• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Subscribe
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Leadership
    • Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
      Leaders — the good, the bad and the horrible
      How not to fail as an outside chief
      Setting ethical expectations early in an officer’s career
      Go that extra mile with a smile
  • Topics
    • Leadership
      • Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
        Leaders — the good, the bad and the horrible
        How not to fail as an outside chief
        Setting ethical expectations early in an officer’s career
        Go that extra mile with a smile
    • Editor’s Picks
      • “Hold my beer”
        Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
        Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline property...
        Cartel intelligence operations streamline cross-border drug smuggling
        Off duty, but never off guard
    • On the Job
      • Police chief: Officers likely prevented further violence in Minnesota...
        Policing and fatherhood
        2025 Top Cops
        What’s with all the gear?
        Reckless elegance
    • Labor
      • Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police...
        Small Texas town left without a police force after firing its last...
        Port Authority Police Department welcomes 71 new officers
        The P.D. that wouldn’t go away
        Critical incidents and waiting woosah
    • Tech
      • How local police departments can combat cybercrime
        Your website is your front desk
        Telegram investigations
        Florida sheriff’s office deploys cutting-edge forensic tool to...
        A new chapter for Utah law enforcement
    • Training
      • Blind spots
        LPVOs are the next evolution of the patrol rifle
        Training vs. practice: Improve or maintain?
        Off duty, but never off guard
        Meeting training needs on a limited budget
    • Policy
      • Cartel intelligence operations streamline cross-border drug smuggling
        Michigan Supreme Court: Marijuana odor alone no longer justifies...
        Milwaukee P.D. and schools clash over SROs
        Seattle Police Department launches new plan to curb violent crime
        Buffer-zone law blocked in Louisiana
    • Health/Wellness
      • “Hold my beer”
        When empathy backfires
        Navigating retirement
        Keeping work at work and home at home
        Avoiding the road to burnout
    • Community
      • Police warn of growing “jugging” crime trend as attacks spread...
        Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline property...
        San Diego Honors Fallen Officer Austin Machitar with Park Renaming
        Battle of the Badges baseball game to support injured Missouri officer
        Temple University Police celebrate 7-year-old’s support with...
    • Offbeat
      • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
        Pizza … with a side of alligator?
        Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
        Only in California?
        Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
    • We Remember
      • National Police Week 2025
        Honoring Fallen Heroes
        What’s with the white chairs?
        The pain and sorrow of loss
        A cop and his car
    • HOT Mail
      • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • On the Job
    • Police chief: Officers likely prevented further violence in Minnesota...
      Policing and fatherhood
      2025 Top Cops
      What’s with all the gear?
      Reckless elegance
  • Labor
    • Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police...
      Small Texas town left without a police force after firing its last...
      Port Authority Police Department welcomes 71 new officers
      The P.D. that wouldn’t go away
      Critical incidents and waiting woosah
  • Tech
    • How local police departments can combat cybercrime
      Your website is your front desk
      Telegram investigations
      Florida sheriff’s office deploys cutting-edge forensic tool to...
      A new chapter for Utah law enforcement
  • Training
    • Blind spots
      LPVOs are the next evolution of the patrol rifle
      Training vs. practice: Improve or maintain?
      Off duty, but never off guard
      Meeting training needs on a limited budget
  • Policy
    • Cartel intelligence operations streamline cross-border drug smuggling
      Michigan Supreme Court: Marijuana odor alone no longer justifies...
      Milwaukee P.D. and schools clash over SROs
      Seattle Police Department launches new plan to curb violent crime
      Buffer-zone law blocked in Louisiana
  • Health/Wellness
    • “Hold my beer”
      When empathy backfires
      Navigating retirement
      Keeping work at work and home at home
      Avoiding the road to burnout
  • Community
    • Police warn of growing “jugging” crime trend as attacks spread...
      Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline property...
      San Diego Honors Fallen Officer Austin Machitar with Park Renaming
      Battle of the Badges baseball game to support injured Missouri officer
      Temple University Police celebrate 7-year-old’s support with...
  • Offbeat
    • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
      Pizza … with a side of alligator?
      Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
      Only in California?
      Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
  • We Remember
    • National Police Week 2025
      Honoring Fallen Heroes
      What’s with the white chairs?
      The pain and sorrow of loss
      A cop and his car
  • HOT Mail
    • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
Search

