2020 SPD Community Assessment

Community Assessment of the

Seattle Police Department

2020

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RELEASED: 7/26/21

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2020 SPD Community Assessment

Warning

¡ !

WARNING

CONTENT WARNING: THIS REPORT CONTAINS DESCRIPTIONS OF VIOLENCE, DEATH, SUBJUGATION, CONTEMPT FOR HUMAN LIFE, RACISM AND GENOCIDE.

CONTENT WARNING: THIS REPORT CONTAINS IMAGES OF VIOLENCE, NOTABLY INDIVIDUALS STRIKING OTHERS, EXPLOSIVES, AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS USE. THESE IMAGES AND DESCRIPTIONS MAY BE TRIGGERING, UNSETTLING HURTFUL, AND/ OR CONTRIBUTE TO TRAUMA. CONTENT EXCLUSION: THIS REPORT DOES NOT CONTAIN ANY IMAGES OF INJURES SUSTAINED BY COMMUNITY MEMBERS AS A RESULT OF VIOLENCE ADMINISTERED BY THE SEATTLE POLICE DEPARTMENT. THESE ARE DISTURBING AND GROTESQUE. WHILE PROLIFIC, THESE IMAGES ARE OMITTED FROM THIS REPORT. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED

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2020 SPD Community Assessment

Dedication

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

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To all victims of Seattle Police violence, may you see calm and peace, may you receive justice, and may your suffering cease.

The panel of the 2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment recognize the traditional lands and waters of the dxʷdəwʔabš (Duwamish), a tribe recognized within the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliot. On February 7, 1865, The City of Seattle wrote into law the exclusion of indigenous people from City limits. The City Board of Trustees wrote: “Be it ordained by the Board of Trustees of the Town of Seattle, That no Indian or Indians shall be permitted to reside, or locate their residences on any street, highway, lane, or alley or any vacant lot in the town of Seattle, from a point known as the South side of Chas.

Plummer’s ten acre lot to a point known as the South side of Bell’s land claim” This exclusion continues to this day as the City and Port of Seattle continue the occupation of dxʷdəwʔabš lands and waters while the dxʷdəwʔabš have failed to receive tribal recognition from the United States Government.

The 2020 demonstrations against police violence resulted in great suffering, pain and injury. In Seattle, three persons were killed during the course of these demonstrations. The panel members wish to express their pain and sorrow for their loss.

Summer Taylor, may you rest in peace.

Antonio Mays Jr., may you rest in peace.

Horace “Lorenzo” Anderson, may you rest in peace.

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Community Assessment of the

Seattle Police Department during the

2020 Civil Demonstrations Against Police Violence

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RELEASED: 7/26/21

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2020 SPD Community Assessment

Contents

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

Contents Section

pg Preface 13 Acknowledgments 14 Abbreviations 17 Disclaimer 19 1.0 Summary 24 Executive Summary 24 Methodology 24 Scope 24 SPD Public Records Requests 25 1.1 Period of Review 28 Level of Violence Context 28 Use of Violence Escalation Rates 29 Weapons types 29 Data Corroboration 32 SPD Public vs. Private Data 33 SPD Violence Distribution 34 Weaponry Used on Seattle Residents 36 SPD Mutual Aid Partners in Violence 38 Total Mutual Aid Violence 43 2.0 Detailed SPD Weapon Analysis 46 2.1 Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) Agent 46 OC Spray Can 46 OC Agent Aerosol Grenades 46 OC Agent Blast Grenades 46 FN303 and Pepperball Rounds 46 OC Agent Spray Toxicology 46 OC Aerosol Grenade Toxicology 47 Use 48 2.2 Blast Grenades 50 Types 50 Acoustic Trauma 51 Mechanical Injury 52 Toxicology 52 Use 53 10

Section

pg 2.3 2-chlorobenzylidenemalonitrile Agent 62 Naming 62 International Law / U.S. Law 62 Toxicology 62 Thermal Burns 65 Hazardous Waste Use 66 Environmental Considerations 66 Use 67 2.4 40mm Projectiles 72 Types 72 Mechanical Trauma 73 Use 73 2.5 FN303 Projectiles 76 Types 76 Mechanical Trauma 76 Use 76 2.6 Pepperball Projectiles 78 Types 78 Toxicology 78 Use 78 2.7 SPD Weapons Use Graphic Tabulation 80 3.0 SPD Tactics of Violence 96 Pandora’s Box of Policy Paradox 96 Justifying Level of Violence to Meet a Fabricated Threat 96 When I Didn’t See if the Grenade I Threw Hit Anyone ;) 101 Authorization of violence in response to “furtive” actions

101 Thanks Chief, but My Union Gets to Decide if I’m Fired or Not 102 Less-Lethal-Language 104

Section

pg “Kettling” 104 “Hold the Line”=“Administer Suffering” 106 Professionalism in Correspondence 108 Large Scale Deployment Psychology 108 De-identified OPA Complaints 110 Notable Individual Officers 111 SPD Algebra 101 115 Obstruction of Medical Aid 120 Targeting Medics with violence 120 Failure to decontaminate OC agent 121 PTSD 122 Contempt for Journalists and Legal Observers 112 Dubious Arrests, Bookings and Petitions 128 SPD Copy + Paste Arrest Records 130 King County Prison Abuse and Conditions 130 Misdemeanor Sentence Rate 133 Shutting Street Lights Off 136 Documented Effects of Seattle Police Department Use of Violence on the Human Body 138 4.0 SPD Communications 142 Chief Adrian Diaz on “Accountability” 142 Eichmannism and a Pink Umbrella 142 The “Candle Tweet” 144 Command Staff Conspiracy to Destroy Evidence 144 Propaganda Video 147 Veracity Questions of SPOC incident Reporting 148 Private Medical Information & Police Violence Victims 148

Section

Parroting Rumor, Protesters Extorting Businesses SPD Affinities with Fascist and White Nationalist Groups and Ideologies 5.0 Findings 6.0 Postscript

pg 149 150 156 160

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2020 SPD Community Assessment

Preface

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

Figure 1.

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Preface

Every person deserves to experience life to its fullest. To hear a bird’s cheerful song along a riverbank. To see and feel the alpine glow of sunset. To smell the dry pungent pine forest. To take a Saturday morning jog around the lake with friends. To breathe the crisp alpine air. To bathe in the salt of the ocean. To blow out the candles of our first daughter’s birthday. To feel the warm embrace of a lover or friend in this life, not the next. Yet, the Seattle Police Department holds the extra-judicial power and weaponry to take these experiences, forever away from us within a split second. We instill within a select group of individuals the power to abuse, injure, maim, and kill. With this immense power comes immense scrutiny.

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2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

Right: After SPD abandoned the East Precinct, community members set up watch to protect the building. Tents and chairs surround the building, and the name to the building was changed to Seattle “People” Department. The region around the building would temporarily be known as the “Capitol Hill Organized Protest” or CHOP.

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

This assessment comprised of a panel of citizens devoted to true accountability and a multi-faceted, comprehensive system of public safety that leaves no one behind. We dare to dream of a public safety system where individuals who serve are accountable for violating the law or the privilege to serve our community. No one should be met with violence.

As a first-class City, we deserve to establish new and inventive institutions, divorced from the racist and brutal history of policing that has affected our communities for far too long.

2020 SPD Community Assessment

This assessment herein was not funded.

Panel members contributed labor and review on a volunteer basis, after working well over 40 hours a week at full time jobs. This effort and community assessment was done on our own personal time, until late hours of the morning, searching and hoping for a new future. This report would not be possible without the dedication of many local journalists, uncovering the truth wherever it led. We are deeply indebted to your work. In addition, we are indebted to the numerous community members who showed up and made your voices heard.

The Seattle community’s determination to show up for justice and accountability in the face of unrelenting violence from a deeply decayed department is truly courageous. Despite arrests, chemical weapons, blast weapons, projectiles, and other violence being readily administered on our own community, we showed up. We continue to show up. Specific video evidence from community members is referenced repeatedly within this report. Without this evidence we would not know the true extent of the irreparable damage the Seattle Police Department has caused. Even the OPA has noted, a lack of video evidence documenting police violence allows these incidents to go unchecked. This right to film and watch police is firmly established within our Seattle Municipal Code1: 1 https://library.municode.com/wa/seattle/codes/municipal_ code?nodeId=TIT3AD_SUBTITLE_IIDEOF_CH3.28PODE_SUBCHAPTER_ VIPUOBBIRI_3.28.610PUOBREEXVIPOAC

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Figure 2.

SMC 3.28.610 - Public observation, recording, or expression in the vicinity of police actions

A. A person not involved in an incident may remain in the vicinity of any stop, detention, or arrest occurring in a public place, and observe or record activity and express themselves, including making comments critical of an officer’s actions, so long as the person’s conduct and presence are otherwise lawful. The person’s conduct and presence must not: hinder, delay, or compromise legitimate police actions or rescue efforts; threaten the safety of the officers or members of the public; or attempt to incite others to violence. These conditions on the conduct do not prohibit conduct that creates a slight inconvenience for an officer, such as minor delay caused by escorting the person to a nearby location.

B. No employee of the Seattle Police Department nor an agent thereof shall prevent a person from engaging in an action or actions protected by this Section 3.28.610.

C. No employee of the Seattle Police Department nor an agent thereof shall use physical force for the purpose of punishing or retaliating against a person engaging in an action or actions protected by this Section 3.28.610.

Additionally, we owe a significant amount of gratitude to those who have come before us, who continue to seek accountability. Those who have been met with personal loss of friends, family and neighbors. Those who have faced discrimination. Those who have been illegally detained. Those who have faced violence. We aim to inspire a new creative world, where all our community members’ needs are met, where systems of health, safety and wellbeing center our community, not the police.

The authors would also like to thank @DivestSPD2.Their assistance and existing research has provided significant context on the historical conduct of many Seattle police officers, continuing to this day. Clear and concise documentation of many of these events referenced within this report have also been documented by @Omarisal,3 @spekulation,4 @sadenochill5 as well as countless others. Thank you also to Mike Scaturo6, for his amazing imagery. The authors wish to express gratitude to the countless individuals who filmed and interrogated police action, leading to critical insight into the disposition of the Seattle Police Department at a systemic level.

2 3 4 5 6

https://twitter.com/DivestSPD/ https://twitter.com/Omarisal https://twitter.com/spekulation https://twitter.com/Sadenochill https://twitter.com/mikescaturo

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2020 SPD Community Assessment

Abbreviations

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

16

Abbreviations The following abbreviations are used throughout this report:

AKA

also known as

ARC

1999 WTO Accountability Review Committee

appx ATF BLM

BWV

CART

CHOP

Consent Decree CPC DAJD EOC FIT

KCSO

MCPP NE

NG

approximately

U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms Black Lives Matter Body Worn Video

Chemical Agent Response Team

Capitol Hill Organized Protest, or earlier referred to as Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. Both names were widely used for the region around the East Precinct and Cal Anderson Park following the abandonment of the East Precinct on 6/8/20 Civil Action No. 12-CV- 1282 SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND STIPULATED [PROPOSED] ORDER OF RESOLUTION Seattle Community Police Commission

Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention Emergency Operations Center Force Investigation Team

OC Ofc

OIG OPA PD

PDR PRA RDF SFD Sgt

SPD

SPOC SPOG

UNKN UoF

UoV U.S.

U.S.C. WA

WSP

Oleoresin Capsicum, commonly known as “Pepper Spray” Officer

Seattle Office of Inspector General Seattle Office of Police Accountability Police Department

Public Disclosure Request Public Records Act

Rapid Deployment Force Seattle Fire Department Sergeant

Seattle Police Department Seattle Police Operational Command

Seattle Police Officers Guild Unknown

Use of Force

Use of Violence United States

United States Code Washington State

Washington State Patrol

King County Sheriff Office

Micro Community Policing Plan Named Employee (An SPD employee, who’s identity has been concealed within an OPA incident report) National Guard

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2020 SPD Community Assessment

Disclaimer

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

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Disclaimer Fair Use Doctrine

Disclaimer

Permission was not granted for use of all images used throughout this report. Images were used consistent with the Fair Use Doctrine of the 1976 Copyright Act. The contents of this report do not benefit any commercial entity or advance any business or financial interest. The contents of this report are used for the purposes of commentary, criticism, news reporting and scholarly report. Additionally, original artwork and text found within this report is available for use through the Fair Use Doctrine. All original art, text and graphics © authors, unless noted otherwise.

A thriving democracy requires participation.

This report is not inclusive of the viewpoints of all Seattle residents. It is produced by a discrete panel of Seattle residents. Many individuals may agree or disagree with the findings of this report.

This report is not comprehensive, and suffers from a systemic disadvantage, in that access to SPD records was obtained through public records requests, not directly. The report herein is also not complete. A total analysis of all the individual actions and incidents, many of them suspect and dubious, occurring within the period of the 2020 protests was not feasible to produce within the time alloted to the authors. Thus, readers may find conspicuous events absent from this report. Data provided by SPD utilized for analysis within this report was provided seven months after request. Subsequent updates, changes, or corrections to this data compiled

by SPD were not conveyed to the authors. The authors are also not responsible for the accuracy of data provided by SPD, or the quality control of this data. We have re-presented this data as provided. This report does not represent the views of any City of Seattle department, agency, office or employee. This report was not commissioned by any City of Seattle department, agency, office, or employee. This report was not funded by and does not represent any business interest, external pressures, or perspectives.

This report is not funded by the City of Seattle.

This report is unsolicited and is the product of individual private citizens. The findings, views, and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the authors. The authors have endeavored to present complete and true information throughout this document, however, some information may be incorrect. The authors will endeavor to make corrections within a second revision of this document to be released in the future. The authors can be contacted by email at: 2020spdca@protonmail.com .

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Figure 3.

2020 SPD Community Assessment

1.0 Section Name & Title

Justice, Excellence, Humility and Harm Reduction.

Figure 4.

2020 SPD Community Assessment

1.0 Section Name & Title

As an employee of the Seattle Police Department, my actions will be guided by the following principles: Justice, Excellence, Humility and Harm Reduction. ????????

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

1.0 Summary

1.0 Summary

Executive Summary

Officially organized on June 2, 1869, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) has existed for 152 years. Across its entire history, former Court Monitor Merrick Bobb characterized SPD, in 2020, at its nadir.7 152 years after its inception, SPD is at the lowest moment of integrity within its history. For many of our neighbors, the police department never had any integrity to begin with. For a public safety system to be effective, the public must trust that system.

Much like a building, that has stood for 152 years, the department of police has decayed, become structurally deficient, hazardous, and does not meet our current needs. The ongoing maintenance costs for this department are extraordinary, and the costs to retrofit the department far exceed the costs of building the institution we deserve from the ground up. The findings and review of this report, of the actions of SPD between May 25th to August 1st, 2020 highlight a burgeoning imperative:

2020 SPD Community Assessment

It is time to start over.

This report is not centered around whether violence was justified, refereeing policy infractions, or administrative missteps. It is centered on quantifying the amount of violence inflicted on Seattle residents by their own police department, in addition to dissecting the mechanisms that facilitated that violence to occur. This report aims to highlight systemic qualitative deficiencies, which act to have entirely eroded public confidence in the structural integrity of the Seattle Police Department. This report further posits that systemic qualitative deficiencies within the department will not be ameliorated through reform, existing accountability systems, training, 7 Bobb, Merrick. Seattle Consent Decree 2013-2020. https:// documentcloud.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:0c908 ec2-ab1d-42b2-818a-790468076204#pageNum=1

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tools, or consent decree process.

Perhaps most striking, in examining the totality of violence inflicted on Seattle residents between May 25th and August 1st, 2020, is that SPD has made no concerted effort whatsoever to build back any iota of trust remaining between the department and community members.

Whatever trust was there, has now definitively vaporized. This tendency for violence, aversion to accountability, and absence of remorse indicate an ongoing catastrophic failure of integrity that continues to this day. As a City, our best path towards health and wellness is to start over. A new, ground up, department and approach to public wellness is urgently needed.

As indicated within this report, it is eminently clear that the Seattle Police Department has only one key operational goal: preserving itself.

Methodology

The report herein is compiled by experts in police violence: community members who have witnessed and endured the receiving end of blast grenades, chemical weapons, batons, and bikes. In addition to this first-hand experience, a broader scale overview of the circumstances has been illuminated through SPD public records requests, media reports, OIG and OPA materials, medical literature, product data sheets, and other ephemera. The authors of this report were systematically disadvantaged, as all internal information, data, and correspondence from within SPD and other agencies was obtained through a lethargic and painfully slow public records request process. On-demand access to SPD documentation would have significantly streamlined data gathering to advance the study of this report. However, as a group of private citizens, this panel was not afforded that luxury.

Scope

Public records requests were issued to SPD for Use of Force incidents between the dates of May 25th to August 1st, 2020. The scope of review for uses of force/violence within this report is inclusive of findings within this specific

period and is referenced throughout as the Period of Review. While Use of Force statistical information is only inclusive within the Period of Review, supplemental narrative and assessment reaches beyond this period to present a holistic picture of the mechanisms effecting the integrity of this department.

SPD Public Records Requests

Initial SPD public records requests took seven months to be released to this panel, preventing a more contemporaneous review of the circumstances during the summer of 2020.

After preliminary review, further SPD public records requests would be generated to clarify and elucidate information the department had provided. However, SPD would continue to delay the processing of requests. Requests as simple as, “Please provide use of force report #XYZ,” a roughly five page existing document, would take six months to fulfill. While not desirable, this report was published with many records requests still open, pending resolution. The authors aim to incorporate any future records requests into subsequent revisions of this report.

It should be noted that chronically understaffing Public Records Act (PRA) requests, is a systemic problem. In total, the systemic delays associated with SPD’s lethargic, and likely criminal, public disclosure process would act to hinder the available information this report was able to review, advancing SPD’s strategic mission of stymieing accountability.

This deliberate obstruction of timely fulfillment of PRA requests is systemic. SPD Chief Adrian Diaz even rebuffed Seattle City Council’s request to fix the process in November of 2020.8 He claimed SPD needed more resources to process the requests.9 Perhaps Chief Diaz could shift more hard-working officers like Ron Morgan Willis, who earned $414,543 in 2019, 8 https://council.seattle.gov/2020/12/02/letter-signed-byseattle-City-council-to-interim-spd-chief-diaz-regarding-the-releaseof-records-related-to-the-killing-of-herbert-hightower-jr/ 9 https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattles-disclosureof-police-records-lags-as-experts-question-legality-of-Cityspractices-funding/

working 4,149 hours in a single year to the records unit.10 Further, Willis worked more than 24 hours within a single day, on six occasions.

Perhaps SPD could learn from his hard work and experience in manipulating our City budget to suit his own personal needs.

SPD is legally required to provide their, “fullest assistance” in the resolution of PRA requests. Yet, staff continue to use obscure administrative rules and, in multiple occasions, contradict their own logic and explanation for delays. In one correspondence, SPD claimed, “SPD processed requests on a first come, first serve basis in the order they are received. Due to the high volume of requests we are currently processing, your response or installment is estimated to be ready on or about 02/19/2021.

We apologize for any inconvenience.”11 Yet, in other correspondence, SPD wrote that, “City rules give a Public Disclosure Officer (PDO) the discretion to group multiple requests received from the same requester or similar requests from multiple requesters and to process the requests together as a group.”12 In essence, then, requests are not processed first-come first serve. It would appear that SPD uses whatever words fit the moment to suit their objective of delaying and stymieing the release of any information to those without a court order.

Another PDR was made by this panel for blast grenade records required by SPD policy to be recorded. The department responded over three months after the request had been submitted, stating that the records did not exist, as they had not even been created. SPD closed the request due to “no responsive records found.”

Requests for the same exact specific document types, would be met with different 10 https://www.theurbanist.org/2020/09/04/seattle-policefleecing-City-with-overtime-audit-shows/ 11 Correspondence, SPD, 2/1/21 12 Correspondence, SPD, 4/16/21

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2020 SPD Community Assessment

1.0 Summary

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

fulfillment timelines from different records staff.

In one instance, SPD records staff would deliver a Use of Force report within 30 days. In another instance, staff would offer a timeline of six months to deliver a Use of Force report. In both instances, no new information would need to be created for the requests, and in both instances, the requests were concise, specific, and detailed to reference the exact, singular, Use of Force report requested. How can requests identical in nature be met with time frames ranging from one to six months? In another request, we asked for the most recent purchase order for blast grenades. These records were delivered in ten days. A subsequent request was made asking for the latest purchase order for CS agent grenades, which took the department 53 days to complete.

