(Image: Adam Cohn, with permission to CHS)
Seattle’s lead in planning the police department response to the May Day 2013 protests says crowds were moved out of downtown and pushed toward Capitol Hill Wednesday night in an effort to provide safe “avenues” for the protesters to disperse.
In a conference with media Thursday afternoon less than 24 hours after stragglers from the May Day rallies and marches busted windows, dumped trash cans and tossed objects at police on Capitol Hill after being flushed out of downtown’s retail core, Capt. Chris Fowler said it was the best tactic given circumstances and police used a “minimum of force” to send the crowds on the move toward I-5 before the thinning numbers turned up Capitol Hill around 8 PM.
(Image: Adam Cohn, with permission to CHS)
CHS reported the use of blast balls and pepper spray by police as groups reformed along Pine as they were removed from downtown following an unauthorized march that started earlier that night at Broadway and Pine. Some in the crowd ascending from downtown vandalized local businesses, busting windows and emptying waste bins into the streets as the police presence transitioned back onto Capitol Hill behind them. For CHS coverage of the night’s incidents following a mostly peaceful May Day afternoon, see our Capitol Hill May Day 2013 open thread.
Police report 17 arrests on the day. Six people so far have been charged with misdemeanors by the City Attorney for alleged crimes including obstruction, resisting, property damage, and failure to disperse. Police are asking those with pictures or video from the day’s incidents to contact authorities.
As a gesture of support for the small businesses damaged during the vandalism, an “Impromptu Benefit for Bills Off Broadway and Sun Liquor” has been organized for Saturday. We suppose you could also stop by Walgreens if you’re so moved.
(Images: Adam Cohn, with permission to CHS)
(Images: Adam Cohn, with permission to CHS)
(Images: Adam Cohn, with permission to CHS)
I was listening on a scanner when they were doing that, and I couldn’t figure out why the hell they wanted to send them up the hill. It honestly didn’t sound like the commanding officer knew why he was giving that order, either.
Also, according to KOMO, the window at Bill’s that got smashed was done by some random person, not a protester.
I’m not buying the belated “official” explanation for pushing people back up to Capitol Hill and “away from the downtown area” (a direct quote, if memory serves me correctly, from one of the televised news stations). I don’t know why the Powers That Be think they can do this. If you will recall, Capitol Hill suffered during the WTO protests, as well. It’s as though they think since our neighborhood has a reputation for being more accepting of all types of personalities and people, they almost want to punish us by encouraging trouble here.
What’s the difference between a random person and a protester?
My impression from being in the crowd was that the police used an effective strategy of dividing up the crowd and driving smaller chunks of it away from each other. Portions were sent into other parts of downtown, and one portion was sent up toward Capitol Hill. By pushing them farther away from each other, it made it more difficult to regroup, and as the groups got divided, so did their ability to make trouble.
Of course, as my buddy pointed out, it’d be preferable to send them all into Elliot Bay, but maybe they’ll consider that for next year.
Two words: water cannons.
The bookstore or the actual bay?
Water cannons have been used in Europe for a long time to control/disburse violent crowds. I agree completely that we should use them here too.
I saw a single charge of vandalism among those referenced here. It’s almost entirely contempt-of-cop charges. Once again, hundreds of police on the scene, and they can’t manage to catch more than one or two people doing anythingn besides failing to lick boots. And how can we accuse a someone of “failure to disperse”? It is impossible for one person to do so, and we shouldn’t punish someone for others’ actions.
Our police department is so inept. Why would you push a violent crowd into the most densely populated neighborhood in the city? Nothing they can say will make me think that was the correct decision. The only explanation is that they were cow-towing to the Downtown Seattle Business Association and trying to keep the downtown area from being vandalized. Everyone that was in charge of this operation should be fired.
Just because people haven’t been charged YET doesn’t mean they won’t be charged. There is so much video of all these petulant brats throwing rocks, bottles, and everything else, it shouldn’t be too long before people on the videos are identified and more people charged.
totally agree.
I live on the hill, had nothing to do with the protests and was minding my own business when I inadvertantly stumbled on the scene of walgreen’s getting smashed up. I was simply walking home after yoga and had no clue what all the snotface kids were doing pussyfooting around.
