TACOMA, Wash. — Crimes against people and property are on the rise in Tacoma and community members are calling for changes.
Angela Connelly, who leads a community group called Tacoma Safe, said criminals seem emboldened, police response is too slow and the crime rate feels like it’s getting out of control.
One of the more recent trends is armed thieves targeting cannabis stores. Armed thieves showed up Monday night just before closing time and caught the staff at Tacoma House of Cannabis completely by surprise.
“They came in the door and it was between the turn and actually entering the door that both of the guns came out,” said Kevin Heiderich, who owns the pot shop.
The two men held workers at gunpoint and went straight for the cash, both in the registers and the back office. In the process workers got roughed up.
“Little bit of physical violence, which is super upsetting to me, against the employees,” Heiderich said.
Over the weekend, someone broke into T&T Tire Point S and ransacked the store. The owner said he waited eight and a half hours for an officer to show up and take a report. Businesses throughout the city are frustrated by these lengthy delays, Connelly said.
“There is a very long response time from 911,” Connelly said. “Sometimes they don’t even show up.”
Tacoma police chased down Tuesday and shot a man wanted for murder. The man was wounded and no officers were hurt, though several cars were struck during the pursuit.
As for cannabis store robberies, six businesses in Tacoma have been hit in the past month and owners say federal laws that force them to deal only in cash don’t help the problem.
“Cannabis stores, because of the presence of cash in them, are definitely high-profile targets,” Heiderich said.
Tacoma has some disturbing trends when comparing last year’s crime totals with 2020. The city saw 32 homicides in 2021 which is the same as the previous year. However, aggravated assaults are up 49.9 percent.
In terms of property crimes, arson rose 79.9 percent year to year. Break-ins increase 10.2 percent and vandalism is up 15 percent.