How can singular requests, identical in nature, be met with time frames ranging between 10 and 53 days? These problems highlight a top-down systemic contempt for transparency to the public at large. For a department tasked with enforcing the law, SPD sure has a hard time understanding how the law applies to them.

In stark contrast, other agencies would rapidly fulfill records requests. Requests to Kent PD for body worn video (BWV) of deployments to Seattle and all Use of Force reports for incidents in Seattle, were completely fulfilled in five business days. Redmond Police would also deliver all Use of Force reports for incidents in Seattle within five business days. Yet requests to SPD for a single Use of Force report are met with a six-month delay. Out of every public agency this panel requested records from, the City of Seattle is the only government this panel was required to pay for basic records.13

The Use of Force/Violence primary data for the Period of Review provided by SPD took the department only three staff hours to compile. It would take the requesters 4,487 hours to receive the data. For every hour SPD took to review and fulfill this record request, the authors would wait 1,496 hours to receive the request. The 13 This pay-wall would act to create additional days of delays in the provision of records. Once payment is received, it is unclear what, if any, policy governs the time-frame departments are required to meet to deliver the records.

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authors of this report were not resourced with legal counsel and could not compel the City to produce records in time for the publication of this report. Thus, numerous records requests are still outstanding at the time of publishing.

It should also be noted here that SPD’s use of the COVID-19 pandemic, under-staffing, obscure administrative rules, conflicting logic of responses, and seemingly erratic and random fulfillment periods are literally textbook examples of sabotage. As the CIA’s Simple Sabotage Field Manual states, methods of sabotage include: “Do everything possible to delay the delivery of orders. Even though parts of an order may be ready beforehand, don’t deliver it until it is completely ready.”14 Also to, “work slowly. Think out ways to increase the number of movements necessary on your job,”15 and to, “contrive as many interruptions to your work as you can.”16 Stated plainly, the department is not incompetent in the fulfillment of PRA requests. The department is actively engaging in the deliberate sabotage of the PRA fulfillment process through the deliberate under-resourcing of the PRA unit. This is a Citywide State of Emergency on Accountability and in-&-of-itself, should be treated as such.

The data provided by SPD may also be incomplete, or officers may have failed to report Use of Force (Violence). For example, on 7/25/20, court declarations describe police discharging round metal canisters with orange writing on them into crowds.17 SPD did not report any use of OC aerosol grenades on 7/25/20. Neither did Bellevue PD, who also used violence on this day. This leaves the accuracy of the information SPD has provided the authors in question.

Regardless, the authors used this data as a basis for this review.

14 https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=750070 Section (5)(11)(b)(3) 15 Ibid, Section (5)(11)(d)(1) 16 Ibid, Section (5)(11)(d)(2) 17 Athena Addams Declaration. https://www.aclu-wa.org/ file/104469/download?token=swXipU4h & Katherine Conroy Declaration. https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/conroy-declaration

Use of Force [Violence] primary data for the Period of Review provided by SPD took the department only 3 staff hours to compile.

It would take the department 4,487 hours to fulfill the request.

Source: https://data.seattle.gov/ Public-Safety/Seattle-PolicePDRs/8fwq-jcnn/data

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2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

Below: Chart 01. SPD violence comparison against benchmark period. Source: SPD PDR data. OIG Report referenced in note 19 below.

1.1 Period of Review (May 25 - August 1, 2020)

2020 SPD Community Assessment

1.1 Period of Review

Level of Violence Context

Within this report, the terms Use of Force (UoF) and Use of Violence (UoV) are synonymous. The term UoF is used when discussing specific SPD documentation, as in an official Use of Force report completed by officers. The authors contend that the report should be renamed to Use of Violence report.

When an officer strikes a civilian, that is an act of violence, intended to elicit pain to induce compliance.

SPD has kept Use of Force (UoF) documentation of “Less-Lethal”18 weapons dating back to 2014, and possibly earlier. A recent request by Seattle’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) produced a comparison figure of the total level of “Less-Lethal” violence use by SPD over a period dating from January 1, 2017 to April 30,2020. This “benchmarking” period encompassed 1,215 days total, in which, SPD used “Less-Lethal” weapons 317 times.19 Within the 2020 SPD Community Assessment’s Period of Review, encompassing 68 days in duration, SPD used Less-Lethal violence 1,294 times. In other words, the Seattle Police Department used “Less-Lethal” violence at a rate 7,319% higher than the previous benchmark period.20 In another metric, the Seattle Police Department used the equivalent of twelve years of “LessLethal” violence in the span of 68 days. This is critical to understanding the contextual magnitude of violence used during this period of civil demonstrations. As seen in Chart 2, which identifies the total number of Use of Violence incidents within each day of the Period of Review21, the Seattle Police Department used more “Less-Lethal” violence in a single day (7/25/20) than the past three years combined.

There is no question that the magnitude of 18 “Less-Lethal” weapons include blast grenades, chemical weapons, and kinetic impact projectiles 19 OIG. Review of the SPD Crowd Dispersal Policy and Less Lethal Weapons. https://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/OIG/ Other/OIGReviewSPDCrowdPolicyLLWeapons081420.pdf 20 Benchmark rate = (317 UoV/1215 days) = 0.26 UoV/day, Period of Review rate = (1,294 UoV / 68 days) = 19.03 UoV / day.

Comparison rate = 19.03/0.26 = 7,319% 21 Days with no uses of violence reported have been omitted

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Benchmark Period Comparison of Violence 1400 1294

1200

1000

800

600

400 317

200

0

Past 3 Years UoV (1215 days)

Chart 1.

Period of Review UoV (68 days) days)

violence used by SPD in the summer of 2020 was significant on a generational scale.

Use of Violence Escalation Rates

SPD officers are theoretically bound by policy to de-escalate, yet, within the Period of Review, when an officer used violence, you could flip a coin to accurately predict if an officer would use violence again, a second time. There was an almost 50-50 chance that an officer who used violence once, would use violence a second time again in the same incident. Additionally, in almost 1 out of 3 cases, officers will use violence three times within a single incident.

The escalation rates found within this period of review are presented in Chart 3.

Officers are required to justify each successive use of violence as a discrete application on its own, even after repeated use.

At the high end, there were 22 individual cases where violence was used ten-times-in-a-row.

Policy would require discrete justification for each one of these ten uses of violence. It is hard to imagine an individual threat faced that would not be calmed by the application of one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine successive blast grenades, requiring a tenth blast grenade to subdue. Yet this is exactly the violence used

by Ofc Scott T Luckie on 7/25/20 at 16:21:00.22 On the same day, Luckie even dragged an unconscious woman across a pavement sidewalk while arresting her.23 His historic and continued conduct is exemplary of the “Service, Pride, and Dedication” the community has grown to expect from the Seattle Police Department.

Chart 4 provides the scale of violence distribution, outlining the number of individual cases associated with the number of discrete UoV in each incident. Note that these numbers contain all UoV reporting within the Period of Review, including baton strikes, pushes, takedowns, control holds, restraints, kicks, & pressure points, thus the total UoV incidents exceed the 1,294 total UoV incidents of less22 SPD Use of Force Report IA#2020UOF-1205 23 https://www.seattletimes.com/video/8IhnK6Qx/arrest-ofsamantha-six-at-july-25-protest/

lethal munitions and weapons reported earlier.

Weapons types

Through public records requests, SPD provided data for a number of different weapons used within the Period of Review. The total incidents of use between 5/25/20-8/1/20 are presented in Chart 5. The most frequently used weapons are discussed in individual sections within this report. This specific analysis of individual weapon types is not inclusive of all weapons and munitions used by SPD, however, is intended to provide a broad overview of the most prolific weapons used. Note Chart 5 does not include baton use (6 incidents reported) or other weapons use (6 incidents reported).

The shear amount of violence used on Seattle residents is astronomical. In many cases high levels of violence were used directly on individuals who were complying with officers’ commands. Incidents such as one occurring on 7/25/20, where officers detonated OC agent blast grenades directly within a crowd of people who were walking away from officers with their hands up, posing no safety threat. This incident is clearly documented in video evidence.24 What specific UoF# was recorded for this incident?

Has OPA opened, closed, or reviewed this specific incident? In another discrete incident on 7/25/20, individuals complying with officers’ commands, briskly walking away from officers are pushed from behind, and then drenched with OC agent spray in the back of the head and neck. This incident is clearly documented in video evidence.25 What specific UoF# was recorded for this incident? Has OPA opened, closed or reviewed this specific incident?

Multiply that by 1,294 individual discrete uses of violence requiring individual and discrete justification as “necessary, reasonable, and proportionate.” A thorough and complete review of every single use of blast grenade, FN303, 40mm round, OC and CS agent deployment is urgently needed. The public 24 25

https://twitter.com/davjhan/status/1287216171595345920 https://twitter.com/tetraphis_/status/1287238007406252032

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2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

Sum of Total Daily Use of Violence Totals 350

329

300

# of UoV

1.1 Period of Review

250

229

200

106

100

19

2

1

8

1

29-May30-May31-May 1-Jun 2-Jun 3-Jun 4-Jun 6-Jun 7-Jun 8-Jun 11-Jun 26-Jun 1-Jul May

Chart 2.

Months

106

97

55

39

50 0

144

135

150

2

5

2-Jul

3-Jul

Jun

15

1

19-Jul 25-Jul 27-Jul Jul

Date Occurred

Use of Violence Escallation Rates 120%

% of Incidents

2020 SPD Community Assessment

100%

Ex: When an officer used violence within the Period of Review, there was a 49% chance that officer would use violence again a second time within the same incident.

100%

Ex: 31% of all Use of Violence incidents contained at least three individual uses of violence by the same officer. i.e. three blast grenade deployments in one incident.

80%

60% 49% 40% 31%

21%

20%

0%

1

2

3

4

15%

5

11%

6

7% 7

6% 8

Number of Uses of Violence Within a Single Incident

Chart 3.

(Top): Chart 02. SPD total reported use of violence incidents. Data source: SPD Public Records Disclosure.

30

Ex: Within the Period of Review,at a rate of 4%, officers who used violence once, would use violence nine more times within a single incident, totaling 10 UoV in one incident.

(Bot): Chart 03. SPD reported use of violence escalation rates. Data source: SPD Public Records Disclosure.

4%

4%

9

10

Violence Frequency Breakdown 700 600

Total Number of Incidents

600

Ex: Within the Period of Review, 89 incidents contained 5 uses of violence within the same incident originating from the same officer.

500 400 291

300

187

200

123

89

100 0

1

2

3

4

63

5

6

41

33

25

22

7

8

9

10

Number of Uses of Violence in Single Incident

Chart 4.

PB Launch

3

NFDD

1

Sting

1

Weapons Use

FN303

49

Chem - Other

23

CS Agent

72

OC Spray

399

OC Aerosol Canister

21

OC Blast Grenade

218

Inert Blast Grenade

401

40mm Projectile

94 0

Chart 5.

50

100

150

200

250

# of Uses within Period of Review

(Top): Chart 04. SPD reported use of violence frequencies. Data source: SPD Public Records Disclosure.

300

350

400

(Bot): Chart 05. SPD reported use of violence weapons totals. Data source: SPD Public Records Disclosure.

31

2020 SPD Community Assessment

1.1 Period of Review

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

deserves an accounting of every single use and a determination if each use was considered “necessary, reasonable, and proportionate.”

This panel in the strongest possible terms, emphatically rejects OPA’s propensity to lump hundreds of uses of violence on likely thousands of individuals into a single “management action” decision. This department administered violence on the people of Seattle, resulting in irreparable injury. We reject any “accountability” less than a comprehensive analysis of every single use of violence used by each officer.

Federal Judge Richard Jones found SPD’s use of violence on multiple occasions, “unnecessary, unreasonable, and disproportionate”26 He also found, the Seattle Police Department, “used excessive force without provocation.”27 As the OIG notes, “use of force, including use of less lethal weapons, on peaceful protesters or other persons not engaged in acts of violence is not lawful.”28 A simpler word for “not lawful” is criminal. The Seattle Police Department engaged in the criminal use of violence on a wide-reaching scale, yet no criminal charges have been filed against any SPD employee, supervisor, chief or staff. This would be true accountability. The authors request those officers who used criminal levels of violence be arrested and charged with assault. Those Sergeants, Lieutenants, Captains, Assistant Chiefs and Chief who authorized or conspired to promulgate this violence should be charged with criminal conspiracy. Those who arrested and detained individuals for writing with chalk or walking on the sidewalk should be charged with unlawful imprisonment. Those who traded cardboard signs for blast grenades should be charged with criminal reckless endangerment.

Those officers who arrested our community members, who “lost” their possessions, should be charged with criminal robbery. Officers who copy and pasted text between arrest affidavits 26 Jones Contempt Order, Case 2:20-cv-00887-RAJ, Document 161, Filed 12/07/20, https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/order-motioncontempt 27 Jones Order Granting TRO, 2:20-cv-00887-RAJ, https://www. aclu-wa.org/docs/order-granting-temporary-restraining-order 28 https://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/OIG/Other/ OIGReviewSPDCrowdPolicyLLWeapons081420.pdf (pg8)

32

Right: Chart 05. SPD UoF Data Missing from Public UoF dashboard. Data source: Correlation between SPD PDR data and SPD Public Use of Force dataset. https://data.seattle.gov/PublicSafety/Use-Of-Force/ppi5-g2bj

and who misrepresented intelligence should be charged with criminal perjury. Officers, Chiefs and Commanders, who’s actions deprived the citizens of Seattle their constitutional rights through the egregious use of violence and suppression of speech, should be charged with deprivation of rights under color of law (18 U.S.C.§ 242). The City of Seattle should be held criminally liable for the intentional discharge of hazardous waste. This would be true accountability. So far, we have not seen any of it.

Data Corroboration

In multiple incidents, UoF reports were requested to corroborate data. In some incidents, SPD Officers UoF reports were so deficient in lacking information, they warranted intervention from OPA29. However, only after OPA reviewed the UoF report, were they found to be problematic. No supervisors had directed the officers in question to revise their UoF reporting, indicating systemic issues permeating the department’s command hierarchy.

In random sampling of UoF reporting, we found that SPD had misclassified weapons used, where the report described deploying OC canisters, the violence was reported as “chemical other,” further indicating a void in quality management/ veracity confirmation in the UoF reporting process. The authors of this report were not able to corroborate UoF reporting with blast grenade inventory records to assess the veracity of the total number of blast grenade deployments. Without significant and intensive investigative resources, the authors cannot verify the complete accuracy of SPD use of violence self-reported data. Regardless, this SPD selfreported data is used for statistical analysis within the Period of Review.

When asked specifically for logs of spent or consumed munitions, SPD responded that it was impossible to keep track of how many munitions they went through: Lt. Bergmann of SWAT has responded that SWAT 29

See OPA case #2020OPA-0344. Closed Case Summary.

does not keep the kind of log you are requesting.

Per Sgt. Rees (East Precinct Night Bikes during the requested time frame), “due to the dynamics of the events, long hours, and multiple methods to resupply officers, daily logs were not feasible.”30

SPD UoF Data Missing from Public UoF Dashboard

Despite clear policy that states SPD must track the number of munitions used by each employee31, they would not. They still have not.

As of July, 2020, 7 months into the next calendar year, SPD has not produced this information for 2020. This is a State of Emergency on Accountability. Therefore, the data on munitions use, as conveyed by Sgt. Rees, may not be accurate. SPD does not keep records of the number of munitions consumed, despite policy that mandates them to keep records.32 As such, the data analysis herein utilizes the reported UoF, rather than a record of a consumed munition.

In this specific instance, a complaint was made to OPA by the authors, showing violation of Policy. The authors would not receive any return confirmation from OPA that a complaint was initiated, that correspondence was received, or that a case number had been established for reference. This can be problematic when officers UoF reports are as brief as, “I deployed several blast balls and CS munitions while dispersing an assaultive crowd westbound from 11th/Pine then northbound from 11th/Pine.”33 The previous sentence was, in total, an actual UoF report narrative accepted by department supervisors.

The scale of violence inflicted on our community by the Seattle Police Department has caused irreparable damage to thousands of Seattle residents. Systemic deficiencies in protocols and reporting act to obfuscate the true scale of violence used by SPD and other agencies.

SPD Public vs. Private Data Largely, the public expects access to SPD data to assess trends and gain insight into City 30 Correspondence, SPD, 4/1/21 31 SPD Policy Manual, 8.300-POL-9-8.

32 Brian Rees has a clear history of excessive violence as detailed further within this report.

33 OPA case #2020OPA-0344. Closed Case Summary.

148

Chart 6.

operations. Within data obtained through public records requests, we found that out of 1,294 total Uses of Violence within the Period of Review, 148, approximately 12%, were not publicly reported on the City of Seattle’s Use of Force public data set (as of 5/8/21).34 This missing data is visualized in Chart 05. The City was contacted regarding these discrepancies and has not responded as to why data is withheld from public view. This surfaces a key concern; that the public does not have a complete picture of the department’s application of violence, that the department uses violence more than the public is aware and that only through arduous public records requests, and extraordinary community driven scrutiny, is the full picture of violence available.

The Seattle Police Department may be consistently and systemically under-reporting their use of violence on our community to the public and to federal court through the court required consent decree process.

34

https://data.seattle.gov/Public-Safety/Use-Of-Force/ppi5-g2bj

33

SPD Violence Distribution (Not to Scale)

SPD

West Precinct United States

1.1 Period of Review

Courthouse

a.5,000 b.7,000

SPD UoV Incidents

1

549

Map Legend

Protest Note: 1. Geographic location of UoV based on SPD self-reported address data.

Actual location of UoV may vary.

Errors may be present.

2. UoV data is exclusive of partner agency UoV.

a.5/30/20 b.6/1/20

39

CS, OC, HC

U

Jurisdiction Crowd Size Protest Date

70 Government Facility

Major Protest Activity

Facility Name Agency

Agency

Human Caging Installation

2020 SPD Community Assessment

Police Installation

Facility Name

Facility Name

Agency

Agency

Seattl

Police Surveillance Aircraft

Hospital

Facility Name

Agent Type

CHOP

City Ha a.10,000 b. 7,000 c. 1,000 Protest

Sites of Major Chemical Weapons Use

Street boundary of CHOP 6/8/20 - 7/1/20

# UoV

Site of Major Police Use of Violence

Fixed Police Line 6/1/20 - 6/8/20

a.6/3/20 b.6/6/20 c.6/9/20

Thousands over many days

2,000 Protest 5/30/20 Shut down I-5

CS & OC

Protest

549

5/31/20 6/1/20 6/2/20 6/3/20 6/4/20 6/5/20 6/6/20 6/7/20 6/8/20

SPD

East Precinct

CHOP

KCSO

2,000 Protest

89

192

7/25/20

WSP

FBI

United States

Courthouse

King County

le

SPD

Seattle

UW

all

Headquarters

Municipal Courthouse

Harborview

Children Prison

King County

60,000 Adult Prison

Protest

King County

6/12/20

Courthouse

Off-Map Judkins Park to Jefferson Park

Weaponry Used on Seattle Residents

1.1 Period of Review

(Not to Scale)

1

3

4

2

5

2020 SPD Community Assessment

13

6

14

7

8

9

10

15

16 17

1 - Single shot 40mm projectile gun 2 - Multiple Shot 40mm projectile gun 3 - 40mm LE Round 4 - 40mm “Blue Nose” eXact Impact Round 5 - 40mm CS Skat Shell Chemical Weapon 7 - 40mm Wood Baton Round (SPD Purchased) 8 - 40mm Stinger Shot Round with 130 rubber pellets (Tukwila PD) 9 - 40mm “Marking” projectile (WSP) 10 - 40mm “SAF Smoke” Chemical Weapon Round (WSP)

11 - 40mm CS Chemical Weapon Round (WSP) 12 - 40mm launchable blast grenade (“signaling”) round (WSP) 13 - FN303 Marking Projectile 14 - FN303 PAVA Chemical Projectile 15 - Pepperball PAVA Chemical round 16 - FN303 Gun 17 - Pepperball Gun

11

12

18

19

20

21

24

22

25

26

23

27

28

30 29 18 - Wooden baton 19 - Rubber pellet “Stinger” blast grenade with OC chemical agent 20 - Blast grenade with OC agent 21 - Inert blast grenade 22 - Rubber pellet “Stinger” blast grenade 23 - MK-9 OC agent spray can 24 - Noise Flash Diversionary Device (NFDD) grenade 25 - CS Agent Chemical weapon grenade (“Trichamber” type)

26 - CS Agent Chemical weapon grenade (“Tripple chaser” type) 27 - OC Agent Chemical weapon grenade 28 - HC Smoke grenade (Tukwila PD, WSP) 29 - MK-46 OC agent spray can 30 - 12ga shotgun (KCSO)

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

1.1 Period of Review

SPD Mutual Aid Partners in Violence The Seattle Police Department marshaled forces from at least 10 other regional agencies during the Period of Review. The following agencies assisted and engaged in violence directed towards Seattle residents (in no particular order):

1. Washington National Guard 2. Kent Police Department 3. Tukwila Police Department 4. Port of Seattle Police Department 5. Redmond Police Department 6. King County Sheriff 7. Bellevue Police Department35 8. Federal Way Police Department 9. Washington State Patrol 10. Washington State Department of

2020 SPD Community Assessment

Corrections36 11. Auburn Police Department37

BWV obtained by this panel from Kent PD, showed the coordinated police response to protests on 5/30/20 to be mired in chaos. Kent PD officers can be seen on video asking SPD officers what their plan was for managing the crowd dozens of times. SPD officers frequently stated, “I don’t know.” One sergeant stating, “I have no idea.”38 It is clear that internal ineptitude and poor planning led to increased violence on our Seattle community. As seen on BWV, one woman approached a Kent PD officer and asked, why they were attacking innocent people. The officer stated, “we don’t have a choice. It sucks for everybody.”39 35 Bellevue PD SWAT and bicycle police were called to Seattle on 5/30/20. Bellevue SWAT was also called to Seattle on 7/25/20.

