Seattle officer treated after used needle goes through shoe

SEATTLE  — A veteran Seattle police officer is being treated after stepping on a used syringe in a city park.

The officer is a member of the city's Navigation Team that deals with street campers, the mentally ill and drug addicts on a daily basis.

Police spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb says the incident is "100 percent scary."

The unidentified officer was walking with Baker Park on Crown Hill last week when the needle went through his shoe. Whitcomb did not know what kind of shoe he was wearing.

The officer was taken to the hospital and began receiving preventive treatment for blood-borne diseases like HIV and Hepatitis, which typically follow a needle stick.

It can involve blood tests for a period of one year.