The counter-protesters have asked for an investigation of SPD’s tactics.
By Casey Jaywork • July 27, 2017 6:30 pm
Tags: Seattle vs. Trump
On Thursday, many of the Seattleites who countered a so-called “anti-Sharia” rally in June submitted a letter to Mayor Ed Murray’s office, the Seattle Police Department, and the Office of Police Accountability alleging that SPD allowed violent demonstrators to repeatedly attack peaceful counter-protesters.
“Seattle Police Department on several occasions acted against the interests” of the counter-protesters and “treated them as the primary threat, instead of the armed militia and anti-Muslim hate group members,” the letter alleges. Signatories include Rich Stolz of OneAmerica, Estela Ortega of El Centro de la Raza, Jorge Baron of NWIRP, Arsalan Bukhari of CAIR-WA, and City Council candidate Jon Grant.
The letter—which refers to the counter-protesters collectively as “the Coalition”—demands an investigation, reform report, a meeting, and an apology. But first, it lays out a critical narrative of police deference on June 10.