36 Photos of WA DoC personnel with SPD personnel are widely circulated. The scope of their involvement, and use of force remains unknown. At time of publishing, WA DoC has not yet responded to records requests.

37 While Auburn PD has claimed they did not deploy to Seattle to assist SPD, two separate Kent Police supplemental case narratives (20-7037) stated they deployed to Seattle with Auburn PD. After presenting Auburn records staff with clear documentation and photographic evidence of Auburn PD’s deployment to Seattle on 5/30/20, public records staff maintained that no police reports were filed as a result of their deployment.

38 2020 SPD Community Assessment Video #0001.

39 KENT PD BWV. AXON 2 X81456370. 5/30/20.

38

Right: King County Sheriff Deputies advance on Seattle residents using 12ga shotguns and 40mm projectile guns. (Far Right): Seattle Police Officer appears to use CS Skat Shell munitions, reported to be provided by a Kent PD Officer, on Seattle residents gathered at the Paramount Theater. Source: Kent PD BWV.

Largely, the level of violence and UoF tracking used by these partner entities remains to be assessed, however, evidence through OPA reporting, indicates that they likely used significant violence. In one instance: “WSP was pointing a rifle used to shoot rubber bullets in the direction of the crowd in the general vicinity of where the Complainant was situated.”40 SPD did not report any use of rubber bullets within the period of review, and it is unclear if any tracking of partner agency UoF was conveyed to SPD, or self-reported within each respective agency. Public records requests to all agencies indicated above were made by the authors.

Problems within the UoF reporting process persist when SPD uses external agencies. The OIG found in a preliminary review, that, “the City cannot compel other agencies to follow SPD policies or document their use of force on Seattle residents.”41 For example, in one incident, OPA found, “BWV did capture higher-level force being used by the non-SPD officer, including him striking the legs of the complainant multiple times with his baton….OPA was unable to determine the name or badge number of that officer, but he appears to have been employed by the Kent Police Department.”42

Yet, in a review of Kent PD case reports, no officer reported striking a subject multiple times in the legs with a baton, despite clear BWV described by OPA indicating a Kent PD officer did in fact use this violence. Many Kent PD case narratives are spectacularly ambiguous, such as Ofc Chapman’s, who wrote, “There were multiple times during my time assisting SPD that I used force on individuals.”43 Similarly, Kent PD Ofc Burnside wrote, “There were multiple times during my involvement that I used force on those individuals.”44 What type of violence, how many times, on who, and if that violence was, “reasonable, necessary, and proportionate,” or even lawful, is apparently information reserved 40 OPA case #2020OPA-0402. Closed Case Summary.

41 https://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/OIG/Other/ OIGReviewSPDCrowdPolicyLLWeapons081420.pdf (pg11) 42 OPA case #2020OPA-0564. Closed Case Summary.

43 Kent PD Case # 20-7037, Sup# 0002 44 Kent PD Case # 20-7037, Sup# 0006

Figure 5.

Figure 6.

between them and God. We do not know.

munitions, establishing a clear breach of policy.47 Yet, it is unclear if the OPA has opened an investigation into this use of violence and breach of policy.

Other Kent PD records conflict with each other and generate further questions. In one report, Kent PD Case # 20-7037, Sup# 0007, Officer Mills directly states, “During this event Officer Walter utilized less-lethal chemical munitions.” Yet, Ofc Walter’s own personal narratives fail to disclose any use of chemical munitions.45 Additionally, in at least one instance, Kent PD used clothing with insignias of Tukwila PD, as Kent PD Ofc JV Mello described within his case narrative.46 While seemingly benign, this action would further complicate and hinder the identification of officers who used violence through BWV documentation.

Further SPD conduct is elucidated through Kent PD narratives. On 5/30/20 around 1820HRS, an SPD Ofc asked Kent PD Ofc Westcott to use some of his Kent-PD-issued CS Skat-Shell munitions. (SPD does not have any known Policy on the use of CS Skat-Shell munitions. Thus, the use of these weapons is not bound by any policy whatsoever known to the public.) Five of these munitions were taken by an unknown SPD SWAT officer. In a sort of Mad-Max war games moment, this SPD officer took these forbidden fruit and operated totally outside the bounds of policy and accountability. In BWV footage obtained by the authors, it would appear to show an SPD SWAT officer using CS Skat-Shell 45 46

Kent PD Case #20-7037, Sup# ORIG Kent PD Case # 20-7037, Sup# 0005

Further, Kent BWV reveals no direct threat or acts of violence facing the officers at the time the SWAT officer appears to use CS Skat-Shell munitions, establishing the use of violence as unnecessary, unreasonable and disproportionate. No acts of violence against officers were witnessed through the BWV. In addition, the line of SPD officers were approximately 150 feet away from a crowd of demonstrators they targeted.48 A deeper analysis of SPD self-reported UoF data would indicate that no SPD officer reported the use of CS agent around 6PM-7PM on 5/30/20, at 9th and Pine, indicating that an unknown SPD SWAT officer may have unreasonably used violence, used CS skat shell munitions that were not issued by the department and even failed to reported that UoF, a trifecta of transgression. Additionally, other officers who witnessed this officer take unauthorized weapons from another entity and use those weapons appeared to have omitted reporting this breach of policy to their chain of command. In this moment, they, “held the line.”

47 SPD Policy Manual. 8.300–POL-10 Use of Force– 40 mm Less Lethal Launcher 11. Only Munitions Purchased, Authorized and Issued by the Seattle Police Department May Be Used by Officers. Officers deploying 40 mm LL Launchers are responsible for ensuring the proper munitions are loaded. Officers will inspect each 40 mm LLIM round prior to loading it into the launcher to ensure munitions adhere with this policy.

48 Kent PD BWV, AXON 2 X81455641

39

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

(Right): Chart 06. Total uses of violence (UoV) reported by “Mutual Aid” agencies requested to deploy to Seattle by SPD. Data source: Public Records Disclosures.

2020 SPD Community Assessment

1.1 Period of Review

https://twitter.com/GavinVerhey/ status/1266884196225609728?s=20

Washington State Patrol (WSP) also used significant violence on Seattle residents during the period of review. WSP used obscure and unique weapons such as 40mm launchable blast grenades, which are marketed as “50m signaling rounds.” In practice, the device is a blast grenade, shot from a 40mm gun, exploding 50m away from the discharge. These weapons are not tracked by the ATF, and WSP does not wear BWV cameras, thus the circumstances surrounding the use of these weapons is completely opaque.

In a request for itemized records from WSP of “less-lethal” weapons use during the period of review, the agency delivered records indicating only 14 UoV incidents and “lots” of pepperball shots perpetrated by WSP personnel on 5/31/20. However news reports show that WSP officers may have used an additional, “25 tear gas canisters and launching about 35 CS gas projectiles during that time [Between May30 and June 4].”49 WSP has not responded to further requests, seeking further “Less-Lethal” violence use statistics and accounting.

At 3:42PM on 5/31/20, WSP RDF Commander, Lt. Elmore, advised all WSP personnel that, “Pres. Trump to label Antifa a terror group.”50 It is clear how this rhetoric directly influenced WSP and other department personnel in the application of violence on the Seattle community. Seattle police officer Sean Hamlin even wrote on his Facebook page that, “BLM is a terrorist organization.”51 Officers and state troopers believed the thousands of individuals amassed in mourning and grief for the loss of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Manny Ellis, Charleena Lyles, and so many more, that these people, teachers, waiters, writers, doctors, nurses, lawyers, grocers, clerks, mechanics, moms, dads, sisters, brothers, friends, family, and neighbors; police assumed our community were part of a terrorist network, and used violence to silence the assertion that 49 https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/how-ambiguityand-a-loophole-undermined-seattles-ban-on-tear-gas-duringgeorge-floyd-demonstrations/ 50 WSP, George Floyd Protest. 5/31/20 Investigators Case Log. 51 https://twitter.com/DivestSPD/ status/1380228019093037056?s=20

40

Black Lives Matter.

WSP used blast grenades, 40mm projectiles, 40mm OC and CS agent projectiles, 40mm grenade launcher blast grenades (sold as “50m signaling rounds”), HC smoke grenades, and pepperball projectiles on Seattle residents. It is unclear what law enforcement purpose some devices like “smoke grenades” are designed to support. Smoke grenades are typically highly toxic, and deliberately act to produce plumes of opaque chemical agents, severely restricting visibility. In an urban environment, the deployment of these devices is dubious, at a minimum, and reflects an attitude where WSP personnel were excited to use all their “toys” despite no veritable “law enforcement” purpose for their use.

The specific HC smoke grenade devices used by WSP contain extraordinarily toxic, carcinogenic, chemicals including; zinc oxide, hexachloroethane, lead dithiocyanate, lead chromate and barium chromate.52 Chemicals conspicuously used on Seattle residents are known for their carcinogenic and toxic properties to both humans and aquatic organisms. That our state’s highest “public safety” agency would deploy these chemicals on human beings, voluntarily, with no remorse, and with essentially no public health oversight establishes fundamental incongruencies with our “public safety” system as a whole. The authors request Governor Inslee to immediately establish a public health review of all weapons, chemical weapons, and explosives used by WSP on human beings.

Additionally, it is unclear why WSP personnel used 40mm “Signal” rounds, or who specifically they were “signaling” with these devices. WSP spokesperson Sgt. Darren Wright stated, “The title ‘signaling’ can be confusing, but in short we are signaling to the crowd to disperse and only use this after verbal direction to an unlawful assembly.”53 In practice they 52 http://sds.chemtel.net/webclients/safariland/finished_goods/ Defense%20Technology%201073%20-%20Large%20Style%20 Maximum%20Smoke%20HC%20Grenade.pdf 53 Personal correspondence. Sgt. Darren Wright. 7/7/21.

were likely used as launchable blast grenade weapons, highlighting a farcical industry of police weapons manufacturing where items are used as weapons, however branded and labeled for other purposes to avoid tracing by the ATF. Signaling could be accomplished through loudspeakers or banners.

Further command and weapons use agreements between SPD and other agencies remain to be assessed. WSP Sgt. Wright wrote that WSP has a current agreement with SPD not to use Rubber Pellet, “Stinger” blast grenades in Seattle. Sgt. Wright wrote that in 2016, SPD outlawed the weapon. Yet UoF reporting showed SPD used at least one rubber pellet “Stinger” blast grenade, and as shown further, these agreements and policies appear to be absent from Bellevue PD assistance of SPD. Tukwila PD even reported the use of 40mm rubber pellet weapons on 5/30/20.

Largely, WSP and King County Sheriff have not provided comprehensive documentation of violence used in Seattle in coordination with the Seattle Police Department. An updated accounting of their use of violence will be provided within the next revision of this document. Video evidence of King County Sheriff and WSP clearly show the extensive use of CS chemical weapons, as well as other weapons such as 40mm projectiles. The complete scope of their use, and the specific logic and reasoning for their deployment is currently unknown to the authors.

While OPA may investigate SPD use of violence, OPA does not have jurisdiction to investigate a partner agency’s UoV, and thus, these agencies were largely able to slip into SPD ranks, inflict violence, and head home silently without any accountability for their conduct or actions. The absence of OPA, SPD or OIG initiative to hold these “mutual aid” agencies accountable for their violence reflects further systemic problems with the entire “law enforcement” apparatus. In these specific instances, it is clear that justice-forcommunity-members is not the raison d’être of OPA or OIG. In contrast, they exist to form

a checkbox in the guise of “accountability.” An entity truly concerned for the wellbeing of its residents would proactively initiate and seek out accountability wherever it led.

In 2015, OPA recommended that SPD stop using officers from outside agencies in direct crowd management assignments. OPA recommended instead, that, mutual aid partners should be assigned to building security, prisoner transport and processing, or roles that do not require violence. As stated then by OPA director Pierce Murphy, “if SPD wants to use mutual aid officers in a role that places them in direct contact with crowds of protesters, OPA strongly recommends that these officers be trained by SPD and required to comply with all SPD policies with regard to the use and reporting of force.”54 Yet, on 5/30/20, Bellevue PD would roam around the City freely at the direction of SPD. As Bellevue PD Ofc Halsted described, “Command requested we begin roving the area in our vehicles.”55 SPD’s rejection of the OPA’s 2015 recommendations would directly lead to more suffering and violence administered on Seattle residents. Bellevue Police Department would use 15 “stinger”, rubber pellet blast grenades during the Period of Review. The Seattle Police Department has no known policy regulating the use of these dangerous and indiscriminate weapons. SPD command’s decision to deploy aggressive members of agencies who, “hit ‘em hard, but don’t kill ‘em”56 or who are, “just waiting for one of those cars to come barreling in here man”57 without any inter-agency accountability structure or use of force policy further evinces the contempt SPD leadership holds for the safety of Seattle residents.

Then-Chief Carmen Best could have directly asked all agencies not to use weapons outside of SPD policy. No known records indicate a request 54 https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4449717-Dkt-41Kalish-Declaration-ISO-Sanctions, pg 69 55 BPD Case #2020-00025875 56 Washington State Patrol, https://www.washingtonpost.com/ video/national/washington-state-patrol-officer-on-protesters-dontkill-them-but-hit-them-hard/2020/06/03/da652fb4-257e-4961-a2785012d146f499_video.html 57 Kent PD AXON 2 X81396869 (2020-05-31 T01:49:02Z

41

2020 SPD Community Assessment

1.1 Period of Review

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

of this nature was made on May 30th. Thus thenChief Carmen Best knowingly invited outside agencies to use extrajudicial violence in the form of dangerous indiscriminate weaponry on Seattle residents. However, on 7/25/20, Bellevue police assisted SPD, and were requested not to use CS chemical weapons. They abided by this simple request, indicating that a request of this nature could have been used on May 30th.

No clear paper trail was provided to the authors suggesting mutual aid agencies were required to comply with SPD policies, use of force reporting, and weapons use policies during the Period of Review. In requests for records of case reports during the Period of Review from Federal Way Police, the City indicated that “no responsive records” exist. Sworn narratives from Kent Police indicate, “Kent bikes teamed up with Auburn, Tukwila and Federal Way as one team.

We created mobile fence lines and supported foot mobile officers with crowd control.”58 This would indicate that Federal Way Police responded for “law enforcement” deployment in Seattle and would not leave a single document, narrative or report to describe their involvement.

Not even one case narrative to document they drove to Seattle and back. These Kent Police narratives also indicated Auburn PD involvement, however, through public records requests, the City would state, “it is the understanding of this office that no Auburn Units went to assist the Seattle Police Department between 05/25/20 - 08/01/20.”59 Yet, when clear BWV showing Auburn PD in Seattle, Auburn’s City clerk and attorney indicated that no police reports were even filed for their deployment, leaving the extent of their use of force murky and unresolved.

Additionally, Bellevue PD bike squads were deployed to Seattle on 5/30/20. Through public records requests, the City of Bellevue indicated that not one single case supplement was submitted from the Bellevue PD bike teams.

According to Bellevue PD, “Reports are not written if an officer does not investigate a crime, 58 59

42

Kent PD Case #20-7037, Sup# 0004 Correspondence, Shawn Campbell, City of Auburn, 6/1/20.

make an arrest, use force, or handle evidence or lost/found property.”60 Accordingly, if Bellevue PD would not produce any reports, they would not have investigated any crime, made any arrests, used any force, or handled any evidence while deployed to Seattle. This remains to be verified.

However, in one case, clear radio communications from SPD’s then-Lt. John Brooks on 5/30/20, would indicate that Bellevue bikes potentially used or provided munitions or other weapons as part of an attack on Seattle residents at the Paramount Theater at 9th and Pine. Brooks stated over the radio: “I want all bikes to 9th and Pine...We’re forming up here with Bellevue..[indiscernible].. got more munitions. We’re going to start a big push in one direction.”61 The authors have been unable to definitively assess if Bellevue bike police used any force on 5/30/20.

While apparently not utilized, Seattle Police Department also summoned Bellevue PD SWAT to assist SPD SWAT on 6/8/20.

Bellevue PD staged at SPD’s West Precinct at 6:47PM, however they did not appear to have been utilized, and were released at 12:30AM the next morning. The circumstances for their deployment are not currently known. Chief Thomas Mahaffey would order SPD to abandon the East Precinct on 6/8/20.62

In addition to police forces, Mayor Durkan and Chief Best requested the presence of soldiers from the National Guard (NG) to respond to Seattle. Publicly, Governor Inslee authorized 200 personnel,63 however, WebEOC requests show the City of Seattle amended that request to 400 personnel, “a vast majority of this request should include NG members,” wrote Kenneth Neafcy, of the City of Seattle’s Office 60 Correspondence, Bellevue PD, 6/1/20.

61 2020 SPD Community Assessment. Video #0003.

62 https://www.kuow.org/stories/we-know-who-made-the-call-toseattle-police-s-east-precinct-last-summer-finally 63 https://www.governor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/5.30.20%20 NationalGuard%20activation.pdf

Sum of OVERAL TOTAL UoV Total Self-Reported SPD Partner Agency Use of Violence 65 65

23

•Cleanup; •Boarding up damaged businesses; •Infrastructure Protection; •Condoning off areas; [sic] •Assist traffic control; and • Crowd management if additional protests occur. [they did]

On 6/3/2020, SPD amended their request, bringing the total NG personnel request to 600 soldiers.65 In addition to NG personnel, SPD made multiple requests to the Washington State Emergency Operations Center for extra personnel. Kenneth Neafcy, of Seattle’s Office of Emergency Management wrote that, “commercial resources have been exhausted.”66 It is unclear at this time what commercial resources were summoned by SPD in response to civil demonstrations. However as Seattle continued to receive poor press due to the brutalization of peaceful protesters, agencies began walking back their support for mutual aid.

KSCO declined SPD’s requests for SWAT teams two days in a row, between 6/2-6/3/20. They advised SPD to call back if there was actually a, “life threatening issue.” On 6/4/20, KCSO responded to SPD’s request for mutual aid, however, “With the stipulation that the teams NOT be assigned to EAST precinct. They can be used elsewhere in their teams.” On 6/6/20 SPD requested, “30 deputies, CART and/or SWAT teams, (as many as can be provided.)” On 6/7/20, both WSP and KCSO declined SPD’s request for 64 Neafcy, Kenneth. Email. 5/30/20. 9:54 PM. Subject: Additional Request for Mission 20-1611 SPD Protest Support.

65 WA WebEOC.. 20-1611 SPD Protest Support.

66 Ibid

Sherrif

King County King County Sheriff

Washington Washington State Patrol State Patrol

Port of Seattle Port of Seattle PD PD

66 Tukwila PD Tukwila PD

Kent PD Kent PD

22

of Emergency Management.64 Neafcy wrote the Department core mission of the NG would be to:

UNKN

UNKN

25 25

Redmond PD Redmond PD

Chart 7.

69 69

Bellevue PD Bellevue PD

80 80 70 70 60 60 50 50 40 40 30 30 20 20 10 10 00

Total Reported Use of Violence (Period of Review)

CART and SWAT teams.67 SPD also requested extra munitions from the NG, specifically 40mm projectiles on 6/1/20.

However, it appears that SPD was advised that the WA NG would not fulfill munitions requests from municipal police departments.

