On Monday, as the George Floyd protests raged across the United States, a man drove his car into a crowd of demonstrators in Seattle—he shot one person before attempting to flee. The shooter was later apprehended by the police along with his gun. Liberal Seattle has been the site of one of the bloodiest protests in the US, with numerous concerns raised against police repression there.
Seattle police used flash bang devices and pepper spray to disperse protesters hurling rocks, bottles and what authorities said were improvised explosives that injured officers, just a day after city leaders temporarily banned one kind of tear gas. The police faced a lot of public pushback over its measures; Over 250 Microsoft employees urged CEO Satya Nadella to cancel the company's contracts with the Seattle Police Department.
Now, protesters in Seattle have now reportedly formed a six-block Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), a part-commune which is a no-police zone; they have raised a list of demands, the most prominent of which include "abolition of the terrorist cell that previously occupied this area, known as the Seattle Police Department, and its attached courts".
What is CHAZ?
According to reports, after massive clashes between the police and protesters near Seattle's East Police Precinct, law enforcement evacuated the site as an "exercise in trust and deescalation”. The protesters set up tents there, reverse barricaded and announced it a "protected zone", according to reports.
Multiple US media outlets that entered the site reported it as a "protest society" with food and supply tents, spray-painted graffitis of 'Property of People of Seattle' and 'Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone'. Speakers called out for police reform and racial justice. Then there were screenings of movies like Ava DuVernay’s 13th, which calls out racial discrimination in the US justice system.
Seattle Times reported there were armed protesters patrolling with rifles. Other media reports claimed that those armed with AR15 and other weapons have taken over the role of the police force and are conducting patrolling in the area. "From what I’ve gathered, we’re trying to take our community back so we can live without a massive police force patrolling the streets," a protester told the publication, adding that since police left, “I noticed I am looking over my shoulder less."
The protesters have raised several demands in a charter:
1. Abolition of the Seattle Police Department and attached court system. We do not request reform, we demand abolition. This means 100 per cent of funding, including existing pensions for Seattle Police. At an equal level of priority we also demand that the city disallow the operations of ICE [Immigration enforcement] in the city of Seattle.
2. In the transitionary period between now and the dismantlement of the Seattle Police Department, we demand that the use of armed force be banned entirely.
3. We demand the people of Seattle seek out and proudly support Black-owned businesses. Your money is our power and sustainability.
4. We demand that not the city government, nor the state government, but that the federal government launch a full-scale investigation into past and current cases of police brutality in Seattle and Washington.
5. Reparations for victims of police brutality, in a form to be determined.
6. Retrial of all People in Color currently serving a prison sentence for violent crime, by a jury of their peers in their community.
7. Replace of the current criminal justice system the creation of restorative/transformative accountability programs as a replacement for imprisonment.
Controversies
However, there were questions on some of the reported tactics of the protesters. Assistant Chief of Police Deanna Nollette said residents who live within the boundaries are forced to show ID to prove they belonged there. Nollette also said "there were reports of citizens and businesses being asked to pay a fee to operate within this area. This is a crime of extortion".
US President Trump demanded law enforcement action in Seattle. "Domestic Terrorists have taken over Seattle, run by Radical Left Democrats, of course," he said on Twitter.
He criticised the Democratic Party state Governor Jay Inslee and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan. "Radical Left Governor @JayInslee and the Mayor of Seattle are being taunted and played at a level that our great Country has never seen before. Take back your city NOW. If you don’t do it, I will," Trump wrote. "This is not a game. These ugly Anarchists must be stooped IMMEDIATELY. MOVE FAST!"