Protesters continue to clash with police in Seattle days after the Capitol Hill organized protest zone was dismantled.
Police said they arrested 10 people between Thursday night and Friday morning for property destruction, assault, harassment and lack of dispersal. The Seattle Police Department also reported that they threw bottles, rocks, and fireworks at officers. All of those arrested were booked into the King County Jail.
Local law enforcement officials began cleaning up the area early Wednesday morning after Mayor Jenny Durkan issued an executive order directing people to leave due to violence and public safety concerns. Since then, more than 60 arrests have been made, according to KING-TV, a local NBC affiliate.
One of the arrests on Thursday was by a prominent protester from the CHOP zone who led the police in a high-speed chase. Police say the man was wanted for a serious crime.
After the suspect crashed his car, he was seen coming out of the sunroof and standing over his car.
“It was crazy. It was really shocking,” said Sabrina Provost, who captured the incident on video while driving behind the chase in her mother’s car, told KOMO News. “The next thing you know, she jumped out of the car and did this Dance like that – I ran around the two policemen who were there and booked him down the highway. It was very fast. I’m not kidding. “
The King County Prosecutor’s Office said Friday that no criminal charges have been filed against nonviolent protesters.
“The King County District Attorney’s Office has not charged non-violent protesters, and we have no plans to do so,” the office wrote in a statement. “Our position has not changed since the first protests in response to the murder of George Floyd.”
This is the statement from the King County District Attorney’s Office regarding the non-filing of charges against non-violent protesters. Our position has not changed. pic.twitter.com/n9ZDBeVuz7
– King Co Fiscal (@KCProsecutor) July 3, 2020
Durkan had recommended that the city not press charges for minor arrests made during the protests.
Police had left the six-block CHOP zone, which included the department’s East Precinct, on June 8 after people protested the death of George Floyd. He took control of the area and declared it an autonomous area. Initially it was called the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone before changing its name.
The protest was one of many across the country calling for an end to racial injustice and police brutality, as well as to unseat the police.