SPD increasingly became desperate for more chemical and inert weapons to deploy on the Seattle community and began negotiating extreme measures to obtain new weapons stockpiles. In one WA EOC request, dated 6/1/20, SPD aimed to enlist WSP to fly an airplane to Perry, FL to a supplier’s munitions warehouse, and back to Seattle. WSP eventually declined the request, however suggested working with federal entities to obtain more weapons. SPD looked to local police instead and received “48 40mm Stinger blast balls and 48 CS grenades,” according to WebEOC records. KCSO also made considerable weapons requests to “DOC”68 for thousands of munitions and projectiles.

Total Mutual Aid Violence

For the SPD UoF self-reported data analyzed and presented within this report, this data does NOT include “mutual aid” agency UoF statistics during the Period of Review. The data reported herein, unless noted otherwise, is inclusive only of SPD UoV incidents. The graphic tabulation on page 80 of this report is inclusive of only Seattle Police Weapons use. Chart 7 conveys the total uses of violence from each mutual aid agency that was self-reported during the Period of Review, inclusive to responses within the City of Seattle while engaged with civil demonstrations.

67 Ibid 68 The authors guess DOC is an acronym for Department of Corrections

43

2020 SPD Community Assessment Westlake. 5/30/20. © Mike Scaturo Figure 7.

City Hall. 6/6/20 © Mike Scaturo

Figure 8.

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

Right: Chart 07. OC Agent spray and aerosol grenade weapons use reported by SPD. Data source: SPD PDR data. Below: OC Agent aerosol grenade, photographed 6/6/20 at 11th & E. Pine St. Source: https://twitter.com/fuchstraumer/status/1269483037206540288?s=20

2.0 Detailed SPD Weapons Analysis

2.0 Detailed SPD Weapon Analysis 2.1 Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) Agent OC Spray Can

SPD primarily carries five different sizes of OC agent spray cans. MK3 (42g), MK4 (85g), MK9 (340g), MK21 (595g), and MK46 (1304g).

In addition to the different sizes of OC cans, formulations can contain varying potency of capsicum concentration, in levels of 0-10%. No tracking has been made available to the authors through public records request which indicate the potency of OC spray used. It is unclear how potent SPD OC agent spray is, and if there is consistent capsaicin % concentration used across all devices. Some sprays contain a blue marking dye within the spray, permanently staining clothes, and leaving skin stained days after contact.

2020 SPD Community Assessment

OC Agent Aerosol Grenades

In addition to OC agent spray cans, SPD detonated OC agent grenades. These hold 7.5g of solid OC agent per grenade, which is aerosolized and continuously discharged for 20-30 seconds after thermal explosion.69 The concentration of capsaicin is noted at 5-10% within the safety data sheet, making the OC agent released from grenades on the extreme end of potency.70 For reference, commercially available “pepper spray” is 0.67% major capsaicinoids.71 This would make OC agent grenades up to 1,493% more potent than commercially available “pepper spray.” SPD would use these grenades in lieu of CS agent to deflect criticism of CS agent use within the COVID-19 pandemic. However, both would be considered chemical weapons under Title 18 U.S.C. §229F. The manufacturer of OC agent grenades also classifies the incapacitation effects of OC agent as having a more “immediate and dramatic respiratory effect,” compared 69 https://www.defense-technology.com/wp-content/ uploads/2020/06/Tri-Chamber-Flameless-Grenade.pdf 70 http://sds.chemtel.net/webclients/safariland/finished_goods/ Defense%20Technology%201030%20-%20Flamless%20TriChamber%20OC%20Grenade%20-%20North%20America.pdf 71 https://images.homedepot-static.com/catalog/pdfImages/a7/ a731c556-db4f-468b-9fce-46c49832ae05.pdf

46

Figure 9.

to CS agent.72 To rebuff criticism of the use of CS agent chemical weapons, the Seattle Police Department would use more “dramatic” chemical weapons against Seattle residents.

OC Agent Blast Grenades

Blast grenades are reviewed in further detail within Section 2.2. It should be noted that certain blast grenade devices contain capsaicin powder within the payload.

FN303 and Pepperball Rounds

PAVA agent (synthetic capsaicin) is used in FN303 and Pepperball rounds. These are further discussed in Sections 2.5 & 2.6.

OC Agent Spray Toxicology

OC agent spray is comprised of mostly ethanol, oleoresin capsicum and propylene glycol. These three agents are aerosolized together. Essentially, OC is dissolved into a solution that is aerosolized from the can. OC 72 https://www.defense-technology.com/wp-content/ uploads/2020/06/DT_Flameless_Tri-Chamber_OC_Grenade_Sell_Sheet. pdf

OC Agent SprayOC Aerosol Grenade

Oleoresin Capsicum Use Values OC Agent Spray

OC Aerosol Grenade

99

100

# Incidents of Use

90

76

80 70 60

46

50 40 30 20

5

10 0

32

16 10 1

1

29-May 30-May 31-May 1-Jun

Chart 8.

Months

30

23

17

34

1 2-Jun

4-Jun

1

1

6-Jun

May

7-Jun

Jun

Date Occurred

agent spray can cause lasting damage to eyes.

One study found 7% of individuals suffered corneal abrasions from exposure.73 Surprisingly little research is available on adverse health outcomes of OC agent exposure. Most of the current research is government funded, in support of “law enforcement” objectives. In 2011, SPD OC sprayed a pregnant woman, who alleged the spray caused her to miscarry her baby.74 OC spray exposure can also lead to death. Jamel Floyd died after federal correctional officers sprayed him in his cell in New York on 6/3/20. A review of in-custody deaths between 1990 and 1995, showed at least 61 people were killed following police use of OC agent.75 In one incident discussed later within this report, SPD OC sprayed a woman, forced her to march within a kettle76 at rapid pace, causing her to lose consciousness, where she collapsed on the side of the road and had to be resuscitated by volunteer medics through chest compressions and supplementary oxygen. Without volunteer medics, SPD may have killed this woman after the use of OC agent spray.77 OC Aerosol Grenade Toxicology While OC aerosol grenades contain capsaicin, 73 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10830682/ 74 https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4449717-Dkt-41Kalish-Declaration-ISO-Sanctions 75 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-06-18-mn14572-story.html 76 See page 104.

77 Seattle Community Police Commission, Use of Force Policy Public Feedback. https://www.seattle.gov/Documents/ Departments/CommunityPoliceCommission/2021-01-29_ RecsUseForceCrowdMgmtPolicies_compiled_CPC.pdf

2

2

1

8-Jun 11-Jun 26-Jun

3 1-Jul

2 2-Jul

12

4 3-Jul

1 19-Jul 25-Jul 27-Jul Jul

they also contain the pyrotechnic chemical cocktail used for the detonation of the thermal explosion. The pyrotechnics present in OC agent grenades contain chemicals that are known to cause cancer including: barium chromate and lead chromate. These are chemicals known to cause reproductive toxicity for males, females, and developmental toxicity in unborn children.78

Specifically, barium chromate and lead chromate are cytotoxic and genotoxic to human lung cells. In other words, SPD has deployed chemical agents on Seattle residents that are known to kill human lung cells and to cause mutations within the genetic information of lung cells which can lead directly to cancer.79

While OC grenades differ in chemical composition released through thermal explosion from CS agent, OC and CS were frequently used together, in large quantities, within the same incident, creating a cocktail of chemical agents that have not been studied before scientifically.

The reactivity between the agents and their effect on human health has not been studied or proven. Despite this dearth in medical assessment, SPD organized to deploy a massive indiscriminate chemical weapons assault on Seattle residents within the Period of Review.

They would also choose to use these agents during a global respiratory virus pandemic, showing a callous indifference to the health and safety of our Seattle community.

78 http://sds.chemtel.net/webclients/safariland/finished_goods/ Defense%20Technology%201030%20-%20Flamless%20TriChamber%20OC%20Grenade%20-%20North%20America.pdf 79 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14673872/

47

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

2.0 Detailed SPD Weapons Analysis

Use

For the month of June alone, SPD would issue at least 361 spray cans (over 30 gallons) of OC spray (not including the use of MK21 and MK46 spray cans) to officers.80

Over the Period of Review, SPD reported at least 399 instances of OC spray UoV, and at least 21 instances of OC aerosol grenades. Daily use numbers of OC agent weapons are shown in Chart 8. (However, the actual number of OC aerosol grenades used is likely to be larger, as 23 UoF incidents were reported as “Chemical-Other”, yet backchecking of a sample of these incidents revealed actual use of OC and CS grenades.) SPD would also directly spray members of the press with OC agent on multiple occasions. SPD would violate court order, in the use of OC agent spray, and continually fail to document OC agent spray use on use of force reports.81

2020 SPD Community Assessment

The pain caused by OC spray is excruciating.

Residents described trying to rinse the spray off in the shower: “I then took a long cold shower.

The shower was more painful than any other kind of physical trauma I have experienced, including broken bones and third-degree burns. Though the shower was cold, it felt like I was being drenched with boiling water. The pain was the worst on my neck, ears and arms-where the spray had direct contact with my skin-but was also present on by back, legs, feet, chest, stomach, armpits and genitals.”82

A journalist described being drenched with OC agent: “I held my press badge over my right shoulder to make sure that the police could still identify me as press. As I was walking away, the police started quickly advancing on us and pulled out OC spray. I did not hear a dispersal order or any warning, and the police began indiscriminately spraying blue dye OC spray into our group. I was sprayed with blue dye OC spray on my face and arm. The dye also completely covered my press credentials…After being 80 SPD Asset Issuance Report, OC Spray, 5/25/20-6/30/20.

81 https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20421000/202012-07-order-granting-contempt-clean.pdf 82 Arnold Declaration. 7/27/20. https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/ arnold-colter-declaration

48

sprayed in the face with blue dye OC spray, a colleague attempted to administer saline solution and water to flush my eyes. The police forced us to keep moving and wouldn’t let us to stop so I could get medical aid. The OC spray the officers deployed on me caused a painful burning sensation for days. It felt worse than any sunburn I’ve ever experienced; it felt as if my skin was on fire. Additionally, the spray stained my skin for days. I took over a dozen showers to try to get the blue off, and showering only increased the pain of the OC spray and spread the burning sensation to different places.”83 This specific incident was well documented.

The journalist was within a group of press that continually identified themselves as journalists, had clearly marked credentials, and continually complied with officers’ directions, presented no public safety threat, yet they were targeted with violence through the use of OC agent.84

To date, the OPA has reviewed a number of cases related to OC agent spray, and in many cases, ruling that the complainants were “inadvertently” targeted by SPD. In one example: “OPA finds it likely that NE#3’s deployment of OC spray inadvertently affected the Subject.”85 In other cases, OPA found OC agent spray was not warranted: “While NE#1 contended that the threat was to the integrity of the line, this did not appear to be clearly established by the BWV and did not warrant the use of OC spray given the totality of the individuals’ conduct.”86

In one case, occurring on 7/1/20, an officer omitted use of OC spray that was clearly unreasonable from her UoF reporting. When asked by her superiors about the use of violence that was not reported, she stated, “I have no recollection of deploying my OC on the suspect ... I didn’t report the 2nd use of force because I had no recollection of deploying my OC on the 2nd suspect.”87 This officer directly sprayed an individual with their hands up in the head and did not report it.

83 Mitchell Declaration. 8/4/20. https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/ mitchell-declaration 84 Ibid 85 OPA case #2020OPA-0477. Closed Case Summary.

86 Ibid 87 OPA case #2020OPA-0739. Closed Case Summary.

Additionally, the use of the word, “suspect” in this instance is representative of how SPD officers view the public. We are all “suspects,” yet the person targeted with violence by this SPD officer was clearly complying with her orders, and had not broken any law. What then is this person a “suspect” for? The specific use of the term allows violence to flow freely.

In a clearly documented incident on 7/25/20, a woman recounted that a, “person on the ground was lying on the pavement in the fetal position, and an officer was drenching him with mace as he lay on the ground. I stepped forward to try and help the fallen person and was crying for the officers to ‘STOP.’ I was sprayed in the face…I had no weapons, I didn’t throw anything, hurt anyone, or destroy anything. But I was still pepper sprayed simply for trying to help someone who had fallen on the ground.”88

On the same day, a disabled resident of Capitol Hill with persistent asthma wrote: “Around 7p.m. or 7:30 p.m., I noticed the air smelled bitter, like almonds and burnt hot sauce.

My eyes started tearing up, my nose started running, and I started wheezing. I closed the window right away and took my inhaler right then, then put my gas mask on. I wheezed for about an hour. During that time I had to take my emergency rescue inhaler 3-4 times…I spent two hours in asthma hell, struggling to breathe because of the chemicals that wafted in through my window. Because I am vulnerable to COVID-19 and cannot drive because of my eye condition, I can’t go anywhere else to escape the gas.”89 On this day, SPD self-reported the use of 99 OC agent blast grenades within a single day.

No CS agent was used on this day. The Seattle Police Department’s excessive and reckless use of OC agent would directly threaten this man’s life within his own home.

In one court declaration, an individual described that, “an SPD officer had grabbed their goggles off before pepper spraying them in the face.”90 88 Arnold Declaration. 7/27/20. https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/ arnold-colter-declaration 89 Linde declaration. 8/4/20. https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/lindedeclaration 90 Wensnahan Declaration. 9/30/20. https://www.aclu-wa.org/

In perhaps one of the most widely viewed instances, SPD were seen deploying OC agent spray on a boy who was standing with his father on 5/30/20. In an interview with The Guardian, the boy’s father asserted what upset him most, “is that officers and a group of emergency medical technicians standing about a block away did not step in to help. ‘No officer, who’s paid to protect, chose to stand up, break the ranks, go help this child,’ he said. ‘I just don’t understand how any of them can sleep.’”91 Mysteriously, the individual who filmed this incident was arrested days later after being surrounded by SPD on his way home. He was arrested for felony discharge of a laser and was denied bail, spending 2 days in jail. Eventually, no charges were filed against him. He has denied ever using a laser.92 The video has also been conspicuously deleted from his twitter account.

Further, the OPA found that SPD didn’t violate policy when the boy was sprayed with OC agent, cementing that SPD and OPA are not entities guided by the impacts of policies. In this instance, policy allowed a minor to be assaulted with chemical agents and no officer would come to his aid to administer decontamination spray.

OPA would rule this use of violence lawful and proper.93

As shown here, the “accountability system” does not provide accountability for the victims of Seattle Police violence. Seattle police write their own policies that allow them to assault a child with chemical agents and then refuse to administer aid. OPA then referees the policies and gives the green light to administer suffering on our community through the guise of ‘restoring order.’ OIG then produces a report confirming OPA fulfilled their mission by reviewing the case in a timely manner, thus, completing the cyclical rubber stamp of violence continually administered on our community.

docs/wensnahan-declaration 91 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/15/outragevideo-police-mace-child-seattle-protest 92 https://www.kuow.org/stories/he-captured-footage-of-childpepper-sprayed-during-seattle-protest-then-was-arrested 93 OPA Case #2020OPA-0322. Closed Case Summary.

49

2.0 Detailed SPD Weapons Analysis

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

2.2 Blast Grenades Naming

“Blast ball,” which is the common term used for blast grenades acts to obfuscate the injury these weapons can cause. The term “ball” should be reserved for items like basketball, soccer ball, or wiffle ball. “Blast balls” are not children’s play toys; they are weapons. The intentional use of the term, “blast ball” by SPD, OPA and OIG is used to psychologically sanitize the capacity for injury these weapons are capable of. Calling a blast grenade a “blast ball” would be the equivalent of calling CS chemical weapons; spice mist. Accordingly, this report will use the term “blast grenade” to describe these devices.

2020 SPD Community Assessment

Types

SPD is known to possess and use many varieties of blast grenades. Some are significantly more dangerous than others.

SPD most recently asked a supplier to “rush” delivery of 340 “stinger with OC” rubber pellet blast grenades on 10/19/20, and then 160 more “stinger with OC” blast grenades on 12/10/20, indicating consistent purchasing and stockpiling of the weapon.94 These two orders totaled $21,875 in stinger blast grenades alone in two months of orders. If consistently purchased, this would indicate the department spends approximately $130,000 a year on this specific violent, indiscriminate, potentially lethal, munition that is rarely used. This specific type of blast grenade includes 180 .32cal rubber pellet shrapnel sub munitions embedded within each individual grenade. This would indicate that one deployment of a “stinger” rubber pellet blast grenade is essentially 180 individual uses of violence, one UoV per sub-projectile. In addition to the 180 rubber pellets per grenade, “Stinger with OC” grenades contain 2g of OC agent, effectively creating a chemical cocktail of shrapnel pellets violently ejected from the explosion.95 The rubber pellets become kinetic 94 911 Supply Invoice #INV-2-5951, 10/19/20. Safariland Group Packing list ID #S3106832, 10/17/20.

95 https://www.defense-technology.com/wp-content/

50

impact projectiles, once detonated, and present serious danger to everyone surrounding the explosion. It should be noted that SPD does not have any known policy within the police manual on the use of “Stinger” type rubber pellet blast grenades, despite stockpiling the weapon.

These specific orders of blast grenades were made by Brian Rees, who was subject to five misconduct claims between 2014-2018.96 In 2015, he was named in a lawsuit against the City of Seattle for excessive use of blast grenades, which caused numerous injuries to the public. One striking a medic in the leg while she was trying to assist an injured individual, causing severe hematoma burns. Rees was also found to have used excessive violence in 2012 by a trial jury for spraying an off-duty EMT, Maria Morales, in the eyes with OC agent while other officers pig-piled97 on top of her. She was falsely charged with “assaulting” a police officer. Video evidence exonerated her, and she was awarded $165,000 in attorney’s fees.98 In 2011, Rees was found to have written the most marijuana-possession tickets of any SPD officer after City law made marijuana enforcement the lowest priority for police.99 In 2012, marijuana would become legalized in Washington State.

As shown earlier within this report, Rees would state that the department did not keep daily logs of who used blast grenades, despite clear policy mandating these records. In 2009, Rees struck is ex-wife in an episode which could be categorized as domestic violence.100 Rees even stalked and harassed her further after their divorce.101 Despite Rees’ history of misconduct and disregard of policy, he has been promoted and empowered to order “stinger” rubber pellet blast grenades, with the most indiscriminate uploads/2020/06/Stinger-Grenade-w_Safety-Clip.pdf 96 https://twitter.com/DivestSPD/status/1344029617561108480 97 The term “Pig-pile” is used here in the sense as it is defined.

Colloquially, police have been called “pigs” and the term “pig-pile” may be considered degrading. The authors wish to express the explicit use of the term to describe a large group of individuals piling on top of each other, typically as a form of punishment or torture to the individual at the bottom of the pile.

98 https://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/EMT-cleared-in-MayDay-clash-claims-SPD-officer-4147533.php 99 https://twitter.com/DivestSPD/status/1344029617561108480 100 https://twitter.com/DivestSPD/status/1404904124550770689 101 Ibid.

violence profile available, 500 in total, within the span of almost two months. We pay Rees’ salary of $196,461.72 a year.102

Other blast grenade types include inert grenades (distinguished by a white ring), and OC blast grenades (distinguished by an orange ring) which hold 4.2g of OC agent within the grenade, effectively instantaneously carpeting the area detonated with OC agent. Defense-Technology produces other blast grenade types, with various other chemical agent components. However, the use of any other types of blast grenades beyond, Inert, OC, and “Stinger” types is unknown at this point-in-time.

While SPD would report the use of only one single “stinger” rubber pellet blast grenade, Bellevue PD would deploy 15 of these types of grenades during the Period of Review,103 perhaps indicating that practices governing the use of “stinger” rubber pellet blast grenades for SPD would not apply to other agencies. In a 7/25/20 Bellevue PD after action report obtained by the authors, SPD allowed Bellevue to use any weapons (apart from CS agent) they desired as long as they were consistent with Bellevue PD’s policies.104 No requirement to follow SPD policies was conveyed to Bellevue PD. Thus, the use of external agencies, in concert with SPD, would indicate an invitation to use extrajudicial violence on our communities. At 180 .32 caliber rubber pellets per grenade, Bellevue PD’s 15 rubber pellet blast grenades shot 2,700 projectiles indiscriminately into crowds of our Seattle community.

