WATCH: Seattle’s Chief Of Police Says, Leaving The East Precinct ‘Was Not My Decision’–Blasts City Officials

K. WalkerJune 12, 2020

34 2 minutes read

Police Chief Carmen Best is finally speaking out about the situation regarding the East Precinct in Seattle.

The Seattle blocks that have been divided by protesters and labeled the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” occurred because the East Precinct was boarded up and abandoned by police.

In a 3 1/2-minute video posted to YouTube, Chief Best addresses officers telling them that she understands that they feel underappreciated right now and wanted to set the record straight that it was not her decision to abandon the East Precinct.

She says that she is angry about how the situation came about and that the city “had other plans for the building and relented to severe public pressure.”

“You fought for days to protect [the precinct]. I asked you to stand on that line. Day in and day out, to be pelted with projectiles, to be screamed at, threatened and in some cases hurt,” Best told the force.

“Then to have a change of course nearly two weeks in, it seems like an insult to you and our community.”

“Ultimately the city had other plans for the building and relented to severe public pressure,” she added. “I’m angry about how this all came about.”

Her comments came a day after the department said it would try to reopen the East Precinct.

Source: New York POst

Watch her address:

Mayor Jenny Durkan posted a lengthy thread on Twitter defending the “peaceful protesters” in the CHAZ comparing it to a “block party.” She said that they’re not terrorists–they’re patriots. She’s also willing to ~~cave~~ listen to their demands.

Medium has published the list of 30 demands from the protesters in the autonomous zone. They include:

complete abolition of the police department including defunding pension funds
use of armed force banned entirely–no guns, no batons, no riot shields, no chemical weapons
abolition of youth jails
the retrial of all people of color currently in prison for violent crime
the abolition of prisons
the replacement of the current criminal justice system
de-gentrification and rent control
free college
prohibit evictions
black doctors and nurses to treat black patients (so…segregation, then?)

Clearly, this isn’t about ensuring racial equality.

These people are making all sorts of outrageous demands.

Here’s the Mayor’s entire thread about how reasonable these folks really are:

Lawfully gathering and expressing first amendment rights, demanding we do better as a society and provide true equity for communities of color is not terrorism – it is patriotism.

— Jenny Durkan (@MayorJenny) June 11, 2020

For the thousands of individuals who have been on Capitol Hill, I think you’ve seen what I’ve seen: The painting of Black Lives Matter along Pine Street, food trucks, spaghetti potlucks, teach-ins, and movies.

— Jenny Durkan (@MayorJenny) June 11, 2020

I remain committed to working with community, including the organizers currently on Capitol Hill, to re-imagine how we do things as a city, and what investments in public health, safety, and economic justice look like.

— Jenny Durkan (@MayorJenny) June 11, 2020

One of the things the President will never understand, is that listening to community is not a weakness, it is a strength.

— Jenny Durkan (@MayorJenny) June 11, 2020

I also want to be clear as I have stated publicly previously – it is unconstitutional and illegal to send the military to Seattle. We will not allow this to happen.

— Jenny Durkan (@MayorJenny) June 11, 2020

This will build off our existing work to provide childcare and free college to every public high school student, provide jobs for youth, and institute criminal justice reforms, including vacating convictions for marijuana use.

— Jenny Durkan (@MayorJenny) June 11, 2020

We will continue to fund intervention and mental health programs so that those who call 9-1-1 in crisis are met with the kind of help they really need – whether that is a mental health professional, a social worker, or a community advocate – and not always a police officer.

— Jenny Durkan (@MayorJenny) June 11, 2020

All of this is a start, and believe me when I say I know that it is not enough. None of these actions will undo hundreds of years of systemic racism overnight.

But at the @CityofSeattle, together with community, we are committed to doing that work.

— Jenny Durkan (@MayorJenny) June 11, 2020

ClashDaily has covered some of the things going on in CHAZ here:

It seems the person in a position of leadership that is concerned about CHAZ is Police Chief Best.

Do you? Your police chief says calls for help have more than tripled because of that “free speech” zone. pic.twitter.com/oT8zcegZQV

— Aldous Huxley’s Ghost™ (@AF632) June 12, 2020