‘It wasn’t our best work that day’ — Protest disrupts Seattle City Council committee session on SPD May 2025 crackdown in Cal Anderson Park

Protesters including people caught up in the Seattle Police Department crackdown made their voices heard at Seattle City Council’s public safety committee as officials presented a report on SPD’s May 2025 arrests of demonstrators against an anti-trans Christian group’s rally in Cal Anderson Park.

CHS reported here in February on the findings from the Seattle Office of Inspector General report that concluded SPD was ignorant “of the broader cultural and political context of the rally and location” in its heavy handed response to the counter demonstration.

In Tuesday’s public safety committee session, chair Bob Kettle shut proceedings down after repeated disruptions by protesters and moved the remainder of the hearing to a hybrid format, allowing officials and committee members to remain in chambers — or retreat to offices to continue the meeting online.

Demonstrators Tuesday said that the “Sentinel Event Review” process “victimizes the victims” by not including their voices in the formal panel and failing to hold individual officers accountable for specific acts of violence.

In its report, the OIG concluded that SPD leadership took and adversarial stance toward the counter demonstrators. “SPD panelists described the Department’s concern that the ‘antifa’ and ‘pro trans’ groups would attract ‘bad actors,’ which became a key factor in SPD planning,” the report reads.

23 protesters were arrested as police moved on the crowds in the park using bikes and pepper spray to take demonstrators into custody as the church rally continued.

No charges were filed against demonstrators arrested that day.

The city-ordered review process was incomplete. CHS reported in December as the Office of Inspector General announced it suspended the review process over leaked information from the confidential meetings. “The SER panel process was cut short due to a violation of confidentiality by one community panelist, and panelists were unable to develop consensus contributing factors or recommendations,” the final report reads.

Tuesday, officials presented the report identifying 66 contributing factors to the escalation at Cal Anderson, citing “anticipatory defensiveness” by officers and a failure to understand the cultural significance of the location. Inspector General Lisa Judge said that the SER is a forward-looking, problem-solving tool, stating, “This is not about holding individuals accountable… It’s about problem solving and looking forward.”

A community member who testified before being removed, challenged the committee’s reliance on systemic reviews over direct officer discipline. “How much blood will be on your hands before you decide enough is enough and actually fight back?” they asked.

SPD leadership acknowledged some of the failures, with Deputy Chief Yvonne Underwood admitting, “It wasn’t our best work that day,”

Citywide Councilmember Dionne Foster said she was concerned that many of the issues identified in the review had been documented in past events and questioned why these lessons hadn’t already been “baked in” to SPD’s operations.

Officials said Tuesday that SPD has committed to new training on “differentiation” to ensure peaceful protesters are not targeted alongside criminal agitators during future large-scale events.

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