Wednesday, Councilmember Bruce Harrell called Seattle police’s response to alleged violence by anti-capitalist May Day protesters “idiotic.” In response, Chief Kathleen O’Toole wrote on the department’s Blotter blog that she is “shocked and disappointed” and that Harrell’s statements “directly contradict the overwhelming, positive feedback the SPD has received from the community in recent days.”
She probably wasn’t referring to feedback from community members present at the hearing, who repeatedly applauded Harrell’s hardball questioning. “I’ve been marching since I was a teenager. I have never seen so much unprovoked violence from the police in my entire life, ever,” said Jerry Savage, a middle-aged researcher who attended the march, during public comment. Bill Weise of the Silver Cloud Hotel, by contrast, commended SPD for their work “preventing damage” by keeping protesters from reaching “the downtown core.”
Some context: On May 1st, AKA May Day or International Workers Day, hundreds of anti-capitalist protesters marched around Capitol Hill, ultimately resulting in some broken windows, graffiti and a lot of less-than-lethal force deployed by police (you can read Seattle Weekly’s full coverage here). Yesterday, Harrell’s Public Safety, Civil Rights and Technology committee grilled police commanders on their officers’ aggressive tactics.
“I’m looking at these injuries [to protesters from police flash-bang grenades and foam bullets] and they concern me,” said Harrell during Wednesday’s hearing, where he faced Assistant Chief Steve Wilske and protest-response commander Captain Chris Fowler. The pair appeared to know little more than the public about the details of May Day’s violence, responding to many of Harrell’s questions with either “I don’t know” or general information on SPD policy.
“But most importantly,” continued Harrell, “it seemed like all [the violence and property destruction] occurred after we decided to make an arrest for one person,” he said, illustrating that number with his forefinger in front of his face. Applause broke out from the sparse audience. “I keep asking the department, what’s the smartest use of force?” Harrell went on to chew on Fowler and Wilske for the decision to arrest a protester (who police say had earlier assaulted an officer) by “ramming” them from behind with a bicycle and then dog-piling on top of them. Based on video of the march, Harrell said, police were using “what looks like bikes as weapons, quite candidly.”
Harrell repeatedly pressed the officers on how the arrest appears to have escalated a mass jaywalk into a maelstrom of smoke and broken glass.
“Wouldn’t you agree that a person on a bicycle, who is trying to arrest someone while on the bike, from behind is…” Harrell trailed off, a bemused expression on his face. “I don’t know how else to say it. It just seems a little idiotic to me…It just doesn’t make sense to me.”
SPD’s use of force on May Day is subject to ongoing review, according to Wilske, which will be forwarded to the council upon completion (no date yet, but prior reviews have sometimes “gone on for months,” according to councilmember Nick Licata). Complaints by civilians about police conduct are routed through the semi-independent Office of Professional Accountability.
