By Michael Ko, The Seattle Times
Doug Raguso, an incoming Seattle police recruit who grew up in Walla Walla and recently graduated from Washington State University, said before this week he’d never been exposed to homeless people. His ideas about them were simple: They’re rough and they fight.
“When I thought of dealing with homeless people, I thought it would be to rouse them off some business owner’s steps,” said Raguso, 22. “I’m pretty embarrassed that I had that notion.”
What he said is changing his mind is a one-week immersion into the city’s social services, which from now on will be a formal training requirement of every officer entering the Seattle Police Department (SPD).