Acoustic Trauma

It is noteworthy that blast grenades emit a peak impact noise of 175dB at 5’ distance from the explosion.105 The massive deployment of at least 620 munitions by SPD alone, and the haphazard nature of deployment during the 102 https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/databases/ article252005698.html 103 Bellevue PD Case #20-25875 & #20-34699 104 Bellevue PD Case#20-34699 After Action Report 105 https://www.defense-technology.com/wp-content/ uploads/2020/06/Rubber-Ball-Blast-Grenade-w_Safety-Clip.pdf

Period of Review, indicate that widespread organ trauma may have been inflicted on thousands of Seattle residents who gathered during the summer of 2020. OSHA indicates that 140dB is the threshold for pain in humans, akin to a jet plane take off, with the potential to cause sudden damage to hearing. The American Academy of Audiology characterizes over 130db as painful and dangerous. Tinnitus occurs at above 85 dB. “The ear, specifically the tympanic membrane (TM), is the most sensitive organ to primary blast injury.”106 Acoustic trauma can result in TM rupture, ossicular disruption, and cochlear damage, and in some cases resulting in irreversible damage to hearing. Multiple instances of chronic tinnitus have been reported from the use of blast grenades by SPD.107 While acoustic trauma can affect hearing, the ear organ is also responsible for providing physical balance in the body.

In audio recordings captured over Kent Police BWV108 on 5/30/20, a Kent Police officer can be heard stating after SPD detonated a blast grenade in the middle of a crowd standing in front of the Paramount theater at 9th & Pine: Kent Ofc#1 (T01:52:59 Zulu): “It’s got to be so loud standing next to that.”

Kent Ofc#2 (T01:53:01 Zulu): “Oh yea.”

In this specific moment, at 9th & Pine, SPD had deployed CS, blast grenades, and an unknown officer would appear to use CS skat shell munitions, all while the Kent Police officers retained a threat stance that allowed them to casually make color commentary behind SPD’s bike unit. No acts of violence against officers were witnessed through the BWV and the line of SPD was approximately 150 feet away from a crowd of demonstrators they targeted on Pine Street.109

Many of our community members have suffered permanent hearing loss as a result of 106 https://academic.oup.com/milmed/article/183/ suppl_2/78/5091158 107 Kramer declaration pg 5 8/4/20 108 Kent PD, BWV, AXON 2 X81455641, 5/30/20.

109 Kent PD, BWV, AXON 2 X81455641, 5/30/20.

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2.0 Detailed SPD Weapons Analysis

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

blast weapons deployed by the Seattle Police Department. Others have suffered from severe, persistent tinnitus, unable to think or sleep due to deafening ringing within their head.

Mechanical Injury

Injuries can result from the intentional ejection of shrapnel from a “stinger” blast grenade from the blast ejection of the metal firing mechanism from the grenade, the blast concussion itself, and “ping-pong” detonations, where the firing mechanism causes the grenade itself to become a projectile. In one instance OPA wrote, “With regard to the Complainant’s claim that the blast ball struck him in the chest, NE#1 said that it was possible for blast balls to skip off the ground. He described one deployment earlier that day where a blast ball “went shooting in the air about ten feet high” and in a different direction than where it was deployed.”110

In one instance reported by the Guardian, “Malichi Howel, 17, was protesting in the early evening on 30 May when police started firing teargas at the crowd, according to the claim.

Howel tried to run, but was hit by an exploding flash-bang grenade or teargas canister that partially amputated their thumb.”111

2020 SPD Community Assessment

Further information on other civilian injuries resulting from SPD violence can be found within an online repository compiled by the University of Washington School of Public Health: http://www.spdviolence2020.com/ Toxicology

The composition of the pyrotechnic chemicals within blast grenades present serious health concerns which SPD has failed to convey to the public, even after extensive, excessive, and reckless usage of at least 620 grenades during the period of review. At 8g of pyrotechnic power per grenade, Seattle residents would have been exposed to 4,960g of cytotoxic pyrotechnic 110 OPA Case #2020OPA-0644 111 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/15/seattleprotesters-police-financial-claims-injury-death

52

Right: Blast grenade weapons use reported by SPD. Data source: SPD PDR data.

powder during the Period of Review from SPD blast munitions alone.

This powder, present in every type of blast grenade, contains chemicals that are known to cause cancer and reproductive toxicity for males, females, and developmental toxicity in unborn children including: dithiocyanate, barium chromate, and lead chromate.112 These blast grenades include significant warnings that they, “may cause damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure,” “may damage the unborn child. Suspected of damaging fertility,” “very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects.”113

Specifically, barium chromate and lead chromate are cytotoxic and genotoxic to human lung cells. In other words, the Seattle Police Department has deployed thousands of grams of toxic chemicals on Seattle residents that are known to kill human lung cells and to cause mutations within the genetic information of lung cells which can lead directly to cancer.114

While blast grenades may not put out a consistent billowing plume of chemical agent, as CS grenades do, they nevertheless contain cytotoxic and genotoxic chemicals, from which, exposure can lead to serious adverse health outcomes and death. For those who are pregnant, the use of these weapons represents a significant health risk to the mother and unborn child. It is unclear if the Seattle Police Department used any surveillance to assess if pregnant, visibly frail or disabled individuals were present in crowds where SPD detonated these weapons. The following section will provide insight into how SPD chose to administer these toxic, violent, and erratic weapons.

Use

SPD would use at least 620 grenades within

112 http://sds.chemtel.net/webclients/safariland/finished_goods/ Defense%20Technology%201095SC%20-%20Rubber%20Ball%20 Blast%20Grenade%20-%20OC%20with%20Safety%20Clip.pdf 113 Ibid.

114 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14673872/

Inert Blast Grenade OC Blast Grenade

Blast Grenade Use Values Inert Blast Grenade

OC Blast Grenade

97 99

100 84

# Incidents of Use

90 80

65

70 60

45

50 40

32

30

16

20

5

10 0

29-May

Chart 9.

Months

17

22

19

14

3 30-May

31-May

1-Jun

23

15 6 2-Jun

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the Period of Review. It is hard to fathom a ‘threat’ proportionate in scale to the deployment of 620 blast ordinance. Chart 9 provides daily numbers of uses of inert blast grenades, and OC agent blast grenades used by SPD.

On July 25, 2020, then-Assistant Chief Adrian Diaz would directly oversee the administration of 196 blast grenades in one single day. In writing that sentence, it sounds almost impossible to be true, and yet court declarations and SPD data confirm the intensity of the onslaught of violence on our community. Adrian Diaz, the incident commander on 7/25/20, would directly supervise more SPD “less lethal” use of violence in that single day than the past three years of SPD violence combined. One community member wrote: “Due to the massive crowd of individuals (roughly 750), every grenade thrown at protesters exploded near hundreds of people, with shrapnel hitting any protester in the vicinity.

I was personally hit more than 10 times in the legs, hand, chest, and head. I also witnessed journalists hit by the explosions.”115 Another wrote: “Every time the police advanced on us, they would start rolling canisters dispersing gas every 10 seconds or so. Police were throwing flash bang grenades constantly. It felt like one exploded just about every second.”116

28 18

On 7/25/20, “The police were throwing

115 Kramer Declaration. 8/4/20. https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/ kramer-declaration 116 Baker Declaration. 07/27/20. https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/ baker-declaration

blast balls deep into the crowd, indiscriminately.

They were not just throwing them at the front.

I was slowly backing away from the police with the rest of the crowd when a police officer in a typical Seattle Police Department uniform threw a blast ball at me. It was an underhand throw and landed right next to me. There was a small pop, and then an explosion. The blast ball landed against my left ankle and when it exploded, it knocked me off my feet.”117

Additionally, on 7/25/20, an individual was, “Standing about 10 rows back from the police line in the crowd of protesters, she was hit by one of those blast balls, which exploded on her right leg. The blast knocked her to the ground, singed her clothing, and gave her first and second-degree burns. By the time she reached safety from SPD’s violence, her thighs were covered in blood. Four of her friends were also hit by SPD projectiles.”118

Again, on 7/25/20, a woman was hit by a blast grenade. As described in court filings, “A flash-bang detonated beside her. A piece of shrapnel from the flash-bang grenade struck her head and caused serious injury.”119 Another person was hit with a blast grenade explosion between their feet, leaving large lacerations and chemical burns. The person screamed for 117 (Matney Declaration. 7/27/20. https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/ matney-declaration 118 Black Lives Matter vs. City of Seattle. Motion for Contempt.

7/27/20. https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/plaintiffs-motion-contempt 119 Ibid

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a medic and was carried out to receive medical attention. They were not able to walk again for an hour after injury.120 SPD did not provide any medical attention, only suffering. In another incident, “Flash bangs were rolled toward us, and one detonated approximately 12 inches from my foot. When I saw it by my foot, I reacted by trying to shield my eyes with my arms, but when it detonated, what I believe to be a piece of shrapnel blasted into the side of my head. The shrapnel impact to my head left me disoriented, and I was unable to hear out of my left ear.”121

In one incident an officer threw a “blast ball deep into the crowd of protesters.” He also, “did not account for this use in his use of force report.”122 In another incident, an officer, “grabbed a blast ball and then threw it overhand into a crowd of protestors. At the time, he was behind several rows of officers. When he threw the ball, he immediately turned around to retrieve his bicycle and because of that, his body worn video footage does not reveal where the blast ball exploded. He did not account for this use in his use of force report.”123 How many other times did officers lob grenades into crowds of people and look the other way?

Officers are trained not to, yet consistently, throw blast grenades directly at residents, within dense crowds. On 6/1/20, officers and demonstrators were crowded together, with demonstrators huddled up against metal fencing SPD had erected. Video from the incident, “did not capture any direct violence” from the crowd of residents gathered according to OPA,124 and yet, then Assistant Chief Steve Hirjak authorized officers to “deploy blast balls and CS”125, despite no space between officers and residents to detonate the blast and CS grenades.

Supervisors authorized officers to detonate 120 Bunting Declaration. 7/27/20. https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/ bunting-declaration 121 Bruce Declaration. 7/27/20. https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/ bruce-declaration 122 https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20421000/202012-07-order-granting-contempt-clean.pdf 123 https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20421000/202012-07-order-granting-contempt-clean.pdf 124 OPA Case #2020OPA-0334. Closed Case Summary.

125 Ibid

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R ight: The mo ment Of c Car l Jo hn Ander so n’s blast gr enade str uc k Aubr eanna Inda in the c hest, c ausing her to under go c ar diac ar r est o n 6/8/20. So ur c e: KUOW Pho to /Megan Far mer . https://w w w .kuo w .o r g/sto r ies/ this-26-y ear -o ld-died-thr ee-timesaf ter -po lic e-hit-her -w ith-a-blast-ball

these grenades within the densely packed crowd of residents, exercising constitutionally protected 1st Amendment activities who had not used any violence or damaged any property. Because a single officer decided that an umbrella was a threat to his safety, SPD would deploy 3 CS agent grenades, 18 unspecified chemical weapon munitions, 10 40mm projectiles, 1 “stinger” rubber pellet blast grenade, 27 uses of OC spray, 1 OC aerosol grenade, 13 OC blast grenades, 22 inert blast grenades, and 5 uses of FN303 rounds. 100 uses of projectiles, blast grenades, and chemical weapons in total.

On 5/31/20, a woman was running away from officers. Blast grenades detonated all around her, one causing deep bruising and knoting in her right calf. OPA found it was lawful and consistent with training to detonate the grenades at people who were running away from officers who posed no threat. OPA recognized the inconsistencies in training, and advocated for a change in policy, that officers should, “be prohibited from rolling blast balls directly into crowds,” and, “be prohibited from deploying a blast ball directly at a person.”126 However, SPD officers, in practice, ferociously rejected these OPA recommendations and continued to use blast grenades indiscriminately.

On June 7th, “a member of the media was rendered unconscious by a blast ball.”127 On 6/8/20 – a person “was hit with a flash bang [Blast Grenade] in the upper thigh, which then exploded at their feet…Their psychiatrist diagnosed them with acute distress disorder following the incident.”128

On 6/8/20, Officer Carl John Anderson detonated a blast ball into a woman’s chest, causing her to collapse and undergo cardiac arrest. She was later resuscitated back to life by citizen volunteer medics and, recovered at Virginia Mason hospital. Despite hundreds of SPD officers, “on the line,” not one rendered medical assistance to the woman. Despite plenty 126 OPA Case #2020OPA-0419. Closed Case Summary.

127 https://kuow-prod.imgix.net/ store/089f3fd5cfb7f4c64be4aba6130f40c7.pdf pg 84 128 OPA Case #2020OPA-0451. Closed Case Summary.

Figure 11.

of open space between the individuals, who were not engaged in any violent activity, as indicated with their hands up, Anderson hit the woman directly in the chest. The moment she was hit can be clearly seen in Figure 11.

On 7/25/20, an Ofc detonated a blast grenade between a local Journalist’s feet, causing injury. The individual was within a group of journalists who had, “badges around their necks, and some also had media company names and logos on their vests or gas masks.”

In a review OPA determined, after reviewing two BWV records, that they could not conclusively determine which SPD Ofc threw the OC Blast grenade at the group of journalists who were clearly marked. With the vast available resources for investigation at their disposal, multiple records, and multiple other BWV records, OPA decided to state, “OPA was still unable to identify which officer deployed this blast ball.”129 In another incident, SPD officers, “detonated [blast grenades] in the approximate vicinity of [a] person in a wheelchair.”130 Again, because an Ofc did not, “see” the person in the wheelchair, OPA found the weapons use justified. When police violence is directed at Seattle residents, there is little police motivation for justice.

Carl John Anderson (6749), who threw the

129 OPA Case #2020OPA-0477. Closed Case Summary.

130 OPA Case #2020OPA-0550. Closed Case Summary.

blast ball into the woman’s chest on 6/8/20 said, “he did not remember where he threw the blast ball or specifically why. He further did not notice at the time that it struck anyone.”

He also, “did not seek medical attention for the subject because he did not know that she had been hit by a blast ball.” Essentially, pleading incompetence. Because Anderson erratically threw the Blast grenades, and didn’t see where they went, or who they hit, the OPA found that he cannot be liable to provide medical attention to those he hit, because he was so unaware of where he was throwing them.131 As further documented within this report, Carl John Anderson would use the most violence, by far, out of any single Seattle police officer during the Period of Review132. On 6/1/20, officers would strike a homeless man who was sleeping with a blast grenade. The Ofc who threw the grenade said that, “his throw was inaccurate and was due to fatigue.” It is evidently clear that Officers frequently lie. This reinforces how, regardless of policy, regardless of training, regardless of intent, blast grenades do not end up where they are supposed to go, and indiscriminately harm Seattle residents.

The Seattle Police Department may as well have worn horse blinders and silk sleep 131 OPA Case #2020OPA-0335. Closed Case Summary.

132 50 known uses of violence, at an average of 6.25 uses of violence per day he was deployed.

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masks and been met with the same level of accountability from OPA for the widespread and barbaric injury caused to our friends, family and neighbors. Blast grenades are not an effective tool of public safety and wellbeing. Full stop. Yet, SPD detonated at least 620 of them on crowded City streets consistently over the course of two months.

Outside of the Period of Review of this report, SPD continues to detonate blast grenades within crowds, or directly targeting groups or individuals, even detonating one on an individual who was lying down on the ground on 9/23/20133, and throwing one directly into a homeless individual’s tent on 12/18/20.134 This cycle of indiscriminate violence continues.

It should be noted that, in 2015, then OPA director Pierce Murphy provided findings on SPD’s use of blast grenades during May Day protests throughout Seattle. He wrote, “blastballs deployed by SPD officers exploded in extremely close proximity to people, not all of whom were engaged in destruction of property or posed a threat to public safety….Of particular concern, some SPD officers tossed blast-balls over the heads of those immediately in front of them so the explosives landed in the middle of a crowd. Because initial detonation of a blastball separates a hard metal fuse device from its rubber base, there is a possibility of the metal fuse acting as shrapnel and causing serious injury to someone in close proximity when it separates…The product safety warning included in the literature provided by the manufacturer: ’may cause serious injury or death to you or others.’”135

According to an unpublished, “independent”, report on SPD’s use of blast grenades during that same year, Steve Ijames, “recommend an immediate moratorium by SPD on the use of blast balls.”136 Ijames’ report was so critical to 133 https://twitter.com/MarcusKulik/ status/1308671251594977280?s=20 134 https://twitter.com/Sadenochill/ status/1341088925939449857?s=20 135 Pierce Murphy. Letter to SPD Chief O’Toole. 2015.

136 https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2018/04/30/26114867/

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Right: Steve Ijames original report with word document “track changes” edits by SPD’s chief legal executive Becca Boatright.

Source: https://www.documentcloud.org/ documents/4449717-Dkt-41-Kalish-Declaration-ISO-Sanctions

SPD’s use of blast grenades, that documents show, “the City changing, then hiding, the contents of the report.”137 SPD had, “consistently downplayed the damage that blast balls could cause to people, including innocent bystanders and journalists.”138 Rebecca Boatwright, SPD chief legal counsel, then Chief O’Toole, and other SPD executive leadership convened a meeting and sought to water-down Ijames’ report critical of SPD’s use of blast weapons. Boatwright took the liberty to provide, “substantive edits” that watered-down the criticism to be consistent with then Chief O’Toole’s thoughts, deleting substantive portions of the report and changing in some cases, language from, “clearly shows” to “suggests.”139

Eventually, the report would be uncovered through legal discovery in 2018. Ijames’ original wording stated, “Absent a situation where officers were facing the immediate threat of death or serious physical injury, the intentional deployment of a blast ball device at or in close proximity to a human being would be unjustified, excessive, and dangerous.”140 SPD executive leadership would bury this report, ensuring it would never be released to the public, and its findings would never be implemented, rubber stamping the extreme violence more Seattle residents would suffer from 5 years later in the summer of 2020. This contempt for the health and safety of Seattle residents from the executive level is noteworthy and endemic of a department with leadership entrenched in promulgating violence through policies that center the concerns of police, not the health and safety of the public. Ijames wrote, “Historically, dramatic deviations from the norm (what commonly occurs in like circumstances) in the application of force -be it blast ball or TASER- is reflective of a lack of accountability and oversight at the supervisory and or lawsuit-seattle-police-knew-dangers-of-blast-balls-before-usingthem-on-may-day-2016 137 https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4449716-Dkt-40Motion-Sanctions.html 138 Ibid 139 https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4449717-Dkt-41Kalish-Declaration-ISO-Sanctions 140 Ibid

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Figure 12.

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operational level. This has to be investigated and addressed.”141 SPD would not investigate or address these failings. We would later see during the summer of 2020, supervisors delegating decisions to lower ranking officers, OPA confused about who or why blast grenades were deployed, and numerous individuals struck and injured by blast grenades, thrown by officers who don’t remember where or why they threw them.

Later on in April of 2021, the OPA, from the comfort of their 18th floor downtown office suite, would come to the same conclusion Ijames arrived at 5-years prior: “What is also indisputable is that, as these [2020] protests have clearly shown, blast balls are dangerous and, as indicated by Judge Jones, they have the highest likelihood of causing indiscriminate harm… The more cases OPA has evaluated as a result of these protests the more OPA feels that the harm caused by blast balls outweighs their benefit as a less-lethal tool.

This is particularly concerning where, as here, a deployment appears consistent with policy and law, but still results in a problematic outcome, including a significant injury. Moreover, this is not an anomaly, as OPA has seen numerous cases stemming from these protests where in policy blast ball deployments in which officers acted completely consistent with their training still caused injuries to individuals… For these reasons… unless SPD can show compelling evidence that blast balls can be used in a safe, non-indiscriminate manner that takes into account how blast balls functionally deploy and largely eliminates the risk of harm to non-violent parties, this tool be banned in its entirety.”142 There is no compelling evidence that suggests the use of Blast grenades on Seattle residents is consistent with public health and wellness, yet SPD continues to stockpile and use these weapons.

Another finding by the OPA, is that we train officers to injure our community members. Use 141 Ibid 142 OPA Case #2020OPA-0495. Closed Case Summary.

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of weapons, “consistent with training” indicates that we are indoctrinating our officers in the techniques of violence that injure, main and kill.

Many receive training from the Israeli Military.

When we couple that training, with the hatred that some officers feel for the community143, we end up with a military force, expertly trained in violence, ready to apply that violence on a community they resent. As one individual stated, SPD officers, ”seemed angry and fixated on hurting them.”144 A recent OPA case summary showed that one SPD officer stated that, policing will make you, “start hating brown people.”145 Declarations describing the Seattle Police Department’s use of blast grenades submitted in federal court are more akin to scenes from a war zone. Multiple people hit, screaming for medics, agonizing in pain, unable to walk, plumes of chemical weapons, unable to breathe, screaming for help and met with more unrelenting violence.

These declarations, along with visual evidence and injury, paint a picture of the City of Seattle administering a massive campaign of barbaric violence against its own residents, without any accountability whatsoever.

143 An officer, who later became an OPA case investigator, drove his car through a group of protesters while our community members dove out of the way of his car, nearly killing members of the community he is sworn to serve. As he did it, an officer in the car said, “God, I fucking hate these people.” Another officer laughed. See OIG Case #2020OIG-0004.

