I was very surprised to learn today that the Seattle Police Department does not investigate hit & run accidents that do not involve major injuries.‚ My car was hit by a man in a Jeep while it was parked in Queen Anne.‚ Witnesses wrote down the man’s license plate, so I filed a police report and a report with my insurance company.
I called my insurance company earlier today and found that the man has no insurance, so the only money I will get will be via my uninsured motorist policy.
Later, I called the Seattle Police Department only to discover that they do not investigate hit & run accidents unless there is a major injury involved.
The Seattle Police Department’s policy of not investigating hit & runs is not a problem of a lack of financing: I see cops everywhere and recently even got two tickets in the same day for not renewing my license tabs fast enough.‚ Instead, the Seattle Police Department’s lack of investigations into hit & run accidents is a sign of very serious managerial incompetence in the police bureacracy and in Mayor Greg Nickel’s office.‚ The screwed up priorities of the Seattle Police Department shows miserable failures in the management of the police department.
I recently had a hit-and-run as well (3/11). I found SPD generally pleasant to work with, though online report filing is confusing. The officer I spoke with was very nice.