I just kept walking (down Pine) and stopped briefly to snap a photo of the 100 bike cops jerking off in front of R Place, who apparently were oblivious to the mayhem that was transpiring a few blocks up.
Then out of the blue do I get shoved by a billy club weilding cop in riot gear who seemed like he just wanted to antagonize peaceful passers-by on the sidewalk. I laughed at the absurdity of the situation I had unexpectedly found myself in and kept walking.
Thanks SPD for punishing law abiding residents of the neighborhood for simply living there. And for the 3-5 helicopters roaming overhead for hours afterwards. This aint Comptom ya posers.
It was like a scene out of a bad community theatre production of Three Penny Opera.
The random people weren’t involved in the protest. It was three kids who just felt like smashing a window. Bill said so himself.
As this video says, there were two black blocks on May Day (one wore badges & guns).
The DoJ has a lot of work to with SPD still.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeTGem7RlQg
Kudos to photographer Adam Cohn. These are some nice pics that offer a more nuanced perspective than the usual iphoneography that we see passed around the internets.
Should just push them straight down into Elliott Bay!
what a dumb response. Thankfully, your not in charge of anything important.
Calhoun wrote, “Water cannons have been used in Europe for a long time to control/disburse violent crowds. I agree completely that we should use them here too.”
That’s a fine idea, but your water cannons are no match for their flash bangs and pepper ball launchers.
Seriously, though: Watch some of the videos and consider where the vast majority of the violence came from. Think about the absurdity of these charges solely for resisting arrest—for what were those people being arrested if not something worthy of prosecution?
Which of these people appear violent? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8p9QVK4htE
The audio is that way on purpose I think.
This is what it felt like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4njf3IgT8s
SPD: “you fucking suck”
How about the person wearing a red shirt, black shorts, and red tights that he police attack around three minutes in? See any violence there? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToX8Zm6ym2c
At 43 seconds, when one guy batters the other from behind with a big metal frame: Who’s violent there? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKcTF3-Jl64&t=35s
Because I worked very hard to build my American dream you get to do what you want with it? Yah No. It’s still mine – and not yours, and always will be mine…. I am proud of what I have built and sickened by the GIMME GIMME GIMEEEss like you and your response.
jseattle,
Why do you continue to let people like j.vanzetti comment when it is all negative attacks on other people? I’m sure this goes against your comment policy and isn’t the type of behavior this blog supports or needs.
We’re aware and are dealing with it. Thanks
[…] you think what happened to Bill’s off Broadway’s windows on May Day was bad, wait until you see what they do to the building after summer when most of the structure is […]
How do you determine some random person, not a protester? Give me a break.
Clearly you haven’t read the court dockets of what the arrested were charged with.
Ian Finkenbinder, from chaining himself to the Whitehouse gate, to Mormon Missionary, to Occupy Peace activist to newly donned Anarchist to GLITUR unicorn revolutionary (aka spit at cops when incidents permit), he’s in all these pictures. From one cult to another. Wow.
Thanks a lot, anarchists. You really contribute so much to our city. Lesson learned: bait the police enough and you’ll get shoved. I hope things don’t go this way next year. We’re better than this.
I’m completely agree. I think the cops deliberately ratched up the temperature to give them a chance to act out violently and then hypocritically claim to be acting with “restraint.” I remember going to a protest on the Hill (by the post office) in the late 80s/early 90s. When the cops showed up they said people had five minutes to disperse, then they’d begin arresting people. The majority of the people left, a few were arrested, there were no broken windows, and no big media story the next day. You don’t push people around with stun bombs and make them more aggressive. Make arrests sooner, not later. Don’t stand by and watch while windows are broken.
They did this during WTO push the protesters out of downtown where fewer reside and if they do reside it is usually not at ground level where the violence and tear gassing would most effect them. Instead they push them up to the hill where it will effect more innocent residents who do live at ground level and could have tear gas pour into thier apartments through broken windows. Seems like a stupid tactic to me.
[…] you can tolerate some edgy language, there are more photos at: http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2013/05/spd-explains-tactics-that-lead-to-may-day-crowds-return-to… […]