Unmitigated Drug Use on the Streets of Burien Continue to Destroy Lives [Updated]

King County spent Thursday “tidying up” their parking lot by the district court. Meanwhile, drug addicted human beings on Burien streets continue to overdose.

by Katie Kresly.On Thursday May 16, as King County reclaimed its Burien District Court parking lot by relocating homeless campers to the adjacent “raingarden,” we met a worried mother.She had travelled from Mount Lake Terrace to the Burien encampment to help her son Jeff get into the drug recovery treatment he needed. She told us that he had experienced drug challenges for years, so she was relieved to be able to reconnect and support him as he moved towards recovery.

Jeff’s mom:

[videopress uoJPbq0S]Unfortunately, when she arrived, she was told by nearby campers that “someone had overdosed” that morning in her son’s tent. This distraught parent continued her search; however, we do not know if she found her son or who allegedly overdosed. [KCSO responded that no medical emergency was officially reported to the police. We are unsure if this mother located her son.]

Later in the evening...

At 10:06pm Thursday night, a downtown Burien resident noticed several Burien PD cars on 150th next to the two tents by the Big Lots store. A TriMed ambulance arrived and removed someone from the tent on a stretcher. [KCSO confirmed that a person had a "medical emergency" and was taken to the hospital.][caption id="attachment_17837" align="aligncenter" width="577"]

Person removed on a stretcher next to Burien Big Lots Store on 150th and 6th. 5/16/24 (image courtesy of Burien resident)[/caption]This same neighbor tells us that they have seen considerable drug activity and witnessed several violent actions between the one camper and his visitors. Over the past several months, this “known hotspot” has been oft reported to the police, but neighbors have seen little change.[caption id="attachment_17846" align="aligncenter" width="613"]

Big Lots - April 2024[/caption][caption id="attachment_17847" align="aligncenter" width="650"]

Big Lots - April 2024[/caption]On March 4, 2024, KC Sheriff Patti Cole Tindall told her Burien deputies to stop enforcing Burien’s emergency camping ordinance. Since then, at least four people have died due to drug overdoses in the perpetual tent encampments along 152nd Street in Burien, and many more have overdosed, requiring urgent health care.We reached out to KCSO for comment on these events. We will report further as we gather more details.