Amazon moves 1,800 employees out of downtown Seattle as dangerous city rages out of control
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The crime wave in cities under Democrat control continues to rage out of control, driving Amazon to relocate around 1,800 employees from downtown Seattle out of concern for their safety, yet another grim example of what happens when activist politicians defund the police.
Once one of America’s most picturesque cities and the jewel of the Pacific Northwest, Seattle has deteriorated into a dystopian hellhole with streets filled with vagrants, drug addicts and criminals who in addition to committing acts of violence against each other, prey on law-abiding citizens who venture into the danger zone.
The online shopping colossus made the decision to move its employees out of the office space in an building that was previously a Macy’s department store at Third Avenue and Pine Street in the heart of the city,
An Amazon spokesman provided a statement to the Daily Mail on the move, “Given recent incidents near Third and Pine, we’re providing employees currently at that location with alternative office space elsewhere,” he said. “We are hopeful that conditions will improve and that we will be able to bring employees back to this location when it is safe to do so.”
“The latest spike in crime comes just months after the Seattle City Council approved a 2022 budget that cut police department spending by more than $7 million – bringing the total to $35.6 million over the past three years – and drawing criticism from residents who urged the city spend more on public safety,” The Daily Mail reported. “Most recently, there has been a rash of violent crimes, specifically in the area of Third Avenue and Pine Street, that is pushing people away from the downtown Seattle area.”
(Screengrab: Seattle Police Department)
The downtown area has seen a spate of violent incidents in the last few weeks including police shooting and killing a man who fired a rifle and rammed his car into the federal building on March 5.
In another violent incident, a 15-year-old teen was shot and killed in the 1500 block of Third Avenue, near the Amazon building that employees have been moved from.
Some blame the spike in violent crime on drugs, especially fentanyl, “Fentanyl, that fentanyl is crazy,” Seattle resident Daniel Jules told local outlet KIRO. “It’s so easy to get it though, it’s everywhere. It’s so easy to get it. On the bus they smoke it. Every bus they’re smoking that fentanyl,”
Another Seattle resident, Savannah Earley said “I used to hang down here all the time like a couple of years ago but when the blues hit it just got hella sketchy,” the “blues” is a reference to the “round, blue, counterfeit M30 pills that are laced with fentanyl,” according to KIRO.
Twitter reacted to the news of Amazon’s exodus from the danger zone.
The Seattle mayor’s office provided a statement to Fox News on the company’s decision.
“While it will take time to reverse longstanding safety issues, Mayor Harrell’s early efforts are critical first steps to address crime and improve safety through dedicated SPD officers, a mobile SPD precinct, and additional environmental changes,” the statement said. “Mayor Harrell will continue to develop a comprehensive approach to public safety in collaboration with police and safety advocates, community members, service providers, and businesses, including Amazon, to activate, revitalize, and restore downtown for all.”
Mayor Bruce Harrell is a Democrat.
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