Context about dubious claim of #SeattleRiots
FOR EIGHT YEARS, @SeattlePD has been under federal oversight after DOJ determined (2011) it used excessive force that "violates the Constitution and federal law"
justice.gov/opa/pr/justice…
📷 @axios
axios.com/protests-polic…
1/
DOJ:
"The problems within SPD have been present for many years and will take time to fix ...The solution to the problems identified within [SPD] will require strong and consistent leadership along the chain of command, effective training and policies, and vigilant oversight"
2/
DOJ:
When SPD officers used force, they did so in an unconstitutional manner nearly 20% of the time;
They resorted "too quickly" to impact weapons, such as batons and flashlights - 57% of use of batons was either unnecessary or excessive
SPD officers escalated situations
/3
DOJ:
"we note that Seattle has previously been criticized for its response to demonstrators, including incidents
related to the World Trade Organization meetings in 1999.
justice.gov/sites/default/…
/4
"the new collective bargaining agreement between the city and the police union is dropping the ball when it comes to holding officers accountable when they do something wrong." 2019
q13fox.com/news/federal-o…
/5
May 2020 - "Seattle and DOJ filed a joint motion to remove parts of the decree they were in compliance with — including use-of-force but not accountability or discipline."
/6
The June George Floyd protests led to more than 14,000 complaints of excessive force by @SeattlePD . The city backed off on that request.
king5.com/article/news/r…
/7
Systemic behavior transcends election cycles and police chiefs:
"Seattle’s agreement with the Department of Justice now spans two U.S. presidents and three elected mayors." (June 2020, @Crosscut )
crosscut.com/2020/06/debate…
/8
"Thirty-two percent of uses of force in 2018 were against Black men, despite African Americans comprising just 6% of the city’s population."
/9
"People of color generally are more likely to be searched by a Seattle police officer and yet less likely to have weapons in those searches than white people. "
/10
Timeline of SPD investigation @ACLU_WA @ACLU
aclu-wa.org/pages/timeline…
/11
Defund the @SeattlePD
Send Trump's thugs back to where they came from : Border Patrol, ICE, whatever. They are not trained for dealing with legal protests (see DC protests).
Japan Times
japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/07/2…
Jakarta Post (think about THAT)
thejakartapost.com/news/2020/07/2…
/12
Case in point: PDX
"Peaceful protests were already happening for weeks when federal officers arrived on July 4. Our video shows how President Trump’s deployment ignited chaos."
nytimes.com/video/us/10000…
/13
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