144 Black Lives Matter vs. City of Seattle. Motion for Contempt.

7/27/20. https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/plaintiffs-motion-contempt 145 https://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/OPA/ ClosedCaseSummaries/2021OPA-0023ccs062121.pdf

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1.0 Section Name & Title Figure 13.

x 620

Stinger blast grenades include rubber pellet shrapnel discharged from within grenade OC Agent blast grenades include OC agent chemical explosion

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2.3 2-chlorobenzylidenemalonitrile Agent Naming

The chemical composition of CS Agent is difficult to pronounce, thus the chemical is commonly named CS for the chemists who discovered its composition (Carson and Stoughton) in 1928. SPD typically uses the name “Tear Gas” to describe its use. However, the use of “Tear Gas” as a descriptor vastly sanitizes and misrepresents the totality of the biological effects caused by exposure to CS agent. If we were to assess the totality of these effects, we could also name CS agent, “Blood Cyanide Metabolant gas.” Just as CS agent causes tearing in the eyes, it also is absorbed directly into the blood stream and metabolized into Cyanide moieties, and later excreted through urine. CS agent, as deployed within grenades used by SPD is technically not a gas either. Tiny particulates of CS agent act like microscopic barbs, piercing flesh and triggering pain. Use of the “tear gas” name is designed to psychologically sanitize and obfuscate the biological mechanisms and processes that CS agent induces within the exposed population. This report will use “CS agent” as the common name for 2-chlorobenzylidenemalonitrile.

2020 SPD Community Assessment

International Law / U.S. Law

CS agent is banned internationally through the 1925 Geneva Gas Protocol, and the 1993 International Chemical Weapons Convention as a method of warfare, yet it is still used to this day on Seattle residents.

Within the United States, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), “has previously held that devices designed for expelling tear gas or pyrotechnic signals are not weapons and are exempt from the destructive device definition.”146 Therefore, CS agent canisters are not tracked or traced. The U.S. government has classified CS agent grenades 146 https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/guide/atf-national-firearmsact-handbook-atf-p-53208/download (pg 150)

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Right: Graphic depiction of CS agent (C10H5N2Cl), including Cyanide (CN) moieties.

Source: https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/ a539686.pdf

as “not weapons.” In practice, SPD has used CS agent as a weapon of suffering on our community, without any federal requirements to track or trace purchasing or use of the agent.

While the ATF does not classify CS agent grenades as weapons, CS agent does meet the definition of a Chemical Weapon within United States Criminal Code (18 U.S.C. § 229F(1)). The definition is as follows: (1) Chemical weapon .— The term “chemical 18 U.S.C.means § 229Fthe - Definitions weapon” following, together or separately: (A) A toxic chemical and its precursors, (1) Chemical term “chemical except where weapon intended.— forThe a purpose not weapon” means the following, or type prohibited under this chapter astogether long as the separately: and quantity is consistent with such a purpose.

(B) or device, specifically designed (A) A A munition toxic chemical and its precursors, except to cause death or other harm through toxic where intended for a purpose not prohibited properties those toxic chemicals specified under this of chapter as long as the type and in subparagraph (A), which would released as quantity is consistent with suchbe a purpose. a result of the employment of such munition or device.

(C) Any specifically (B) A munition or equipment device, specifically designed designed for useordirectly in connection to cause death other harm throughwith toxicthe employment munitions or devicesspecified specified in in properties ofof those toxic chemicals subparagraph (B) subparagraph (A), which would be released as a result of the employment of such munition or device.

(C) Any equipment specifically designed for use directly in connection with the employment of munitions or devices specified in subparagraph (B) CS agent is a toxic chemical specifically designed to cause harm through its toxic properties, thus CS agent grenades and CS agent in general can be referred to legally as a chemical weapon.

Toxicology

Many effects of CS agent are unknown or yet to be studied. No definitive evidence exists that indicates CS agent is a harmless, merely temporary incapacitant. It remains to be seen if hindsight will show that in fact, SPD’s massive deployment of chemical weapons on Seattle residents led to serious, long term

negative health outcomes. This short section aims to provide an overview of the scientific understanding of CS agent at this point in time.

Figure 14. Graphic depiction of CS agent (C10H5N2Cl), including Cyanide (CN) moieties.

Dr. Sven-Eric Jordt, professor of anesthesiology at Duke University co-authored a study of health effects as a result of CS agent exposure. They found that; •

•

•

•

•

“Tear gas and pepper spray exposures cause immediate and severe pain leading to incapacitation.”147 “Tear gas and pepper spray exposures trigger cough directly but also cause profuse secretions within the airways due to sensory- autonomic reflexes. Secretions further aggravate cough and contribute to incapacitation by obstructing normal breathing and eliciting the fear of suffocation.”148 ”The toxicities of solvents and pyrotechnic reaction products, engages multiple toxicological mechanisms that remain to be studied.”149 “Exposed individuals with preexisting cardiovascular conditions and arrhythmias may be at increased risk of developing cardiovascular complications.”150 “Ninety percent of workers in a plant manufacturing a CS agent reported a history of dermatitis on the arms and neck … suggesting CS may act as a contact

147 148 149 150

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5096012/ Ibid Ibid Ibid

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

sensitizer.”151 “Circumstantial reports suggest a correlation between CS exposure and miscarriage.”152 U.S. Army show risk of acute respiratory illness in those exposed to CS agent is 2.5 times higher than those not exposed.

May cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and vomiting blood, accelerated heart rate (tachycardia), and transient hypertension.

Exposure to high concentrations can be fatal, a case in Egypt killed 37.

Exposure coupled with pre-existing conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease can experience deteriorated lung function following CS agent exposure, necessitating prolonged hospital stays The mutageniCity and potential carcinogenic effects of CS agent are not well understood Epidemiological research on tear gas health effects is clearly deficient and has received little public support

Other studies found that, after CS agent exposure; •

•

•

•

“CS spontaneously hydrolyzes to malonitrile, which is transformed to cyanide in animal tissues.”153 “CS and its metabolites can be detected in the blood after inhalation exposure.”

“CS is rapidly absorbed and distributed throughout the body after inhalation exposure.”154 “In mammalian species, CS rapidly hydrolyzes to form 2-chlorobenzaldehyde and malononitrile... The malononitrile intermediate is further metabolized from two cyanide moieties, which are converted to thiocyanate... The aldehyde intermediate undergoes oxidation to 2-chlorobenzoic acid or reduction to 2-chlorobenzyl alcohol.

These metabolites are conjugated and excreted in the urine.”155

151 Ibid 152 Ibid 153 https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-anddentistry/2-chlorobenzylidenemalononitrile 154 https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a539686.pdf 155 Ibid

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•

One study highlighted that use of CS agent for military training on a particularly humid day, followed by strenuous exercise by trainees, may have caused severe respiratory injuries that resulted in several people requiring ICU-level care.156

Emerging research promulgated through the increasing global use of CS agent has hypothesized connections between menstrual cycle perturbations and CS agent exposure.157 In addition, “clinical observations of increases in miscarriages and stillbirths after tear gas exposure have been reported in Gaza... and in Bahrain.” The pathway to menstrual cycle disruption may be based on CS metabolism into cyanide... A report noted, “teargas could affect women’s menstrual cycle through a molecular dysfunction due to decreased blood level oxygen (a consequence of increased cyanide blood levels). This would be consistent with studies showing hypoxia leads to impaired menstrual cycle among humans...” Further, “injection of CS in rodents was found to increase blood thiocyanate (the final product of cyanide in the metabolism ... Thiocyanate being a perturbator of the thyroid function... and thyroid dysfunction being related to menstrual disorders.”158

These perturbations would directly affect Seattleites sitting in their own homes. A capitol hill resident reported CS agent seeped into her apartment, 8 blocks from the detonation site.

“Two weeks after the first instance in which tear gas leaked into her home, [she] experienced the first of three periods she had within a roughly 28-day window — the average time it takes to complete just one menstrual cycle.”159 In addition, “more than a dozen Seattleites who told KUOW they recently experienced abnormal menstrual cycles in the wake of being exposed to the Seattle Police Department’s [CS] gas. Their 156 https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/ weaponreport_final_web_1.pdf 157 https://www.medrxiv.org/ content/10.1101/2020.10.11.20210955v1.full 158 Ibid 159 https://www.kuow.org/stories/protesters-report-bizarreperiods-after-tear-gas-exposure-but-connection-remains-a-mystery

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Right: Recovered CS agent chemical weapon munition used within the Period of Review.

The canister is classified as Hazardous Waste.

Source: David Ryder. https://www.photographer-in-seattle.com/crowd-control/

symptoms include having several periods in the time they would typically have just one, heavy bleeding, agonizing cramps, and menstruating for the first time after a gender transition.”160

A federal ban on CS agent is urgently warranted. Corroboration from multiple individuals this past summer exposed to CS agent in Seattle, Minnesota, and Portland, OR indicated menstrual cycle imbalances. This would preliminarily indicate that the use of CS agents could have a disproportionate effect on women within the exposure area, causing yet to be understood perturbations to women’s reproductive system, possibly indicating endocrine system disruption. The City of Seattle and SPD have yet to offer any investment in these epidemiological studies or evidence suggesting the use of CS agents is safe, and benign despite widespread and excessive use of CS agents on City residents.

A recent Kaiser survey of 2257 adults who had been exposed to CS agent in Portland, OR between July 30-August 20, 2020 found that over 80% of individuals exposed to CS agent suffered delayed onset symptoms after CS exposure, “sometimes persisting for days to weeks and often requiring medical attention.”

These symptoms ranged from issues related to lungs and/or chest (47.1%) to menstrual cycle changes (54.5%), gastrointestinal problems (28.3%), head (27.7%), and eye issues (26.3%).

Over 54% of those exposed reported seeking, or intention to seek professional medical care after exposure, indicating widespread trauma “affecting multiple body systems,” and increased burden on the healthcare system after CS agent use. This increased burden on the healthcare system was artificially manufactured by police forces, authorized by chiefs and the mayor, during the global COVID-19 pandemic.161 The Kaiser survey provides valuable contemporary insight into CS agent use, and identifies potential links between CS agent use and endocrine system disruption, affecting the reproductive 160 https://www.kuow.org/stories/protesters-report-bizarreperiods-after-tear-gas-exposure-but-connection-remains-a-mystery 161 https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/ s12889-021-10859-w#Sec21

system that must be studied further.

Additionally, the stated policy goals of CS weapons use and the resulting effects of its use are incongruent. SPD aims to “move” protesters, “create distance” or “restore order” when administering CS chemical weapons on our neighbors. In practice, CS agent results in instantaneous disorientation, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, headache, gaging, chocking sensation, burning sensation in the eyes, blurred vision.

Symptoms, which in their totality, act to totally debilitate anyone exposed. What public safety strategy is it to condemn residents to suffering and disability through chemical weapons?

How does this help them move, egress, or comply with commands? If anything, CS agent promulgates chaos. SPD policy allowing CS use directly promulgates this chaos within our City.

CS agent is a barbaric tool of suffering, not a tool of public safety. The direct authorization by then-Chief Carmen Best to use these weapons conveys a deep-seated contempt for human health from the executive level down to incident commanders and officers.

In addition to CS agent within each canister, the explosives used by SPD also include cytotoxic and genotoxic chemicals such as barium chromate, and lead dithiocyanate.

The significant bombardments of CS chemical weapons on Seattle residents, the known dearth in epidemiological and toxicological study, SPD’s expansive use and extreme indifference to the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, use without warning, and preventing egress from sites of use, show a callous disregard to human health, antithetical to public safety. How many Seattle residents came to Westlake or Capitol Hill to assert that Black Lives Matter, and found themselves vomiting cyanide?

Thermal Burns

When it comes to their own personnel, SPD acknowledges that the action of deploying the CS grenade canister itself is, in itself, dangerous.

The combusting canister can reach temperatures of up to 310 °F causing severe burns. Ofc Jorge

Figure 15.

Bourdon notes in his 2020UOF-1003 report that, “I didn’t want a protester to pick up the CS can and launched [sic] back to our line. That’s a safety issue due to the CS canister being extremely hot and could [sic] cause burns to officers.“ Yet, there is no consideration that CS agent could cause burns to Seattle residents?

CS agent canisters have been known to cause second to third degree burns.162 In fact, SPD or a partner agency caused first and second degree burns to the Seattle community during the period of review.163 Yet, SPD discharged at least 72 CS agent grenades at the public. In one incident, SPD struck MSNBC reporter Jo Ling Kent on 6/2/20, hitting her upper body with a CS grenade.164 162 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8747730/ 163 https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/bonafilia-declaration 164 https://www.msnbc.com/11th-hour/watch/nbc-news-joling-kent-hit-by-flashbang-grenade-as-seattle-protest-getschaotic-84218437884

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Hazardous Waste Use

2-chlorobenzylidenemalonitrile agent grenades have a shelf life of 5 years.165 A preliminary review of photographic evidence would suggest that SPD and/or a partner agency, deployed expired CS agent chemical weapons on Seattle residents during the Period of Review. Under the Resource Conservations and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976, these munitions, once expired, are defined as “hazardous waste” and assigned EPA hazardous waste code D001. Disposal of these items must be done in accordance with all applicable Federal and State law. As evinced through the recovery of a used specimen of CS agent, it is clear that, SPD and/or a partner agency may have illegally disposed of hazardous waste on City residents during the Period of Review.

2020 SPD Community Assessment

The photograph of a recovered munition suggests that the canisters are at least 13 years old or more. As indicated on the canister, it is manufactured by Defense Technology Corporation of America, an Armor Holdings Inc. Company. Defense Technology is now owned by Safariland. Armor Holdings Inc. was purchased and renamed in 2007 to BAE Systems Mobility and Protection Systems.

Additionally, as conveyed in an after-action OIG report, “Personnel also reported that SPD likely used expired CS canisters during the recent demonstrations. Upon inquiry from OIG, personnel explained that expired canisters lose effectiveness over time, but there should not be any additional danger when deployed.”166

The official position of the Seattle Police Department, a publicly funded City department, tasked with ensuring the health and safety of all, claimed that, “there should not be any additional danger when deployed,” in reference to materials classified by the EPA as hazardous waste. The contempt for the health and safety of our City residents and environment is an 165 https://www.defense-technology.com/product/flameless-trichamber-cs-grenade/ 166 -OIG (Review of the SPD Crowd Dispersal Policy and Less Lethal Weapons, Aug 14, 2020, pg 18) (SOURCE)

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Right: Chart 10. SPD CS Agent and Unspecified Chemical Weapons use. Source: SPD PDR data.

endemic disease within the Seattle Police Department.

Environmental Considerations

In addition to the known and unknown human toxicological effects, CS agent will make its way to our broader environment through settlement and stormwater. Contrary to SMC 22.802.020, which prohibits the discharge of chemicals and heavy metals into the City storm drain system, SPD chose to voluntarily discharge known toxic, harmful chemicals & heavy metals with bioaccumulative potential into the City storm water system. Safety data sheets for CS agent grenades show known materials that are toxic to aquatic organisms, harmful to the environment, and direct users to not allow product to reach ground water, water course or sewage system. A review of SPD data indicated that within the Period of Review, at least 72 canisters of CS agent were used within City limits. At 20g of CS agent per canister, the City voluntarily discharged at least 1,440g of CS agent into the public right of way, leading to the City storm drain system. This intentional discharge of chemical agents known to be toxic and poisonous to aquatic organisms evinces a total disregard for the health of humans and of the entire ecosystem. Voluntary release of toxic chemicals by the City of Seattle which are toxic to aquatic life and health would appear to violate SMC 22.802.020167: Prohibited Discharges. The following common substances are prohibited to enter, either directly or indirectly, a public drainage system, a private drainage system, or a receiving water within or contiguous to Seattle City limits, including but not limited to when entering via a service drain, overland flow, or as a result of a spill or deliberate dumping: 6. chemicals not normally found in uncontaminated water

In addition to CS agent, the grenades used

167 https://library.municode.com/wa/seattle/codes/ municipal_code?nodeId=TIT22BUCOCO_SUBTITLE_VIIISTCO_ CH22.802PRPEDI_22.802.020PRDI

CS Agent Chemical Agent- Not Specified CS Agent Weapon Use Values CS Agent

# Incidents of Use

25

Chemical Agent- Not Specified

22

20

18

17

16

15 10

7

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30-May

Chart 10.

Months

31-May

3

1-Jun

May

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3

2-Jun

1 3-Jun

7-Jun

8-Jun

Jun

Date Occurred

by the Seattle Police Department contain other chemicals which are also established as toxic and very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects, such as magnesium stearate, diphenylamine, potassium chlorate, barium chromate, copper, zinc, lead chromate and lead dithiocyanate.

The voluntary use of these chemicals, and their discharge into the public right of way, the discharge of material considered hazardous waste, and the excessive use of these agents evince a total disregard for the health of our environment and the food systems it supports.

For our indigenous neighbors, who’s culture and livelihood has centered around the abundance of aquatic life throughout the Salish Sea, these actions form a continuation of genocide and colonialism, poisoning people, food and a way of life.

Use

In total, SPD would detonate at least 72 CS agent grenades in Seattle streets. Records obtained by the authors indicate a cost of $30.59 for each CS tri-chamber grenade.168 In addition, WSP officers may have used an additional, “25 tear gas canisters and launching about 35 CS gas projectiles during that time [Between May30 and June 4].”169 . This would account for an 168 SPD purchase order #SP0-PAJ2100340 169 https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/how-ambiguityand-a-loophole-undermined-seattles-ban-on-tear-gas-duringgeorge-floyd-demonstrations/

additional 60 uses of CS agent, bringing the total to 132 incidents of CS agent use. Incidents of CS agent use by SPD are presented in Chart 10.

Additionally, presented within Chart 10 are uses of chemical agents which were not specified by SPD. These may be CS or OC aerosol grenades or other chemical munitions unknown to the authors. As SPD has given this panel a six month turnaround for individual UoF reports.

The verification of each unspecified chemical use would take years of waiting for records requests. Thus unspecified chemical agent use is presented on its own. The authors do not know what chemicals agents SPD used at this point in time.

In records obtained from the Kent Police Department, the debilitating and paralyzing affects of CS agent are described on 5/30/20.

Once deployed, officers were then forced to use further violence on women who had become debilitated and disoriented from the effects of CS agent. Officer Westcott wrote: “At another point as we were moving the crowd back gas was deployed and two females, who were effected [sic] by the gas were not moving when ordered to do so. Since I was too close to deploy my munitions a line officer, using trained tactics, helped and pushed these two females back. One of the unknown females

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2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

was reluctant to move even when being helped by her female friend. I did not see what directly happened but noticed at one point her nose was slightly bleeding from her left nostril. These two females were finally moved along as we pushed forward to an unknown street.”170

CS agent bombardment was so extensive, that chemicals permeated throughout surrounding resident’s dwelling units, contaminating living spaces, and in one case resulting in a 3mo old baby struggling to breathe. The father of the infant testified at a Seattle City council meeting days later: “My 3mo-old son … who was sleeping, was awoken from his sleep coughing, crying, spitting out mucus,” he said, telling the council he and his wife and son fled in their car. “Mucus was bubbling out of his nose, he was bright red. …

My wife had to pour breast milk on his eyes.”171

In BWV recordings captured over Kent Police BWV172 on 5/30/20, SPD directives for CS can be heard:

2020 SPD Community Assessment

Ofc (T01:52:10 Zulu): “Hey SWAT, once you’re ready I want CS.”

An Ofc is seen overhand throwing CS. Was faced with a crowd of individuals approximately 150 feet away. At no moment leading up to this incident as shown in the recording was SPD faced with any acts of violence warranting CS deployment. At no point leading up to this moment within the BWV segment were individuals damaging any property. Officers had effectively “created space” between themselves and demonstrators without the use of any weapons. Yet, despite this ~150 feet of space between police and protesters, SPD ordered the deployment of CS chemical weapons.

In another incident captured over Kent Police BWV173 on 5/30/20, a conspicuous use of CS chemical weapons were used on a large group of individuals who were entirely 170 Kent PD, Case#20-7038, Sup# 0001 171 https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2020/06/04/43840246/ seattle-residents-got-tear-gassed-in-their-own-apartments 172 Kent PD, BWV, AXON 2 X81455641, 5/30/20 173 Kent PD, BWV, AXON 2 X81455641, 5/30/20

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Right: SPD extraordinary use of CS agent chemical weapons at the intersection of 11th and E Pine St. Source: https://twitter.com/chaseburnsy/status/1269888560129208323

non-violent and had not engaged in property destruction: (T 5/31/20 02:00:57 Zulu): Individuals stand in front of police line and chant “Hands up don’t shoot.”

