March 3 assault on campus

Last Wednesday, March 3, a facilities department employee was assaulted right outside Seattle Central’s Broadway Campus in an attempted robbery, according to the Public Information Office and a security officer familiar with the accident.

Facility workers have been the target of crime on campus in the past months as employees who work outside the buildings, mainly on repairs and maintenance of the grounds.

The incident, which required paramedics and a hospital visit, occurred in the early morning according to one of the security officers that responded to the crime.

According to the same officer, the assaulter hurt at least one other man near the campus as confirmed by the Central employee’s identification of the man. The person was finally arrested by the Seattle Police Department near the school garage on Harvard.

Another facilities employee familiar with the event says the victim was beginning their break when a man came and tried to rip his phone away. In an attempt to defend himself, in the words of this employee’s retelling, the assaulter struck the victim in the forehead with an empty glass bottle before running away.

Central’s Public Information Officer, Roberto Bonaccorso, says the incident report will not be made available until March 23. In an email sent to the college, the PIO said escorts to the nearby light rail station or the school’s parking garage were available upon arrangement. 

Included in this same email are also precautions recommended for students and workers at Central, such as not walking and texting; not displaying items of value like jewelry; and trying to stay in well lit areas. 

The victim was not available for comment.

The facilities employee who spoke with the Collegian expressed concern for his colleagues because of what he says is a poor sustainment of the school security department. The same concern has been echoed by multiple security officers themselves in the past few months. 

Three of Central’s security officers responded to the incident, calling SPD. One of them expressed concern in their inability to handle the situation without equipment like Kevlar vests and batons. The equipment has either not been provided by the school for years, or has been recently taken away upon the decision of administrators and security department management.

In one private conversation, the same officer was told by the District’s HR security director, Michele Valant, that she thought that issue had already been resolved.

Of the two other officers present in response to the crime, one was not available for comment and another was fired shortly after.

This is a developing story.