On the Job

Violence between tenants and police officers serving eviction notices on the rise

APB Team Published April 4, 2023 @ 6:00 am PDT

Dreamstime.com/Mjlp4337

Police agencies across the country are reporting an increase in attacks on officers serving eviction notices, with incidents becoming increasingly dangerous as COVID pandemic eviction moratoriums expire.

The most recent incident involved the shooting of a King County Sheriff’s Office detective, who was serving an eviction notice in Ballard at the time.

According to law enforcement officials, it is common for tenants to resist law enforcement officers who show up at their front door with an eviction notice.

Steve Strand, executive director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, believes that police are seeing an increase in violence due to the pandemic, as well as economic and social factors.

“Society is under a great deal of stress. The pandemic, the economy, a lot of division. Law enforcement is in the middle,” Strand told KOMO News.

The dangers of serving eviction notices have been highlighted in several states. In New Jersey, a woman lit her home on fire after authorities served an eviction notice, killing herself and some of her cats.

In Oklahoma, a sheriff’s deputy was fatally shot while serving an eviction notice over the summer.

In October last year, a deputy constable and a landlord in New Orleans were both shot and injured while serving an eviction notice.

In one case, a woman in Massachusetts even tried to release a swarm of bees on law enforcement officials who were serving an eviction notice for someone else.

Police say the detective who was shot earlier this month was reportedly in critical but stable condition at the Harborview Medical Center.

Strand claimed that attacks against law enforcement officers over eviction notices in Washington State have increased by as much as 39% from 2021 to 2022 after the state ended its eviction moratorium.

However, Strand believes that since many police departments do not report such incidents to the FBI due to their being classified as civil disputes, data on such altercations may be underestimated.

Residents across the country are also reporting an increase in squatters refusing to leave properties they do not own.

According to Strand, serving an eviction notice is one of the most dangerous parts of the job.

“It’s an area of law enforcement that a lot of people don’t know much about. It’s a specific responsibility of sheriff’s offices to serve civil process,” he said.

However, he advised officers to try and maintain empathy during such interactions.

“Even with all the precautions, it also requires a tremendous amount of empathy because in a lot of those cases, like domestic violence, this is a person going through a very intense and emotional time,” Strand said.

At the same time, overall crime continues to surge in Washington.

The King County Sheriff’s Office reporting 384 homicides in 2022, surpassing the high of 336 in 2021, which was the highest amount recorded at the time.

Categories: On the Job Tags: shooting, pandemic, Washington, Covid, violence, eviction notices, moratorium, King County Sheriff’s Office, Steve Strand, squatters

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • CARFAX for Police and NE-IAATI unveil vehicle crimes educational series
  • “Hold my beer”
  • NLEOMF’s 2025 Mid-Year Law Enforcement Fatalities Report reveals law enforcement deaths have decreased by more than 50% over last year
  • Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
  • Blind spots
  • Police warn of growing “jugging” crime trend as attacks spread across nation
  • Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline property regulators
  • When empathy backfires
  • 2025 Mid-Year Law Enforcement Officers Fatality Report
  • National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund Announces May 2025 Officer of the Month

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

“Hold my beer”

“Hold my beer”

July 12, 2025

Are performance evaluations worth the effort?

Are performance evaluations worth the effort?

July 10, 2025

Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline...

Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline...

July 07, 2025

Cartel intelligence operations streamline cross-border drug...

Cartel intelligence operations streamline cross-border drug...

June 30, 2025

Policies | Consent Preferences | Copyright © 2025 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.