As hundreds of police officers, sheriff’s deputies, state troopers and federal agents — both in uniform and plain clothes — kept their eyes peeled for bad actors around Seattle Stadium and fan viewing sites across the city during this summer’s FIFA Men's World Cup matches, there was another operation underway on the periphery of the celebrations, targeting repeat violent offenders.
There were no major public-safety issues that arose during the weeks in June and July, when Seattle, along with 10 other U.S. cities, played host to teams, fans and dignitaries from all over the world, Seattle police Deputy Chief Andre Sayles said at a Tuesday news conference at the Police Department's downtown headquarters.
“The World Cup was an amazing time for our city. It was filled with celebration, collaboration and it was an overall win for our region, Sayles said. The fact there were no major incidents was a “testament to the years of planning and preparation” that went into hosting the World Cup, he added.
In April, before the first players strode onto the pitch, a group of local, state and federal law enforcement officers got together and compiled a list of people who were either wanted on warrants for violent crimes or who police had identified as suspects in yet-to-be-charged violent crimes, an initiative they dubbed "Operation Red Card.
“It was just continued, repeat offenders that, quite frankly, we’re tired of seeing their names,” said Sayles, and so the partner agencies worked together to track them down and get them off the streets.
There wasn’t any intelligence that the people on the operation’s list had plans to attack or disrupt World Cup events, said Mike Herrington, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office.
So, in addition to the “very concerted, interagency effort to secure the fan festivals, to secure the stadium itself and the actual gatherings of people,” he said Operation Red Card was meant to supplement that effort and make the community safer as a whole.
“We wanted all those people to be able to enjoy a safe, fun event … so this is kind of like a more outer ring, preventative type of effort to remove these people before they can pose a problem,” Herrington said.
Over five weeks, members of the operation conducted surveillance and gathered intelligence and evidence, ultimately arresting 17 of those people — and 10 of them have been charged with a combined 21 felonies by the King County prosecuting attorney’s office. Two others were extradited — to Colorado and California — to face felony charges there, with the remainder either under investigation or facing potential charges by federal prosecutors.
Eighty percent of the cases filed in King County Superior Court involve alleged gun crimes, and 12 firearms — many of them modified to fire automatically — were seized during the operation, according to Sayles.
Over the course of the competition, the FBI and members of the King County sheriff’s office seized 42 illegally operated drones, and investigations into their operators are ongoing, Herrington said.
During that same time, agents assigned to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Seattle division — which covers Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Idaho — seized almost 2.7 million lethal doses of fentanyl, said Special Agent in Charge Robert Saccone.
“Violent crime and drug trafficking go hand in hand,” Saccone said. “The criminal networks flooding our communities with fentanyl are also driving violence, fueling illegal firearms trafficking and endangering public safety.”
The DEA, both here and around the country, “surged fentanyl enforcement” in the lead-up to the World Cup, he said, and the agency remains committed to “disrupting the fentanyl supply chain, reducing its availability, and saving American lives.” He added that fatal fentanyl overdoses are a leading cause of death for people ages 18 to 44.
Though none of the officials who participated in the news conference could say how many names remain on the Operation Red Card list, the partner agencies — which also include the U.S. Marshals Service and state Department of Corrections — are still looking for them.
“There’s still people who are on our radar, people that this entire team is continuing to pursue,” said Sayles, the deputy Seattle police chief.
The federal grants that came into the city and region in preparation for the World Cup amounted to an investment in law enforcement that expanded and solidified partnerships across the agencies, the officials said.
“Every firearm recovered represents an opportunity to prevent another shooting. Every violent offender taken off the streets represents one less individual capable of terrorizing the community, victimizing a family or fueling another cycle of violence,” said Jonathan Blais, the special agent in charge of the ATF’s Seattle field division.
“This operation sends a clear message: ATF and its partners will find you, and we’ll work together across jurisdictions to investigate you, and we’ll use every lawful resource available to ensure you’re held accountable,” Blais said. “Crossing city, county and state lines will not shield you from justice.”
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