Thread by @DivestSPD

We've mostly been covering the Seattle PF, but after yesterday's events, it's time to talk about our neighbors to the east.

The violence against Seattle citizens yesterday was sponsored in part by the Bellevue Police Foundation.

(1/10)

(THREAD)

A number of heavily armed dudes in green uniforms could be seen alongside SPD on Capitol Hill yesterday. Many thought they were Feds.

They are not.

Their patches identify them as members of Bellevue SWAT

(2/10)

Of course, one could be forgiven for mistaking them for feds or soldiers, considering the kind of heat they were packing.

(3/10)

They were the ones firing all those blue-tipped foam rounds that could be found all over the streets.
(4/10)

The 40mm guns they used to fire these rounds at protesters were bought in 2016 through a grant by the Bellevue Police Foundation
(5/10)

So-called "less lethal" munitions have maimed and killed protesters. One study examined nearly 2000 injuries and found that 70% were serious, while nearly 20% resulted in permanent injury (most commonly blindness) or death.

(6/10)

The use of rubber/foam bullets as a crowd-control weapon has been condemned by human rights groups like Amnesty International. They are potentially deadly at close range & at a distance, they are inaccurate, w/ high chance of injuring bystanders

(7/10)

UN guidelines recommend that lawful use of rubber bullets be restricted to violent *individuals* who pose an imminent threat to officers or the public. In other words, they shouldn't be fired indiscriminately into crowds as they were yesterday
(8/10)
tinyurl.com/y3cg3j6l

Yesterday we saw an assault on members of the press, legal observers and protesters by the SPD and Bellevue PD, an unaccountable outside LE agency.

This is unacceptable.
(9/10)

https://twitter.com/NLG_Seattle/status/1287425604296433665?s=20

The private entities that have bankrolled the Bellevue police's assault on the people of Seattle need to be held accountable

(10/10)