(T02:00:57 Zulu): No acts of violence are occurring. Individuals stand with hands up.

(T02:01:26 Zulu): Without any warning, without any dispersal order, and with no violence occurring whatsoever, police deploy a massive volley of multiple CS weapons on individuals.

Individuals scream in terror. One shouts, “what the fuck?”

After this incident, a man can be seen on BWV wheezing, hunched over, exclaiming that, “I have asthma...I need medical attention.”

He gasped for air as he struggled to breathe, stating, “I can’t breathe” multiple times.174 It should be noted here, that the Seattle Police Department released chemical weapons which caused a man, who suffers from asthma to struggle for his life. Restriction of oxygen to the heart, cells and brain (hypoxia) can lead directly to death. This man requested medical attention, yet none was summoned.

After this incident, captured over Kent Police BWV175 on 5/30/20, officers can be heard remarking on CS use: NE #1 (T02:06:30 Zulu): “I wish they’d [SPD and KCSO] stop throwing those [CS].”

In another incident, captured on BWV, after a massive bombardment of CS chemical weapons at the intersection of 5th and Pine St. on 5/30/20, Kent PD officers can be heard asking, “what the fuck are we doing?” while another officer looks back and shakes his head.176

On 5/30/20, SPD’s use of CS agent caused a U.S. Navy Veteran to undergo an asthma attack 174 Kent PD, BWV, AXON 2 X81427615, 5/30/20.

175 Kent PD, BWV, AXON 2 X81455641, 5/30/20.

176 Kent PD BWV, AXON 2 X81456370, 5/30/20.

EXPIRED CS CAN PHOTO (https://www.photographer-inseattle.com/crowd-control/) SCREENSHOT OF CS CANISTER GOING OFF ( https://www.reddit.com/r/Seattle/ comments/gu3qq1/cop_just_casually_

Figure 16.

in downtown Seattle.177 The extensive use of CS chemical weapons throughout a residential neighborhood caused many Seattle residents to flee, displaced from their own homes, due to the excessive, extraordinary and consistent use of chemical weapons near their residences.178

On June 5th, 2020, OIG, OPA, and CPC wrote to SPD, imploring them to stop the mass administration of CS chemical weapons throughout Seattle on residents exercising their constitutional rights.179 Days after this memorandum was issued to SPD, then-Chief Carmen Best would authorize the deployment of at least 23 more CS agent grenades on Seattle residents. On 6/8/20, SPD would discharge CS agent grenades into community medical tents, as confirmed by OPA: “BWV did show CS canisters offgassing in a manner that would almost certainly affect persons inside the tents.”180 OPA found it okay that SPD discharged CS within the medical tent area because the medics themselves did not have large enough signs signifying themselves as medics.181 For multiple days, SPD would densely carpet Seattle neighborhoods with CS agent, effecting residents for blocks around the sites of

deployment.

This report could engage in debate around the mechanics of how officers threw CS agent canisters and whether they were within policy.

In one instance, Ofc J. Bourdon (7523) reasoned that he needed to throw CS grenades overhand because he wanted, “to avoid the protesters from seeing the canister coming.”182 The Ofc who struck a reporter live on TV with a CS agent grenade threw his CS grenade in an overhand throw.183 In many deployments of CS and blast weapons, SPD officers showed a contempt for human life. The use of CS agent promulgates chaos and is used to condemn the public to suffering and disorientation, poison our neighbors and our environment. The department continues to purchase and stockpile CS chemical weapons.

182 Jorge Bourdon. Use of Force Report #2020UOF-1003. Case # 2020-178585. 6/2/20.

183 OPA Case #2020OPA-0333. Closed Case Summary.

177 https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/ekenezar-declaration 178 https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/harvey-declaration 179 https://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/OIG/Other/ AccountabilityMassDemoMemo060520.pdf 180 OPA Case # 2020OPA-0344. Closed Case Summary.

181 Ibid

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2020 SPD Community Assessment

1.0 Section Name & Title Figure 17.

x 72

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2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

Right: Chart 11. 40mm Projectile use. Source: SPD PDR data.

2.4 40mm Projectiles Types

40mm rounds are shot from a gun with a single barrel, reloaded after each shot, or from a “multi-launcher” which can hold up to six individual rounds. These rounds are called 40mm as their caliber is 40mm in diameter. Multiple types of 40mm projectiles have been used by SPD: •

•

•

Blue Nose rounds are inert and are “designed” to be used between 16-131 feet.

They have a velocity of 222 MPH. Black, 6325LE, rounds are higher energy and “designed” to be used at extended distances of 33-230 feet. They are also inert and are fired at a velocity of 273 MPH. Orange tip rounds (OC crushable foam) are supposed to be used between 16-131 feet. They include a crushable foam nose that contains a payload of OC agent and are shot at slightly slower velocity of 201 MPH.

2020 SPD Community Assessment

On 10/19/20, SPD ordered 200 6325LE 40mm projectiles, at a total cost of $5,700 ($28.50 per round). Further records obtained by the authors indicate the department is additionally purchasing and stockpiling: • • •

•

Direct Impact “Marking” 40mm Rounds Wooden Baton 40mm Rounds OC “Ferret” Barricade Penetrating Rounds filled with OC Powder CS “Ferret” Barricade Penetrating Rounds filled with CS Powder

It is unclear how shooting chunks of beechwood, one of the hardest woods available, into peoples’ ribs at 177 miles per hour, would advance any objective beyond the barbaric administration of suffering. This panel contacted SPD public affairs, inquiring what policy governed the use of these 40mm wood rounds, as they are specifically not defined within SPD’s Title 8 Use of Force policy. SPD replied, “If it is not in the manual, then it isn’t a tool used

by Seattle PD.”184 Despite clear evidence these 184 Correspondence, SPD,

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0

10

20

30

40mm

0

5 10mm

40mm projectile blast grenade

9mm luger bullet

(Sold as a “warning/signaling” device)

(for comparison)

(Not tracked by ATF, and used by WSP on Seattle residents on 5/30/20) Figure 18.

Sum of 40mm Total

40mm Projectile Use 30 25

# Incidents of Use

25

21 20 15

15

10

10

7

5

2

1 0

29-May

Chart 11.

Months

30-May

31-May

3

1 1-Jun

2-Jun

3-Jun

May

7

6-Jun Jun

7-Jun

2

8-Jun

1-Jul

25-Jul Jul

Date Occurred

weapons are purchased by the department (125 in one single order)185, SPD would imply the department doesn’t use them.

In addition to 40mm rounds used by SPD, other agencies would confirm the use of: • 40mm CS agent Skat rounds186 (delivers multiple CS chemical weapons munitions shot from one 40mm projectile) • 40mm “stinger” rubber pellet rounds187 (delivers either 130 32cal or 18 60cal rubber pellet BBs from a single shot, akin to a shotgun spray) Mechanical Trauma

It is important to note that, while these projectiles are called “less than lethal,” they in fact can result in death. “Impacts closer than 10 meters or targeting the subject’s head, neck, or upper torso can result in serious injury of death.”188

Steve Ijames in a 2016 report found that only, “highly trained officers who have a proven mastery (validated training) of the potentially deadly limitations of the systems involved,” 185 SPD purchase order #SP0-PAJ2100340 186 Used by WSP, Kent PD, and likely by SPD on 5/30/20 187 Used by Tukwila PD on 5/30/20 188 https://www.defense-technology.com/wp-content/ uploads/2020/08/40mm-eXact-iMpact-LE-Extended-Range-SpongeRound-6325LE_Updated-Spec.pdf

should be equipped with 40mm rifles. Ijames noted that, “historically, impact launchers have been involved in a disproportionate number of accidental/unintended serious injuries as compared to other [violence] options during crowd control events.”189 Yet, despite these previous recommendations, then-Chief Carmen Best would authorize any and all regular patrol officers the use of 40mm rifles, within the period of review.190 Consequently, SPD would injure countless members of the Seattle community through seemingly erratic use of the 40mm weapon.

A report produced by Physicians for Human Rights, and the Internal Network of Civil Liberties Organizations, noted that Kinetic Impact Projectiles (KIPS), “are not only likely to be lethal at close range, but are likely to be inaccurate and indiscriminate at longer ranges, even those recommended by manufacturers for safety.”191 Use

Within the Period of Review, SPD selfreported the use of at least 94 40mm projectiles.

The veracity of reporting on the specific munition type of 40mm shell remains to be 189 https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4449717-Dkt-41Kalish-Declaration-ISO-Sanctions pg68 190 https://www.documentcloud.org/ documents/6938577-4860-001 191 https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/ weaponreport_final_web_1.pdf

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confirmed, and no known to the authors munitions tracking system is currently in place to verify if officers shot more than they claimed.

In many instances, Seattle residents were hit with projectiles, even as they presented no threat to officers, property, or the public.

On 7/25/20, as a man, ” walked away [from officers], he was struck in the back with another projectile.” OPA concluded photographs of his injuries were consistent with 40mm or FN303 projectiles.192 OPA couldn’t locate who fired at this individual. In another instance, OPA found; “It is entirely possible that an officer fired a 40mm “blue nose” round which intentionally or unintentionally affected the Complainant.”193 No discipline or consequences would result from the injuries to these individuals who presented no threat to public safety.

2020 SPD Community Assessment

In another incident, a woman was hit directly in the stomach with a 40mm without provocation, or presenting any threat, standing about 25 feet away from police. She presented no threat and was peacefully standing.194

In another instance, a journalist for the UW Daily, who was wearing press markings, and could be distinguished as press through the use of his large camera, was hit with a 40mm baton round. ”As he was walking on Pine Street between Broadway and 10th Avenue, [he] was suddenly hit from behind by a baton round. At that point, no one was within 4-5 feet of him” indicating he was clearly targeted or injured through gross negligence.195

On 7/25/20, another individual explained being targeted by SPD; “I was peacefully protesting and was not throwing anything at or threatening the police. I was holding up an umbrella in the direction of the police. Umbrellas are not weapons. About 20 minutes after the police engaged the crowd, a SWAT member 192 OPA Case #2020OPA-0483. Closed Case Summary.

193 OPA Case #2020OPA-0524. Closed Case Summary.

194 https://kuow-prod.imgix.net/ store/089f3fd5cfb7f4c64be4aba6130f40c7.pdf pg 75 195 https://kuow-prod.imgix.net/ store/089f3fd5cfb7f4c64be4aba6130f40c7.pdf

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in gray coveralls who was about 10 feet away from me fired a baton round at me, hitting me directly in the right thigh. I posed no threat. I was not breaking anything, hurting anybody or threatening the police. But they still shot me in my leg for no reason.”196

Additionally, on 7/25/20, a male operating a battery-operated leaf blower who was blowing dust from SPD’s deployed munitions back toward the police line was targeted and struck by SPD with a 40mm weapon in the abdomen and legs three separate times.197 The individual employed a store-bought leaf blower, to direct chemical agents away from people standing in the street. In this incident a Bellevue PD Ofc stated the man was, “blowing dust and debris in our direction making it very difficult to see the crowd. Due to the limited sight and the crowd throwing rocks, bottle, and explosives at officers, I feared for the safety of myself and other officers on scene.”198 Yet this man had not thrown any rocks, bottles, or explosives at police. SPD would strike a man with a 40mm round for doing little more than inconvenience their line of sight. Yet, officers are not concerned about their line of sight when they deploy volleys of chemical weapons canisters on the street, billowing plumes of opaque toxic aerosols for 20-30 seconds at a time, covering entire City blocks. Working in concert with SPD, WSP deployed HC dedicated smoke grenade canisters, specifically designed to produce massive plume of opaque smoke.

The varying logic for the use of weapons appear contradictory.

In another incident, on 7/25/20, video showed an individual wearing a bike helmet hit directly in the head by a 40mm projectile. OPA noted, “If an officer did deploy a 40mm at the head of an individual who was not engaging in any violence, as appeared to be shown by the video, this would clearly violate policy. However, due to OPA’s inability to identify when the force [violence] was used and who used it, OPA 196 Matney Declaration. 7/27/20. https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/ matney-declaration 197 https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/lagree-declaration 198 Bellevue PD Case #20-34699, Castellanos Narrative

cannot reach a definitive conclusion on this allegation.”199 In other words, OPA was given clear video evidence, showing an individual struck in the head by 40mm round, who presented no danger to officers or the public.

In receipt of this evidence, OPA chose to reject seeking any accountability for SPD’s actions.

199 OPA Case #2020OPA-0644. Closed Case Summary.

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2020 SPD Community Assessment

2.0 Detailed SPD Weapons Analysis

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

Right Top: FN303 Projectile Use as reported by SPD. Source: SPD PDR data.

Right Bot: SPD brandishing FN303 guns

2.5 FN303 Projectiles Types

Each .68 caliber (appx 12 gage) FN303 round holds a bismuth metal particle payload within a hard plastic bullet. Like some 40mm rounds, the FN303 round can also hold PAVA (synthetic OC), or paint. Records obtained by this panel show SPD purchases the rounds in packages at a cost of $652.89 per package.200 Mechanical Trauma

In 2004, Victoria Snelgrove, a journalism student at Emerson College, was struck in the eye by an FN303 round fired by the Boston Police Department (BPD). “The autopsy found that the pellet opened a three-quarter-inch hole in the bone behind the eye, broke into nine pieces, and damaged the right side of her brain.”

She was killed following the injury.201

The same day Boston Police killed Snelgrove, they shot two other people in the face with FN303 rounds, penetrating skin and causing injury. Both approached BPD seeking medical aid. One of the injured, Paul Gatley, approached BPD seeking aid and was shot as many as 12 times by FN303 rounds.202 His injuries would require multiple stitches. Kapila Bhamidipati, who was shot in the forehead, would later “require surgical removal of fragments of the projectile from the head. This clearly shows that skin penetrations can occur.”203

Boston Police commissioner Kathleen M. O’Toole (who would later become Seattle Chief of Police in 2014), commissioned an independent investigation into Snelgrove’s death. Two years after the findings were released, Boston Police would destroy all the departments FN3030 rifles, melting the weapons down into sewer manhole covers, never to use them again.204 The killing 200 SPD purchase order #SP0-PAJ2100340 201 https://www.Cityofboston.gov/images_documents/sternreport_ tcm3-8954.pdf 202 Ibid. pg11 203 Ibid. pg37 204 https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/23/us/23pepper.html

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0

1/4

1/2 3/4”

FN303 PAVA Chemical Projectile

0

5 10mm

9mm luger bullet (for comparison)

Figure 19.

of Snelgrove would cost the City of Boston the life of a young woman, in addition to a wrongful death settlement totaling $5,000,000.

Yet, as Seattle Chief of Police between 20142017, 10 years after Snelgrove’s killing, O’Toole would not appear to apply any of her knowledge of the dangers of the FN303 weapons systems to SPD, broadly allowing SPD to use the weapon, despite known risks and liabilities. At the time of publishing, SPD has not responded to requests seeking communications inclusive of Chief O’Toole regarding the FN303 weapon.

Use

SPD would report the use of the FN303 at least 49 times within the period of review. The rapid-fire semi-automatic FN303 contains a magazine with 15 rounds. It is unclear whether each FN303 UoF reported by SPD is a single projectile fired from an FN303, or if each UoF encompasses a general use or “volley” of the FN303 within an incident, potentially discharging up to 15 rounds within a single incident before requiring a change in magazines. No known policy for the use of FN303 weapons has been made available to the public. SPD utilized PAVA and yellow marking rounds during the Period of Review according to Sgt Randy Huserik. Purchase order records indicate SPD is continuing to purchase and stockpile PAVA powder FN303 rounds.

Sum of FN303

FN303 Projectile Use 10

9

9

8

# Incidents of Use

8 7

6

6

6 5

5 4

5

5

3

3

2

2 1 0

30-May

Chart 12.

Months

31-May May

1-Jun

2-Jun

3-Jun

6-Jun Jun

7-Jun

8-Jun

25-Jul Jul

Date Occurred

Figure 20.

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2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

2.6 Pepperball Projectiles Types

Multiple types of rounds are available for pepperball guns. The types containing active chemical agents are marketed as: • •

Live Type (Containing 0.5% PAVA agent) Live-X Type (Containing 5.0% PAVA agent, ten times the amount of agent in a typical round)

Toxicology

Pepperballs contain a synthetic chemical agent, Pelargonic Acid Vanillylamide (PAVA), distinguished from OC agent. In essence, OC and PAVA are very similar in terms of toxicological effects.

2020 SPD Community Assessment

Figure 21.205 Capsaicin C18H27NO3

Figure 22.206 Pelargonic Acid Vanillylamide (PAVA) C17H27NO3

Use SPD reported the use of pepperballs a total of three times within the Period of Review, twice on May 30 and once on July 25. Reportedly, in one of those incidents, a woman was struck by a pepperball directly in the eye by SPD or a mutual 205 https://www.caymanchem.com/product/92350/capsaicin 206 https://www.caymanchem.com/product/25328/nonivamide

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0

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1/2 3/4”

“LIVE” Pepperball Round Figure 23.

0

5 10mm

9mm luger bullet (for comparison)

aid agency. This would preliminarily indicate that, in 33% of pepperball uses within the Period of Review, SPD has permanently maimed the public.

The woman recalled, she, “was at a May 30 protest, holding a sign with the names of Black people killed by police, when a pepper ball shot by a police officer struck her left eye…“I immediately just started screaming, ‘My eye is burning. My face!’ ” said the 36-year-old, who still cannot see out of the eye. [She] already has undergone one surgery, and she may need up to two more. Doctors can’t yet determine how much of her sight she might regain, and she hasn’t been able to work.”207 The woman “described that she felt burning in her mouth and nose, in addition to the pain in her eye.

She described the experience as being ‘hell on Earth.’”208

Within an update on her personal go-fundme page, she indicated that, “there was too much scar tissue on the retina that was not able to be removed. There was excessive damage to the “threads” that hold the eye in place, so a metal stabilizer was needed to be placed in 207 https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/as-legalclaims-over-protests-and-police-pile-up-seattle-faces-insurancerisks/ 208 https://www.kuow.org/stories/a-child-pepper-sprayed-awomans-eye-nearly-lost-denounce-seattle-police-tactics

her eye. After several more follow ups with her doctor there has been very little change in [Her] vision. It is still not certain if she will ever recover her vision in that eye. She is still in a substantial amount of pain from the injury and the damage to her eye and from the metal piece that is now there.”209

It is unclear if OPA has opened an investigation into the woman’s loss of her eye.

OPA has not responded to requests from this panel, and the exact projectile which caused her injury has not yet been fully verified. Expanding the use of Pepperball weapons will only bring more injury, pain and suffering to our Seattle community.

In reviewing, one incident, photographs documenting pepperball injuries210 show at least four deep welts on a man’s chest resulting from pepperball rounds fired at the man on 7/25/20. However, only one use of pepperball weapon was reported on 7/25/20, not four, as indicated by the injuries the man sustained. SPD policy requires officers to report each “volley” of pepperball rounds shot at people.211 What constitutes a “volley” is extraordinarily subjective.

Again, the language used by SPD elicits a game mentality. One round or 50 rounds shot from the semi-automatic weapon, its all the same. As a matter of policy, why would it be okay to fire multiple rounds of ammunition at an individual and classify it as only one use of violence? If someone punched an individual three times, would you classify it as one punch? If an officer shot an individual four times with four 40mm rounds, would this be classified as only one use of violence? Because the weapon itself lends itself to rapidly successive, semi-automatic

discharge, the department has incorporated the inherent violent potential of the weapon directly into policy. The department has essentially artificially depressed the frequency of violence used on our Seattle community by classifying multiple discharges of the weapon into one singular use reported as a UoF.

SPD policy related to impact weapons requires officers to justify each successive strike.

Why would strikes of a semi-automatic weapon be treated any differently? Each individual round has the potential to end someones life as they know it, preventing them from ever seeing again.

Our bodies are not a paintball park target, yet this is how the Seattle Police Department has structured their policy.

209 https://www.gofundme.com/f/medical-bills-fund-for-littlenikita-blm-seattle?utm_campaign=p_cp_url&utm_medium=os&utm_ source=customer 210 https://twitter.com/LizTurnbull5/status/1287205680814813184/ photo/1 211 SPD 8.300–POL–11 7. “Officers must Justify Each Separate Volley of a Pepperball Deployment After the initial volley of pepperball deployment, each subsequent deployment must be reasonable, and the employee will re-evaluate the situation accordingly.”

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2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

2.0 Detailed SPD Weapons Analysis

2.7 SPD Weapons Use Graphic Tabulation The following section provides a graphic tabulation of SPD’s self-reported use of chemical weapons, blast grenades, munitions and projectiles during the discrete period of review.

