A Seattle man has been arrested for allegedly using a stolen backhoe to demolish part of a public park while claiming to have permission to build a cabin for himself.
Steven Irwin, 41, was arrested after several 911 calls about the destruction at Park Dr. Jose Rizal on Saturday evening, the Seattle Police Department confirmed to The Post.
“I happened to run into it on my way home,” park ranger Genevieve Courtney told Fox 13 as she watched the huge machine zip along the sidewalk.
“He was driving quite crazy with this heavy machinery,” he said.
Courtney said she ended up calling 911 six times, and “didn’t feel like they took me seriously.”
“They were like, ‘Does he have a gun?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, he’s got a backhoe. That’s a weapon,’” he told Fox 13.
“It’s scary to see someone with a big excavator going through the park, and it could have been worse,” he told KOMO.
Steven Irwin, 41, is accused of stealing this excavator and using it to tear up a Seattle park Saturday night. Andrea Suarez/We Heart Seattle
When police responded, they found Irwin still inside the machine, which was believed to have been stolen from a nearby construction site, the report said.
He was filmed being led by police out of a ditch and arrested.
“He was compliant,” Andrea Suarez of the community cleanup group “We Heart Seattle” told Fox 13. “But he told the police he had permission to be here and set up camp.”
Police said they found Irwin still in the vehicle.Andrea Suarez/We Heart Seattle
Irwin was charged with theft of a motor vehicle and was booked into the King County Jail, Seattle police confirmed to The Post.
Pictures after that show fallen trees and tire tracks in the ground.
Park Steward Craig Thompson complained that it canceled “hundreds of hours of volunteer work” that had helped beautify the area.
Irwin was charged with theft of a motor vehicle and booked into the King County Jail. Andrea Suarez/We Heart Seattle Irwin reportedly claimed he had permission from the city to build a house on the site. Andrea Suarez/We Heart Seattle
“What we’re seeing here today is a man who decided to undo all that work for whatever irrational reason he had in mind,” Thompson said.
Suarez, executive director of “We Heart Seattle,” also said the situation should serve as a reminder to local leaders in the crime-ridden city.
“For someone to have the courage to take this valuable equipment and destroy our urban forest makes you question everything,” he said.
“Why are we here first? Why is Seattle a playground without rules?”
Andrea Suarez, executive director of We Heart Seattle, said the situation should serve as a reminder to local leaders in the crime-ridden city. Andrea Suarez/We Heart Seattle Volunteers have reportedly recovered a propane tank, a chainsaw, five pounds of weed, methamphetamines and a dozen credit cards stolen from Irwin’s temporary encampment.Andrea Suarez/We Heart Seattle
He added in a Facebook post that repairs to the park would likely take decades, and claimed that a propane tank, a chainsaw, five pounds of weed, methamphetamine and a dozen stolen credit cards were recovered from his makeshift campsite.
“It is important to point out that it took several police calls and a long response time for our police department to arrive because other priorities, including two shootings in South Seattle, have tied them up,” Suarez wrote, noting that the city is down 700 officers since 2019. .
“We need to elect a politically and financially supportive city council to fund a fully staffed agency,” he urged.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
