TACOMA, Wash. — A Tacoma security company is working to change the way Washington does encampment sweeps. Employees believe privatizing this service would lessen the load on local law enforcement and accelerate the process.
The company, Blue Falcon Tactical Solutions, began its first large-scale sweep on Thursday, near the corner of 96th Street and Hosmer.
“When I first came to this area everyone said, ‘Don’t go to Hosmer. You’re going to get killed,’” recalls Tema Woods, the founder of Blue Falcon Tactical.
Hosmer is a Tacoma street with a long-standing history of violence.
“Everything is going on there. From drug use to prostitution to gun violence, human trafficking,” says Woods.
Business owners in the area tell KIRO 7 that the increasing violence at a nearby encampment left them feeling helpless.
“I’ve lost a lot. More than half of my customers, because they fear for their life,” says Yung, who owns Helen’s Barber Shop. She says encampments in the area have increased since 2020, along with a spike in recent violence.
“We’ve had five shootings there in the last two and a half weeks. Which is a major concern for residents and the business owners there,” says Woods.
Yung claims that despite repeated calls to police and the city about the violence, she’s seen little action.
Following the recent shootings, a local business association reached out to Woods, asking his security company to step in and do the sweep - instead of waiting for police. The business association offered Blue Falcon Tactical $17,000 to do the encampment sweep, though Woods says his team plans to do a lot of the service free of charge.
“I talked to my team and said, ‘We’re not going to make money doing this’. But all of them have the vision and the passion to do what needs to be done,” says Woods. “We signed up to protect the community. Try to make Tacoma a safer place for everyone.”
He tells KIRO 7 that in addition to Thursday’s sweep, the security team has also worked with local organizations to bring shelter and resources to the people previously living in the encampment. The team plans to do daily patrols for the next month to ensure the area remains safe, clear, and clean.
Woods believes Thursday’s efforts can be used as a model for future encampment sweeps. He is currently working with legislators to develop a ‘Community Security Act’. He says he wants the bill to clarify the roles and rights of security teams, and give security companies the ability to step in when understaffed police departments can’t.
Woods says many of his team members live in the Tacoma community and are committed to making the city safer.
“Most of our team is ex-military, with tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. So, I guess you could say we were kind of built for this stuff,” says Woods. “We know there’s a job that needs to be done and we’re stepping up to do it.”
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