In an 85-day span between December and March, Aberdeen police officers responded to 66 incidents at the Thunderbird Motel, according to a list of reports obtained by The Daily World in a public records request.
The incidents were reported between Dec. 1, and Feb. 23. That’s about one call every 1.3 days.
The figures come to light after the state Department of Health revoked the West Wishkah Street motel’s license to offer lodging, citing numerous code violations that included an infestation of cockroaches, broken windows, hypodermic needles found in rooms of the hotel and mattresses stained with what appeared to be blood and urine, according to court documents.
Motel owners have appealed the decision, and a hearing is set for July 15. The motel can remain open and operational at least until the hearing date.
Since then, the Thunderbird has drawn criticism from City Council members who have weighed options to declare the motel a public nuisance and have its doors closed before the hearing date. And it’s been the focus of numerous negative Facebook conversations about the deterioration of conditions in downtown Aberdeen.
At a council meeting last month, Mayor Bill Simpson estimated that police reported to the motel every day, and said he was disappointed with the potential reflection it has on the city. He wasn’t too far off — .7 times a day. “It’s very frustrating that we have the need for that kind of housing in this community,” he said in February. “To have it on the main drag of town is the part that bothers me the most.”
An eight-day span in January was the longest the motel went during the three-month period without any reports filed by police. Dec. 12, 2014, saw the most reports during the period, with police filing seven between approximately 4:50 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Two of those reports were filed nine minutes apart.
Incidents logged by police included small disputes among motel guests, people reporting thefts, drugs and trespassing. One report was a traffic stop along the street at the motel’s address, but did not indicate that the person involved was a guest there. Officers found at least one case of drugs to be unfounded, with cigarettes being mistaken for marijuana joints.
One civil dispute involved a woman, reportedly pregnant, who paid $200 for a week’s stay and whose room was “infested with termites,” the report says. The woman asked for a more sanitary room, and after an officer responded to the call, was refunded all but $70 to pay for the time she had already spent in the room.
A call in late December came from a mother reporting that her 16-year-old son — two months prior to her filing the report — had been drugged and sexually assaulted at the motel. The suspect was unknown, the report says.
The stack of reports also included two overdoses — an attempted suicide with 50 Tylenol pills and another involving heroin.
The people in both cases were transported to Grays Harbor Community Hospital.
Reports also included statements from motel residents advising police officers of sex solicitation and talk of drug use.
During an inspection of the 66 reports, the Daily World found that 17 came from the same man who was staying at the motel. The reports indicated that officers dealt with the man on a regular basis, and that many of his calls were unfounded.
The numbers for the Thunderbird are significant when compared to other hotels in the area. The only one remotely close in that time frame was the Travelure at 623 W. Wishkah St. and it had 33 incidents, according to documents provided by police Capt. John Green, mainly warrant arrests, suspicious activity and thefts.
Green said he wasn’t surprised the Thunderbird’s list was significantly longer.
“I would say that is not out of the norm for the Thunderbird,” Green said. “I would think that we could check it at almost any period of time for the Thunderbird and you’re going to get the same results.”
In terms of trying to have the motel shut down as a nuisance, City Attorney Eric Nelson recently told the City Council it wouldn’t be conducive to devote more resources on an issue that the state health department is already addressing.
“We’ll be in contact with the state as this goes on and if there comes a point where the city could step in and help with something, then we would,” Nelson said after a meeting in February. “But it’s not good use of scarce enforcement resources to pile on one particular subject. It won’t get a speedier result.”
As it stands now, calls from the motel are already putting a strain on local law enforcement, Green said, again referring to the 66 calls between December and February.
“That’s a big demand on limited police resources,” he said.
Kyle Mittan, 360-537-3932, kmittan@thedailyworld.com. Twitter: @KyleMittan
No comments:
Post a Comment