05/19/2003

By JIM FORMAN / KING 5 News

LAKEWOOD, Wash. – A Level 3 sex offender is back in custody Tuesday morning in Western Washington after escaping from Western State Hospital in Lakewood.

The community was outraged because it wasn't the first time.

Western State Hospital is home to some violent criminals – too dangerous to be on the streets, too mentally ill to be put in prison.

That’s when they get sent to Western State Hospital. But once again a patient had walked away from the hospital, leaving the Lakewood Police Department to hunt down the escapee.

“They don’t seem to be willing to work with us to reduce the load they impose on us,” said Lakewood Police Chief Larry Saunders.

KING Lakewood residents would like to be made aware when a patient escapes.

In the past, Western State has stressed it is a mental health care facility, not a prison, and the rules about how it handles runaways ties their hands, even about what it can report to the public.

In the latest case, William Conklin, a level-three sex offender with a long criminal history, slipped off the hospital grounds for the ninth time.

Police said the hospital doesn't seem to care.

“They could be doing things on their own, like not letting someone in the same level of custody walk away again and again,” said Saunders.

Because Western State Hospital is a state facility, it does not pay taxes and does not help cover the cost of policing the sprawling campus.

If this keeps up, Lakewood Police said, they may have to stop responding to standard calls and wait until something terrible has happened before they head over there.