Seattle’s streets are a little safer today after a law enforcement father took on a suspected criminal.
Bill Steinkirchner says his daughter was harassed, threatened and assaulted by a man near the UW campus on Sunday. She was shaken but unharmed, says Steinkirchner.
Steinkirchner lives in California — but says he booked the next flight to Seattle in hopes of confronting the man.
“I think any father would have done the same thing. That’s my little girl,” he says.
When Steinkirchner arrived in Seattle, he says he used descriptions and photos from his daughter and fellow students to find the suspect. Students reported on a UW message board that they were harassed by the same man over the weekend.
Steinkirchner says he confronted the suspect in the University District, but the man took off running. Steinkirchner says he chased the man through alleyways because he called the police.
“I’m on the phone with the police and they say, ‘You can’t chase him.’ They say, ‘Stop following him.’ I say, ‘No!’ I say, ‘This is my daughter, I’ve got to get this guy .”
When the police arrived at the scene, they placed the suspect in handcuffs. The officers then took Steinkirchner’s daughter to the scene to identify him.
A nearby security guard also confirmed the man’s actions to the police.
Police then took the suspect, 23-year-old Ryan Dileo, into custody.
In a statement to KIRO 7, the Seattle Police Department writes: ‘A nearby security guard identified Dileo as a suspect in other similar incidents involving the swinging of a broom. Officers arrested Dileo for investigation of aggravated harassment. Dileo was booked into the King County Jail.’