Seattle police clear out 'lawless' protest zone
Seattle police moved in, Wednesday, on a protest zone that the city’s police chief has called ‘lawless and brutal.’
Wearing heavy protective gear - cops formed a barricade in Seattle, Wednesday, as other workers cleared out the area.
One visibly shaken protester described the officers as being heavy handed…
“They pushed me to the ground… they pushed me trying to find my phone, they pushed me! ...I hate the cops, I hate them!”
The Capitol Hill Occupied Protest area in Seattle - known as CHOP - has recently seen a flurry of gun violence that has left two Black teenagers dead and two more people hospitalized.
That came after weeks of protests sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer.
Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best on Wednesday said officers entered the area under an executive order from the Mayor… who has called the protest zone ‘an unlawful assembly’:
"Under an executive order from Mayor Durkin the Seattle Police Department was among the first of the city agencies to enter this area today. Our job was to vacate the area and issue dispersal orders.”
The protest zone is outside of a police precinct that was abandoned weeks ago after protesters clashed with Seattle police - part of a nationwide wave of demonstrations against racial injustice.
(BEST): “I support peaceful demonstrations. Black Lives Matter and I, too, want to help propel this movement forward toward meaningful change in our community. But enough is enough.”
Some protesters said they would not be deterred:
“We have got to get together and figure out a strategy plan. We might go occupy another space. Who knows, we don’t know right now.”
The zone had diminished in size and scope over the past several days.
Crowds that once came by the thousands - to listen to speeches about police brutality and marvel at street art commemorating black lives - have disappeared.
