With the rash of violent crimes at Golden Gardens, there have been rumors of a local gang emerging in Ballard.

Victims in police reports have reported that perpetrators of violent robberies and assaults have called themselves the “85-15 gang.”

On June 21—the night of the Solstice Parade—a victim at Golden Gardens was punched in the throat and robbed by a group of young men. The group fled when the victim’s friend said he called police. Between gasps, the victim told officers that a group of four African American males had jumped him. The victim reported that the four men said they belonged to the 85 –15 gang.

Numerous violent crimes like these have occurred at Golden Gardens throughout the summer season. Most recently, in mid-August, there was a carjacking at gunpoint perpetrated, again, by four men at the scenic park.
But is the same “gang” perpetrating these crimes? Is there even a gang?

Seattle Police Department’s Detective Patrick Michaud says that they are “looking into it.”

“At this point they (Gang Unit) are unaware of the 85-15 gang either as small or new gang—it’s just not on their radar. It’s something they are actively looking into and are tracking down any evidence of a real gang.”
Michaud said that because Seattle is so spread out, they carefully keep track of when and where crimes like these are happening and develop strategies to combat criminals. One of these strategies is just having more people on the ground in high activity areas when crimes are happening. For Golden Gardens, it has meant more patrols in the evening.

Since June, SPD has bumped patrols at Golden Gardens, which has stifled much of the violent crime.

“As these sorts of crimes are noticed, captains develop plans to combat them. For Golden Gardens, it means getting more officers down there in the timeframe when these crimes are happening and looking for suspicious activity.”

Detective Drew Fowler with SPD told MyNorthwest.com in mid-August that there are always going to be “ebbs and flows” in crime activity. “…During the normal summer months, people are going to be in the park more and in the park until later, which if you are someone looking to commit crimes, kind of makes it a target-rich environment," said Fowler.

To get a read on activity, the Ballard News Tribune surveyed Golden Gardens during the evenings of September 4th and 5th. The first night —the same night that kicked off the Seahawks’ football season—there were only a few large groups of people carousing at designated fire pits and barbecue areas. There was one young male individual who did doughnuts in the sand with his enduro motorcycle before wiping out. Onlookers jeered him. There was no other suspicious activity that night. No SPD patrols or park vehicles were observed between 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

On September 5th, at 8:45 p.m., all the fire pits at Golden Gardens were occupied; there was a wedding reception in the Park Bathhouse and the parking lot was almost full. A Seattle Parks truck was on site. At least two staff members were patrolling the beach in the Kubota, an off-road Seattle Parks vehicle. Parks officers disbanded an illegal bon fire around 9 p.m.

The Ballard News Tribune approached two individual females and one pair, attempting to conduct interviews. All females apprehensively declined to speak to the reporter.

Danielle and Justin Milgate, a couple from Lower Queen Anne, were with a group of five people roasting marshmallows under an enclosed barbecue area. They said they had been there for thirty minutes and had not seen any suspicious behavior or any police patrols, but had seen the Seattle Parks employees drive by three times. They both said they had heard about the violent crimes that have occurred at the park over the summer.

“We didn’t think about safety before we came. This is the first time we came out this summer, so its kind of more out of habit from previous summers.”

The couple said they felt safe at the park after dark.

Matt McClish, a man in his 20’s, said he’s moving to Ballard from Renton next month. McClish visits Golden Gardens at least three times a month in the summer. He said he had heard about the violent reports and the potential for gang related activity.

“Honestly, I’m not concerned about my own safety, but more for other people, maybe more unsuspecting people that might be unconcerned. When you get alcohol in your system and your guard is down and you’re having a good time, things can happen. It’s sad that it’s happening here, ” said McClish.

McClish said he had been at the park for more than an hour before being interviewed and said, “Typically I feel like it’s pretty well patrolled, but I don’t know how consistent it is. I know all of a sudden there will be seven cops and next thing you know, they are all gone.”

The Ballard News Tribune observed one SPD patrol at 9:10 p.m.

As far as Parks Service patrols, McClish said, “They couldn’t do more.”

“I think a lot of the crime is out of their control. Whether it’s robbing cars or fighting in the back of the park—which I’ve seen—I don’t think that adding more patrols would help. They are doing the most they can do while making sense. I feel if it were over-patrolled, then it wouldn’t be a good time here.”