobile display case towards two employees, prompting one to pull a knife to protect himself and his co-workers, and the other grabbing a spatula and baking tray. It’s reflected. The workers continued to argue with the man, but when he left, Pike Place Market security arrived.
“This video includes an assault on one of my employees and the destruction of my service counter by a deranged criminal,” Halcott told radio host Jason Lantz in an email. Told.
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A man pushes items out of a showcase at a cafe in Seattle on April 24, 2024. (Ian Halcott provided for The Jason Lantz Show)
Neither clip includes audio of the encounter, but Halcott said the man threatened to shoot the employee.
“We need to train our employees in special ways to work with people who are not customers and treat them with respect,” Halcott explained. “Jason Lantz Show” “But at the same time, they’re not our customers, so unfortunately they have to go. But you know the level of their brazenness. … They just, there’s no consequence. .”
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During the altercation, the suspect held up an orange triangular cone toward the cafe’s employees. (Ian Halcott provided for The Jason Lantz Show)
Halcott’s employees called 911, but police were not dispatched due to staffing shortages.
“(The dispatchers) were like, ‘No, we can’t come out tonight and get the report.’ It’s scary. The staff literally feared for their lives, and rightfully so,” Halcott said. Told.
Halcott said he tried to contact police after the incident because the suspect was still at large. But he claims no one answered the Seattle Police Department’s non-emergency number. After he spoke with Jason Lantz, someone from the Seattle Police Department contacted him, KTTH reported.
After an altercation between a man and a cafe employee, security guards enter. (Ian Halcott provided for The Jason Lantz Show)
Mr Halcott said he had to cut back on hours because his employees were now worried about their safety and were struggling to find staff at night. He has been a small business owner in Seattle for his 25 years.
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“Pike Place Market, this has always been a sanctuary,” he said. “This is the heart of the tourism industry here in Seattle, and the lack of enforcement here is frustrating, because for about 20 years before the coronavirus, we had very few problems of this scale. is.”
Seattle Police Department did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
