Seattle restaurant suffers 23rd break-in, owner says as he admits he has ‘lost all faith’ in city leadership

A Seattle, Washington restaurant owner said Thursday that he has lost faith in city leadership after his business suffered what he claims is its 23rd break-in since the "defund the police" movement started three years ago. 

"I have lost all faith in the city of Seattle, SPD, Council members, and state elected officials," he told the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH.

The owner of the establishment asked to remain anonymous over fear that activists would target him, according to Rantz's report, which said he was previously inundated with a slew of negative Yelp reviews after speaking out against the crime crisis in the city.

Surveillance footage of a February 3 robbery shared with Rantz, a conservative Seattle-based radio host, shows a burglar using an object to break through the glass on the business's front door. After struggling for roughly ten minutes, the thief made his way inside, leaving the door lock and frame "violently dismantled, according to an incident report from the responding officer.

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Seattle experienced a surge in crime that included a 24% rise in homicides, 30% rise in motor vehicle thefts and 4% rise in overall crime after slashing police funding in 2020.  ((Photo by Karen Ducey/Noah Riffe/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images))

Unfortunately, the alarm system in the building did not sound when the burglar entered and did not trigger until police arrived after a passerby reported the crime.

"That lone suspect dressed in a heavy black hooded jacket, with black balaclava covering his face was wearing gloves and quickly started to check at the front of the bar then around the counter where myself, and officers had set the alarm off, only his presence had never set the alarm," the incident report stated.

Surprisingly, nothing was stolen from the restaurant. Officers suggested that the man may have been looking for a safe. It was unclear whether the break-in was targeted or a random incident.

Other Seattle businesses have also been the victim of repeated crimes, Rantz noted.

One International District was robbed at gunpoint following a separate burglary that resulted in $14,000 in losses. Meanwhile, the Seattle Men's and Women's Chorus saw four break-ins over four days and a Seattle smoke shop was targeted seven times in just one month.

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Some business owners have admitted they no longer call the police in Seattle after their calls were ignored.  (GENNA MARTIN/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

A downtown Seattle Target would often see shoplifting daily before many products were put behind locked glass cases. Some businesses downtown and in the Belltown area admitted that they no longer ask officers to respond to crimes because of their frequency.

Last year, Seattle reversed course and increased funding for police for the first time since slashing funding in 2020, which was followed by a surge in crime that included a 24% rise in homicides, 30% rise in motor vehicle thefts and 4% rise in overall crime last year.

A 2023 national survey shows that Seattle leads the nation in the percentage of people who feel pressure to leave over crime concerns.

Data from the Household Pulse Survey, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and several other federal agencies, shows that "7% of adults in the greater Seattle area" "felt pressure to move" due to crime in the first six months of 2023. 

That 7%, which represents about 227,000 people, is the highest percentage out of the 15 largest metro areas in the country.

The Seattle Mayor's Office, City Council and Public Safety Civil Service Commission did not return Fox News Digital's request for comment. 

Fox News' Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

Nikolas Lanum is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.