Two Community Crisis Responders drive south on Third Avenue in a CARE vehicle. Representative image, not the vehicle taken in Greenwood. Credit: City of Seattle CARE Department
Seattle’s CARE Department says a person its responders were sent to check on in Greenwood got into the driver’s seat of a department vehicle and drove away at about 10 p.m. on Wednesday, October 21. CARE communications officer Bobbie Nickel told MyNorthwest it is the first CARE vehicle ever stolen.
One of the two responders had left the keys in the ignition, Nickel said, because the responder believed that was necessary to keep the amber lights on. The responder radioed for police immediately, and multiple units arrived.
Nickel put the distance traveled at about one block. SPD Detective Shane Weatherford confirmed to KIRO Newsradio that the person being assisted took it, and SPD said officers found the vehicle a few blocks away and took the driver into custody without further incident. Police recovered it, which is not how every stolen-vehicle story ends: a Memphis owner found his stolen 2014 Corvette before officers did. The driver was booked into King County Jail, and no one was injured. MyNorthwest did not report charges or a name, and anyone arrested is presumed innocent.
What CARE says
Nickel said it is “extremely rare for responders to call for police” and credited SPD’s “swift response, which is part of our design.” CARE division leaders have spoken with the two responders and are conducting a full review before deciding on corrective action, she said, and the department is eager to apply lessons to responder training. No timeline for the review has been given.
Where the call fits
CARE was created in October 2023 as Seattle’s third public safety branch alongside SPD and the fire department, and it runs the city’s 911 Communications Center and the Community Crisis Responders. The city’s CARE pages list 40 responders as of August, working daily from 6:30 a.m. to 1 a.m., dispatched either through the CARE 911 center or by SPD patrol officers.
The city’s FAQ lists welfare checks among the work responders handle and lists calls involving aggressive, threatening or destructive behavior among those they cannot take alone. CARE has not said how this call was classified, or why the welfare check was requested. The vehicle’s make and model, any damage, and the charge, if there is one, are also unreported.
The corrective action CARE decides on is the next document to watch, and the department has not said when it will arrive. If a vehicle’s amber lights only run with the key in the ignition, is leaving it there a training failure by the responder, or a design problem the city should fix before the next crisis call?
Sources: MyNorthwest reporting on CARE and SPD statements (Oct. 22, 2026); City of Seattle CARE Department pages on Community Crisis Responders and the department’s FAQ.
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