



Editor's note: The following account is written by Q13 FOX News anchor and Washington's Most Wanted host David Rose



SEATTLE -- Thousands of dollars of damage was done to more than two dozens cars on Westlake Avenue in South Lake Union, including many right here at Q13 FOX.



Victims were left cleaning up broken glass and surveying the damage caused by a vandal who we caught on camera.



That gave us an up close look Monday at how Seattle police handle violent suspects who may be mentally ill.



Officers arrested the man after he used a hammer to smash the windows of at least 28 cars.



Surveillance video captured the suspect in our parking lot moving from car to car. One of our co-workers spotted him in the parking lot and raced inside to tell us to call 9-1-1.



I ran outside to try to stop him and make sure he was not attacking anyone with that hammer which can be a deadly weapon.





Q13 FOX/KCPQ photo





Several of our co-workers followed me into the parking lot, one of them used his iPhone to get video of the confrontation.



The suspect was not making a lot of sense and kept walking southbound on Westlake Avenue. I called 9-1-1 as we tracked him.



He had the hammer and a wrench in his hands, but when he heard the sirens he put them inside his backpack.



As he crossed 8th Avenue North about three blocks from our station, officers ordered him to stop and then took him down.





Q13 FOX/KCPQ photo





Because they had to take him to the ground to get him into custody, all of us that witnessed it gave a recorded statement to a sergeant for the use of force investigation which is now standard anytime an officer has to make an arrest like this.



So they really do two investigations: One of the actual arrest and another into the crimes committed.



Police say he also hit four Lincoln Towncars about ten blocks from KCPQ.





Q13 FOX/KCPQ photo






After the suspect was handcuffed, he told me he was sorry, and then started rambling again, but it was pretty incomprehensible.



He was taken to King County Jail where he was checked out by a nurse, and he could be admitted to a hospital for a mental evaluation.



Police say the last time they had contact with him was in December, and it was another crisis call involving his mental state.



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