SEATTLE — A Seattle demonstration on Wednesday night, September 23, ended with 13 individuals arrested and “multiple officers injured,” the Seattle Police Department (SPD) said.
Protestors gathered at around 7 p.m. at Cal Anderson Park — the location of the now dismantled CHOP Zone that saw a number of people suffer injuries and die. The group organized to demand justice for Breonna Taylor, an African American woman who was shot and killed by police in her home in Louisville, Kentucky, on March 13.
The group began marching around Capitol Hill and First Hill areas of the city “causing occasional property damage along the way,” according to police. The group then reformed at the intersection of 11 Avenue and Pine Street.
At 10:45 p.m., one person approached the East Precinct of SPD and “threw an explosive that went through a roll-up gate and exploded near waiting bike officers.”
“Officers identified the individual who threw the explosive and attempted to arrest the person,” Seattle police said in a statement. “As a group of bike officers attempted to make the arrest they were then assaulted with bottles and rocks.”
Officers tried to create space between themselves and protestors by deploying pepper spray and blast balls. Protestors then moved through the surrounding streets “setting dumpsters on fire and throwing explosives at officers.”
The charges for the 13 individuals arrested during the protest range from “property destruction, resisting arrest and failure to disperse as well as assault on an officer.”
SPD also noted it is aware of a video that shows a bike officer’s bike “rolling over the head of an individual laying in the street.” The footage was shared on Twitter. The matter will be referred to the Office of Police Accountability for further investigation.
