A man died at the homeless encampment located outside of Burien City Hall/Library on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
Burien Police and emergency units were called to an in-progress medical emergency on the sidewalk near or among several tents at around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Despite the assistance of bystanders, King County Sheriff’s Office deputies and medical personnel, the victim passed away on scene.
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office personnel then arrived as per protocols, closing SW 152nd Street and setting up a tent.
An investigation is still underway, so no other details were released.
This is the fourth death related to homelessness/overdoses in Burien since Mar. 14, 2024, and the second in the last week. As we previously reported, last Saturday (April 20), the most previous victim was found unresponsive inside the first-floor men’s room bathroom at 6:01 p.m.. According to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, that victim’s cause of death was “acute combined drug intoxication including fentanyl and methamphetamine.”
The King County Medical Examiners Office will release the victim’s identity and cause of death when they conclude their investigation.
Photo courtesy Matt Moeller.
The drugs really are creating a stigma around the homeless communities throughout the whole areas of King county, Pierce and Snohomish… I see a guy bent over in front of a grocery cart with his pants down past his knees, and he’s staggering to stand still while one hand is on the grocery cart and the other is on the ground, as the guy is barely conscious. I’d like to go and knock him down, but he’s surrounded by others who are also high, but as I have learned from past experiences are usually armed and extremely dangerous. But they’re disgusting and dirty and don’t care. They give the rest of the homeless people a very bad name. Round these ones up and herd them out of here! I’m not going to feel sorry for these murderous self-destructive idiots if such a thing we’re to take place.
It’s the Wild, Wild West in Burien because of the foolish and self serving actions of addiction advocates, and the self destruction of those they manipulate. I spent 5 minutes in Bartell’s yesterday and in that time I witnessed store security watching one guy, another run out with products, and yet another walk in and be told to immediately leave as he’s been trespassed. I’ll bet money those three were stealing to support a drug habit, and the odds seem to be that habit will surely cure itself with lack of action by the Sheriff.
Had the City Council acted months ago, he would have had access to housing with supports that would have possibly prevented his death. But NO! Councilmembers instead chose to “ambulance” chase, take pictures of his still warm body and post them on Twitter. Lives could be saved.
Oh please! How is the Council to blame if everyone of those campers has refused offers of shelter and services time and time again. It doesn’t matter who reaches out, the addiction and the enabling are why this still exists.
Vicky…. because there is no personal accountability here right? It’s the Council members making him take drugs, and make all the other bad decisions in his life that led to this point. Drug addicts die from drugs. It is no one else’s fault but their own. You and your crowd of enablers want to pin this on some one else. Its your thought process that is the problem here – not the City Council.
All the drug related policies introduced and implemented in the past decade are clearly failing. Today’s drug overdose deaths in King County is more than 4 times compared to a decade ago!!! Your advocacy is part of the reason why we are here today. We need to completely revamp our policies if we really care about lives. Look up the King County drug overdose death dashboard for your misguided effort. https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/dph/health-safety/safety-injury-prevention/overdose-prevention-response/data-dashboards
Drug addicts are not allowed to do drugs in public housing. If you had half a brain instead of listening to the news. This problem has existed for over a decade and because of the proximity to downtown seattle, Burien is just another place for these useless addicts to do anything but be high in a new location.
The homeless (drug addict) advocates truly don’t care about human life. Ignore what they say and look at their actions and associates outcomes. Leave these drug addicts on the streets and this is the result you’re going to get. If anyone had their own family member living outside the library you wouldn’t want them there and would prefer any other option – Including arrest.
Please take a minute and ask yourself where is the drugs coming from? We made and easy to administer drug for those who OD but the new mix of drugs is to strong so now if they OD they have no way to come back. So again ask yourself who really wants the people of the USA dead and gone and for us to blame each other. So why are we allowing this to happen and stick our heads in the sand. We need to come together as a nation and help these people so they want to stop doing drugs and let them know that they can have a better life and feel like they deserve more. The more we ignor the problum the bigger its going to get. Lets close our borders and take care of our own country and its people before our citizn are all dead and gone and we only have illegals living here.
I would like to sell Vicky some ocean front
property in Iowa if she truly believes what she is saying. That is ridiculous to blame the present city council who is trying to solve this mess created by a nonprofit and King County. Please do some research before you write foolishness. It is embarrassing.
How many young kids had to tip-toe around the overdosed body to enter the library? Is taking kids to the library irresponsible now?
Should we just close the library until the drug encampment siege is over?
Becky, I highly doubt a single kid had to tiptoe around this person’s body. I imagine our first responders on the scene had everyone’s safety in mind, and ensured that nobody who shouldn’t be near the body, was near the body. Closing the library indefinitely because some individuals such as yourself aren’t comfortable facing the reality that we have a housing and drug crisis is a disservice to everyone else in our community, including the folks that staff the library. In fact, abandoning the property in such a way would only serve to worsen the situation, as is evidenced by what happened to downtown Seattle during Covid when most of it was abandoned. Please take a moment to consider reality before thinking that children are literally stepping over bodies to get into the library. You’re scaring yourself with nonsense.
Tom is correct that no one had to tiptoe over the body but many people did have to witness and see a dead person overdosed on the ground. (Which is a re-occurring pattern now)
I just watched Montana police arrest someone over bringing a glass bottle to a prohibited river where glass cant be at and he was arrested for that….. my god we got sooo much worse going on here but no one is arrested or even held accountable for their actions- insanity.
Order some food delivery and then call the police… see which gets to you first, unfortunately in today’s world, food beats police but that stems back to the de-fund police movement and all the revisions to policing in this state …. (again Seattle Gov to blame)
How is it acceptable to allow drug use near the libraries or schools? How about no drug use in public? I encourage you to check out the King County drug overdose death dashboard referenced in my earlier comment.
Do addicts and their advocates have the right to destroy us?
That is the real question in my mind. And my answer would be no
Some pontificate on Burien Businesses being Nazi’s and talk about the addicts being almost Christ like. I for one am done with that line of bull
Please consider the following
1) Downtown Burien will collapse if the situation remains as is, none of the advocates own a business anywhere downtown. Any many have never so much as run a lemonade stand. They have no clue. Their opinion is worthless.
2) the Current business will either go broke or move, they just can’t make a living and survive the stress, don’t believe me? drive down 3rd avenue in Seattle or Portland or San Fran
3) And next the Burien neighborhoods will collapse, and home values will plumet who wants to live by a drug den?
4) and lastly shelter is avaible, it is offered Everday, but it is turned down why? simple answer no drugs allowed.
5) I say advocates put up or shut up, take them home, rent them some place to live, but get out of the cheap seats, and out of (in the rear with the gear) as we used to say, and see how the poor smucks trying to run a small business are getting destroyed