Per the pedestrian on the roadway law, are pedestrians ever cited on Mercer Island?

The answer is … pedestrians can be cited. However, we as a police department tend to focus more on providing education to both the drivers and pedestrians when it comes to vehicle/pedestrian right-of-way issues.

How much illegal parking occurs in the Town Center by people who park their cars on the streets overnight?

Not a lot. I spoke with our parking enforcement officer and she told me that it is very rare. Mercer Island allows vehicles to park legally on city streets up to 72 hours (MICC 10.36.225). Many people park overnight in legal parking spots throughout the city, but they usually respect the 72-hour law and move their vehicle before that. If anyone has concerns or issues with people abusing this law, please contact our Police Support Officer Anna Ormsby at (206) 275-7932 or contact our non-emergency number at (425) 577-5656 to report these incidents.

Do the police and the courts take domestic violence against men as serious as they do against women?

Yes. We at the Mercer Island Police Department take all crimes involving domestic violence very seriously and are unbiased in our enforcement of those laws.

A few weeks ago, my house was broken into. After I had found out my house was broken into, I walked through most of my house to see what else was taken before I called 911. I was then told by a police officer who showed up at my house that staying inside my house was a bad idea and dangerous. Can you tell everyone what is the first thing they should do if they suspect someone has broken into their house so everyone knows?

This is a great question that I rarely get a chance to educate people on.

The moment you realize your house has been burglarized, get out of your house and immediately call 911. Especially if you have children, do not remain in your house until the police arrive and make sure the burglars are not still inside. Also, we as a police department don’t want you, or your children, to contaminate or destroy possible evidence (i.e. suspect fingerprints) that we might be able to find, which may allow us ultimately to find out who burglarized your house.

Send your questions to MIPD Officer Jira at Rob.Jira@mercergov.org.