The Seattle Police Department will be re-opening the streets surrounding the East Precinct, allowing demonstrators to march on Capitol Hill. Assistant Chief of Patrol Operations Tom Mahaffey sent the following letter to the department earlier today: To the Women and Men of the Seattle Police Department, The decision has been… [ Keep reading ]
Since May 29th, the Seattle Police Department has managed a series of ongoing, dynamic demonstrations across the city. To provide an overview of the Seattle Police Department’s response to these events, SPD is publishing a timeline of events as documented by the Seattle Police Operational Command in real-time. These logs reflect radio… [ Keep reading ]
During the on-going protests in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, officers deployed blast balls and pepper spray to temporarily disperse the crowd after individuals in the group threw bottles, rocks, and incendiary devices broke through a fence line, and several officers were injured. Just after 7 PM Saturday the scene commander… [ Keep reading ]
On May 30th, 2020 large demonstrations in the downtown core turned violent and evolved into a riot. A Seattle Police patrol vehicle parked near 5th Avenue and Pine Street was damaged and set on fire. One suspect was observed repeatedly hitting the patrol vehicle with a baseball bat. Detectives were… [ Keep reading ]
The Seattle Police Department is aware of a video, shared on social media, showing an AMR ambulance backing up near the demonstration line near the East Precinct late Friday night, apparently unable to get to its destination. We have verified that the ambulance was not carrying a patient and was… [ Keep reading ]
By order of the Chief, the temporary authorization for personnel, other than trained SWAT officers, to deploy CS canisters for purposes of crowd control has been rescinded. Where SWAT is on-scene, consistent with Manual Section 14.090(4), SWAT will follow all department policies and procedures regarding the use of specialty tools,… [ Keep reading ]
Here is the directive sent out this afternoon by Chief Best: By order of Chief Best, Mourning bands have deep meaning in law enforcement and are a long-standing way of honoring those who are killed in the line of duty. However, some of the public’s perception is that it is… [ Keep reading ]
Detectives are investigating after a 32-year-old man was wounded in a shooting outside a West Seattle convenience store late Wednesday night. At approximately 10:45 PM, officers responded to a report of shots fired in the 4800 block of Erskine Way SW. When they arrived they found the victim in a… [ Keep reading ]
Even midst a pandemic, SPD officers are still focused on doing day-to-day work and ongoing operations to disrupt the flow of harmful narcotics fueling crime and damaging our communities. In once recent case on May 27th, West Precinct officers recovered a large amount of crack cocaine while checking on an… [ Keep reading ]
The Seattle Police Department declared a demonstration on Capitol Hill a riot Monday evening after a crowd threw rocks, bottles and fireworks at officers and attempted to breach barricades one block from the East Precinct. Hours before declaring the incident a riot, East Precinct commanders had spoken and knelt with members of the group… [ Keep reading ]