How did that old Susan Powter commercial used to go? Stop the insanity!

Well, here in Tacoma Powter’s obnoxious catch phrase certainly applies — especially when it comes to local nutcase and former Pierce County Sheriff candidate Robert “the Traveller” Hill.

As you may have read or seen on TV, because — at this point — the Traveller’s ever-increasing lunacy has proven appealing to even corporate, conglomerate media outlets, Hill recently had another run-in with the law. While Hill’s other run-ins with the fuzz might have been humorous, his latest indiscretions have upped the danger ante.

Last Thursday, Nov. 20, Hill was arrested while trying to enter the City County Building in Tacoma. According to reports, Hill allegedly tried to smuggle in a replica handgun, and scared the beejezus out of a security guard by pointing the fake pistol at the guard while handing it over. 

 

However, Thursday’s action wasn’t Hill’s only encounter with law enforcement last week. On Monday Hill was arrested for failing to appear in court on charges related to driving on a suspended license. And — most alarming of all — on Wednesday of the same week Hill passed through security at the City County building without incident, but the man behind him was stopped for carrying a real, live, loaded handgun.

 

… a handgun registered to Hill’s mother.

How’s that for scary?

But the biggest Traveller news of the week came Friday, when, after being released from jail following the fake gun incident, Hill was involuntarily committed at Puget Sound Behavioral Mental Health. 

 

It seemed fitting. Hill is probably crazy, just as most of us knew all along. End of story, right? 

Not to Tacoma’s Will Baker — who, as fans of City Council meetings can attest, has been called crazy a few times himself.

 

Baker started e-mailing and calling me shortly after news of Hill’s committal surfaced, but his concerns had little to do with the danger Hill presents. No, Baker says Hill (sane or not) is getting the shaft.

 

Baker contends that after Hill’s arrest following a City Council meeting in late July for driving on a suspended license — which came suspiciously as the council was looking into ways to bar Hill from their meetings because of his constant “inappropriate” rants and the fact that one of his eccentric outfits had given councilmember Lonergan a birdseye view of the Traveller’s junk — the city got creative. Baker says the city arrested Hill on charges of driving on a suspended license, but later (and unfairly) added a charge of disrupting a City Council meeting to Hill’s rap sheet. 

 

That, of course, would be peculiar, especially since Hill has never been physically arrested for disrupting a City Council meeting. Baker contends Hill is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 2 to face the charges, though neither Hill nor the City Attorney’s office was available for comment on the matter. 

Baker, naturally, was available for comment.

“I think Mr. Hill is clearly a few sandwiches short of a picnic,” says Baker in an e-mail sent to Weekly Volcano World Headquarters. “However, I am also not impressed with the fact that the Tacoma City Council has been rigging criminal trials for years …”

So, did the City of Tacoma charge Robert “the Traveller” Hill with disrupting a City Council meeting even though he’s never been physically arrested for doing so? It would make for an interesting story, but so far the only person talking about it is Baker.

 

Stop the insanity!