Each graphic item represents one reported use.

•3 pepper ball volleys •49 FN303 rounds •1 NFDD grenade

•23 “other” chemicals

•72 CS chemical grenades

•21 OC chemical grenades •218 OC blast grenades

•401 inert blast grenades •94 40mm projectiles

•399 uses of OC spray

2020 SPD Community Assessment

Were shot & discharged at Seattle residents.

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* * * * * * * * * * * * Indicates SPD Self-Reported Weapon’s Use as “Chemical Other”

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? * Indicates SPD Self-Reported Weapon’s Use

as “40mm.” The exact type of 40mm projectile is unknown at this time.

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? Indicates SPD Self-Reported Pepperball Weapon’s Use.

Each use is reported as a “volley. ” Thus, the exact number of projectiles fired is unknown at this time.

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2.0 Detailed SPD Weapons Analysis 2020 SPD Community Assessment

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SPD Ofc Carl John Anderson, “did not remember where he threw the blast ball or specifically why. He further did not notice at the time that it struck anyone.”

Source: OPA Case # 2020OPA-0344. Closed Case Summary.

Capitol Hill. 8/26/20. © Mike Scaturo

Figure 25.

https://www.mikescaturo.com/seattle-protests

2020 SPD Community Assessment

Westlake. 5/30/20. © Mike Scaturo

Figure 24.

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

3.0 SPD Tactics of Violence

3.0 SPD Tactics of Violence In 2020, OPA revealed that they had received complaints related to 602 individual police officers, equating to roughly 40% of sworn SPD employees.212 One SPD employee received 14 complaints in one year. When the public has a problem with almost half of your entire staff, that is evidence of systemic deficiencies reflective of the entire corporate entity. Yet OPA merely reports these numbers as a fact, not a concern. As an assessment, this would indicate widespread structural deficiencies in the operations, procedures, communications, training, disposition, and leadership of the department. The following section elaborates on the specific tactics of violence SPD utilizes through physical actions, policy, and communications.

Pandora’s Box of Policy Paradox

Official SPD Policy encompasses hundreds of sections and pages. In essence and in practice, the policies of the department can be summarized in a nutshell as follows:

2020 SPD Community Assessment

Figure 26.

Title 8.300 - Use of Force POL-001 A. Officers shall try not to hurt people, if possible.

B. Incidentally, unique circumstances may cause officers to hurt people.

The following sections illustrate some of the paradoxes that official SPD policy surfaces related to use of violence and accountability.

In essence, policy allows for the use of violence whenever an officer wants to use violence, irrespective of the actions or disposition of the 212 http://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/OPA/ Reports/2020-Annual-Report.pdf (pg 11)

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victim of that violence. Through existing policy, City and state law, a Seattle Police officer can essentially create a justification to use violence out of thin air, on demand, at any moment, entrapping a victim through self-initiated commands or suspicion.

Justifying level of violence to meet a fabricated threat

In 1999, the Seattle Police Department actively spread rumors of threats of violence to officers during the WTO demonstrations.

These rumors were complete fabrications and were found as such by the City’s Accountability Review Committee (ARC), which published its findings in September of 2000. “Prior to the WTO there was a rumor among SPD that an FBI report had concluded that as many as five local police would be killed during the conference...

The Combined Chronological Log compiled by ARC is filled with reports of bomb threats and calls reporting explosives and guns... There were also calls reporting gun shots and reports of Molotov cocktails, none of which ARC has been able to substantiate… ARC investigators found the rumors of “Molotov cocktails” and sale of flammables from a supermarket had no basis in fact. But, rumors were important in contributing to the police sense of being besieged and in considerable danger.”213

In 2020, the Seattle Police Department would, again, manufacture a threat in order to justify an increasingly barbaric response to City residents who came to speak out, supporting and asserting that Black Lives Matter. On 6/1/20, SPD then-Assistant Chief likely Steve Hirjak conveyed that he relied on the severity of intelligence reports from Washington State Patrol and other federal partners that damage to SPD facilities was imminent. However, Hirjak was, “not aware of what, if anything, was done to verify this intelligence but stated that he relied on it as part of his decision making.”214 He would act as the City’s Incident Commander, conveying orders to his direct subordinate, East Precinct 213 http://depts.washington.edu/wtohist/documents/arcfinal.pdf 214 OPA Case #2020OPA-0334. Closed Case Summary.

Figure 27.

The Seattle Police Department’s Infinite Spiral of Violence

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2020 SPD Community Assessment

3.0 SPD Tactics of Violence

then-Captain Bryan Grenon.

Grenon is well versed in military violence, as he is concurrently a Brigadier General in the Washington National Guard. Grenon was so consumed in his military service that he deferred major crowd management decisions to his next subordinate, a Lieutenant, who administered a massive attack on hundreds, if not thousands, of people standing at the intersection of 11th and Pine street on 6/1/20 during the infamous “Pink Umbrella Attack”. This Lieutenant, likely John Brooks,215 would convey at 21:10, “Per IC [Hirjak] deploy blast balls and CS. SWAT go ahead and deploy CS, and blast balls.”216 In addition, a Tweet by SPD on 6/1/20 at 21:31 stated, “Incident Commander [Hirjak] at demonstration on Capitol Hill is declaring the incident a riot.”

Brooks, “pointed to intelligence obtained

by SPD, as well as the rapid deployment of umbrellas across the front line of the crowd, as evidence that significant elements of the crowd planned a confrontation. [He] was aware of and concerned about efforts to burn down the East Precinct, based on the intelligence reports.”217 Another SPD Employee (then-Captain Bryan Grenon) recalled being “concerned that the crowd would attempt to burn the East Precinct if it broke through the line.” Further, Assistant Chief of Police Thomas Mahaffey, in a court declaration, stated, “SPD received reliable intelligence from other agencies [plural] of intent to destroy buildings in Seattle.”218 However, the “OPA has not located and the Department has not produced any tangible documentation of such a threat or of the intelligence relied upon that would have warranted the violence used.”219

Hirjak would order a barbaric volley of explosives and chemical weapons directly into a crowd of hundreds, if not thousands of Seattle residents. According to OPA, “video [of the 215 https://southseattleemerald.com/2021/05/13/spd-chief-diazoverturns-opa-decision-declines-to-specify-discipline/ 216 OPA Case #2020OPA-0334. Closed Case Summary.

217 Ibid 218 Mahaffey Declaration, 20-cv-00887RAJ, https://www.aclu-wa. org/file/104347/download?token=g-Bz5b8z 219 OPA Case #2020OPA-0334. Closed Case Summary.

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incident] did not depict any acts of violence.”220 SPD would deploy 3 CS agent grenades, 18 unspecified chemical weapon munitions, 10 40mm projectiles, 1 stinger blast grenade, 27 uses of OC spray, 1 OC aerosol grenade, 13 OC blast grenades, 22 inert blast grenades, and 5 uses of FN303 rounds. 100 uses of projectiles, blast grenades, and chemical weapons in total.

This incident would be known as the “Pink Umbrella Attack.” Our neighbors, friends, and family, who came to speak in solidarity with the victims of police violence were met with more unrelenting, unnecessary, and unreasonable violence.

Today, Bryan Grenon is now an Assistant Chief of Police, John Brooks is now a Captain, and Adrian Diaz is now the Chief of Police.

Assistant Chief Hirjak, who ordered this volley of explosives and chemical weapons on Seattle residents who were, “not openly violent”, has since been “returned” to Captain rank.221

Within a 6/10/20 press conference hosted

by SPD.222 Assistant Chief Deanna Nollette responded to a reporter’s question regarding the credibility of these threats to SPD facilities: Reporter Question: “In relation to these threats, how credible do you consider them?”

Nollette: “well I consider them incredibly credible.”

Within an OIG preliminary review of incidents throughout the summer of 2020, OIG noted, “In interviews, SPD maintained they had specific information about threats to precinct facilities.“223 Yet, none of these intelligence reports have been released to the public. Plainly, that is because at least one of the “intelligence reports” never existed. In records requests to the Washington State Patrol, who Hirjak directly referenced, WSP would confirm that no 220 OPA Case #2020OPA-0334. Closed Case Summary.

221 https://publicola.com/2021/05/26/diaz-demotes-assistantchief-for-june-2020-protest-response/ 222 https://komonews.com/news/local/spd-to-hold-pressconference-on-east-precinct 223 https://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/OIG/Other/ OIGReviewSPDCrowdPolicyLLWeapons081420.pdf (Pg 21)

Figure 28.

The Seattle Police Department’s Self-Fulfilling Spiral of Violence

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2020 SPD Community Assessment

3.0 SPD Tactics of Violence

intelligence reports referencing any threats to SPD facilities were issued.

These alleged reports were specifically used as justification for a massive scale assault of violence on the people of Seattle, causing numerous injuries and irreparable harm. Yet, one agency who was specifically referenced by SPD has claimed they did not send any reports.

The authors currently have a records requests pending resolution with other federal agencies for these specific alleged intelligence reports.

The content of these alleged reports remains completely undisclosed. The citizens of Seattle deserve to see these alleged reports and the correspondence between Chief Best, Mahaffey, Hirjak and others at the time these alleged reports were received and disseminated through the chain of command. Their absence from public view, further supports the supposition they were either non-existent, or not robust enough to release to the public, or any “accountability” agency after the fact, to support the level of violence inflicted on our community.

Here, Chief Diaz can act on his commitment to transparency and accountability and release these alleged intelligence reports that SPD widely and specifically cited to justify a campaign of suffering on our community. The authors request the open disclosure of these reports and request the termination of Steve Hirjak for his administration of wanton violence on our community and for his false statements indicating he had received intelligence reports from WSP; a fact that WSP has denied. Hirjak showed a contempt for human life, the truth, and the law, however it would not be his first and only transgression.224

As the OIG clearly notes for discipline cases, “it is important for non-police readers to know that officer decision-making on these factors is judged against the information known and understood by the officer using the force at the 224 Hirjak may have been personally involved in the preferential treatment of an SPD captain who was arrested on prostitution charges. In 2004, Steve Hirjak shot and killed Herbert Hightower Jr. during a mental health crisis. https://southseattleemerald. com/2020/12/19/in-my-own-words-justice-for-herbert-hightower-jr/

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Right: WSP response to PDR seeking records that SPD’s Steve Hirjak had specifically referenced in the justification of a massive attack against peaceful protesters at the intersection of 11th and E Pine St. on 6/1/20. Source: WSP PDR communications.

time of the force, rather than 20/20 hindsight.”225 In this case, we can reasonably surmise, that without the public release of these intelligence reports, SPD command, including then-Chief Carmen Best, likely deliberately fabricated a heightened level of threat, even spreading this rumor to other City departments, who notified City residents, stating, “we don’t believe that this will happen,”226 and then used this fabricated threat as justification for a campaign of wanton violence on our community. When the smoke cleared, no one would be accountable, as 20/20 hindsight is not permissible. This fabricated threat, would lead to real physical and psychological suffering and trauma on our community. Hirjak would be “held accountable” by being, “returned to his former rank.” Who received these “credible threats”? From which “agency” did they come from? Who made the threats? Why would Hirjak, Best, and Mahaffey not verify the “intelligence”? Why are Best, Mahaffey, Diaz and the entire command staff not complicit in the manufacturing of this 225 OIG Less Lethal Weapons Usage in Protests pg2 6/12/20 https://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/OIG/Other/ LessLethalWeaponsUsage06122020.pdf 226 https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2020/06/moving-trucksat-the-east-precinct-as-spd-announces-it-will-reopen-capitol-hillstreets/ “UPDATE: The Seattle Department of Neighborhood has sent an ominous sounding message to area businesses and organizations that warns of a “credible threat” to burn the precinct building down and notifying them that the building and nearby apartment buildings will be assessed for possible treatment with “a biodegradable foam fire suppressant” by the Seattle Fire Department as a preventative measure.

The City of Seattle would like to reach out to you about some changes that will be happening on Pine Street between 11th and 12th Avenue.

The Seattle Police Department (SPD) will be removing existing crowd barriers in order to support a peaceful protest march. While the protest is expected to be peaceful SPD has credible information about a potential intent to set fire to the East Precinct at the intersection of 12th Avenue and Pine. We don’t believe that this will happen, but out of an abundance of caution, the Seattle Fire Department (SFD) is taking some preventative measures to protect the East Precinct building and the surrounding apartment buildings and businesses. They will be assessing the need to spray a biodegradable foam fire suppressant on the buildings tonight if needed, as well as reaching out to the community.

As always, if there is a fire please call 9-1-1 and the SFD will respond.

They have a station on Pine Street and 13th Avenue. City crews will also be in the neighborhood to support clean up and any next steps after the protest is completed.”

Figure 29.

threat which directly led to a campaign of suffering on our community? Why would our City’s “accountability” office not demand to see the contents of these alleged intelligence reports which led to a massive campaign of unreasonable violence? Is the OPA truly focused on accountability, or is the purpose of the OPA to merely “generate public trust in SPD”?227 More questions remain.

When I didn’t see if the grenade I threw hit anyone ;)

On 7/25/20, an officer was tasked with “safely” disposing of a live blast grenade away from a crowd of demonstrators (technically called a ‘bang out’). He chose to do so in a parking lot, directly underneath a woman seated and seeking refuge on a fire escape stair approximately 10 feet above him. She experienced, “disorientation, choking, and tinnitus”228 and has experienced hearing loss after the incident. The Ofc that threw the blast grenade claimed he couldn’t see the woman because he was wearing a gas mask, which restricted his vision.229 A claim OPA found credible, and a claim the authors find 227 https://www.seattle.gov/opa/about-us/seattle-policeaccountability-system 228 OPA Case# 2020OPA-0469. Closed Case Summary.

229 Ibid.

preposterous after visiting the site where the officer deployed the grenade. Regardless, he was instructed to wear the gas mask, due to a preestablished intent to deploy chemical weapons.

Wearing the gas mask, “made it hard for him to see,” resulting in individuals “unintentionally” injured from his blast weapons. However, he would not be accountable for the injury, as he, “could not see them,” due to an, “obstruction of his view” caused by the gas mask he put on because he planned to throw blast grenades with chemical agents at people. This current system supports a never-ending spiral of police violence without accountability.

Authorization of violence in response to “furtive” actions

In one review, OPA determined officers are within policy to use violence when assessing furtive actions.230 Furtive is defined as: done in a quiet and secretive way to avoid being noticed.

In this specific case, a demonstrator was behind a self-fashioned shield within a large crowd of protestors on Capitol Hill on 7/25/20. Officers inferred he was, “reaching” behind the shield, and assessed this as a furtive action, shooting the individual with a 40mm projectile. The victim of this projectile shot did not aggress 230 OPA Case #2020OPA-0555. Closed Case Summary.

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2020 SPD Community Assessment

3.0 SPD Tactics of Violence

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

or assault officers in any way. This victim had not used any violence on SPD officers.

However, OPA establishes a precedent for violence, establishing that whenever an officer feels that someone may be doing something furtive, they may use violence on the individual, regardless if that individual has actively used violence. As established, SPD officers generally view the public as “violent”, “rioters”, “antifa”, “threats to officers”, and thus this culture of viewing the public as violent, regardless of fact, establishes the premise to use violence on the community, in essence, whenever police want.

This empowerment to use violence against any perceived furtive actions has been established now through OPA review and rubber stamp, rejecting and completely circumventing the policy requirement for de-escalation.

Furtive action can be broadly and subjectively established. In this case231, an officer felt threatened by an individual behind a shield, and interpreted their actions as furtive, circumventing the policy requirement to deescalate, and proceeding to directly inflict violence on this community member. When this use of violence caused the victim to drop their shield, SPD was again ruled to be in policy by OC spraying the victim again to prevent them from picking up their shield. The victim of this violence had not used or directed any violence against SPD, yet was met with violence twice for holding an object used for self-defense against a department that has been ruled to be in contempt of Federal court for the “unnecessary, unreasonable, and disproportionate” use of violence on community members just like him.232

It is reasonable to expect the public to engage in “furtive actions” as police have frequently “mistaken” harmless items in peoples’ hands as deadly weapons. In December of 2020, Andre Hill was shot and killed by Ohio police for holding a cellphone.233 Isaiah Brown was 231 OPA Case #2020OPA-0555. Closed Case Summary.

232 Jones Contempt Order, Case 2:20-cv-00887-RAJ, Document 161, Filed 12/07/20, https://publicola.com/wp-content/ uploads/2020/12/order-12-7-20.pdf 233 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/dec/24/ohiopolice-shooting-video-shows-unarmed-black-man-holding-up-phone

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found with eight bullets in his body and two exit wounds, shot ten times by sheriff deputies in Virginia as he was talking on a cordless phone.234 Stephon Clark was shot and killed

by Sacramento Police after police mistook his cellphone for a gun in his own grandmothers back yard.235 It is safe to say, that the public will be “furtive” around police for fear of being killed.

Conspicuously reaching for a phone to record the police could be mistaken as reaching for a weapon and result in violence. Thus, a “furtive” reaching for a phone is undertaken, however this is also interpreted as reaching for a weapon. In these “furtive” cases, OPA removes any burden of evidence of a threat to police and allows for the extrajudicial application of violence. In this specific case, all the officer said was the victim was “reaching” or “trying to prepare something” behind a shield. No allegation was made by the officer as to what the victim was reaching for, or what he was “preparing,” or what he possessed that warranted the application of violence.

Once the victim was struck by a 40mm round and officers saw him fully exposed, whatever he was “reaching” for or “preparing” was not made any clearer. This officer assumed this individual would be violent. The public can also safely assume Seattle Police Department will use “unnecessary, unreasonable, and disproportionate” violence, as found in federal court by Judge Jones.236 Thanks Chief, but My Union Gets to Decide if I’m Fired or Not

Ultimately, the last stop on the accountability train is actually the police officer’s union themselves. Once an OPA finding has been made, and discipline has been issued by the Chief of Police, the SPOG contract allows 234 https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/crime/isaiah-brownvirginia-spotsylvania-county-shooting/65-25043681-c11a-465b986d-8c3420582342 235 https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/22/us/sacramento-policeshooting/index.html 236 Jones Contempt Order, Case 2:20-cv-00887-RAJ, Document 161, Filed 12/07/20, https://publicola.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ order-12-7-20.pdf

officers to appeal the discipline to a closed-door arbitration process, where a single arbitrator, chosen from a list of approved arbitrators identified within the SPOG contract, decides to uphold, modify, or overturn the Chief of Police’s discipline. This process grants more power within the disciplinary process to the SPOG than the Chief of Police. (While an officer is allowed the option to appeal and arbitrate disciplinary rulings, the actual victim of police violence has no power to appeal discipline or OPA rulings. This “accountability system” allows the abuser the power to appeal and the victim no administrative powers whatsoever. Within criminal sentencing, prosecutors can advocate for higher penalties, however within the OPA complaint process, the victim of police violence has no procedure to inform the disciplinary penalty of the officer.)

Additionally, in a recent report to Seattle City Council, the OIG attempted to gain preliminary insights into SPD actions during the Period of Review related to “crowd control weapons.” It is worth noting that officers and supervisors are able to engage with OIG at their convenience. As noted by the OIG: “This review project highlighted the tenuous nature of OIG reliance on voluntary participation

by SPD personnel in OIG oversight projects. In previous work, OIG has experienced no issues with cooperation by SPD personnel. However, for this report, given the high-profile and ongoing nature of the issues discussed, personnel expressed concern that information shared with OIG could be used punitively by others. Some personnel declined to participate entirely. Other personnel stated they understood the value of the project and wanted to participate, but they were concerned that their rights against selfincrimination and to labor representation be preserved. To invoke “Garrity” protections, the Seattle Police Management Association (SPMA) requested that the Chief of Police order their cooperation, but she declined to do so, citing concern about intervening in a labor relations matter and over the applicability of Garrity. As an alternative, SPD suggested establishing a

policy requirement for personnel to cooperate fully with OIG. OIG eventually arrived at a solution in cooperation with the City Attorney; however, the time needed to develop this workaround took valuable time from the project, especially in such a short overall timeline.“237 Officers can refuse to be interviewed by OPA and OIG during any investigation. This again indicates the power that police labor groups hold over the public accountability process.

Officers are not compelled to be accountable to OPA, OIG or the public at large.

As of last reporting, in 2019, 74 individual incidents of discipline are pending appeal to arbitration or disciplinary review board.238 In 2020, OPA sustained 114 investigations.239 Chief Adrian Diaz has stated that this accountability system, a system which is non-compliant with a settlement agreement with the United States Government, specifically in the area of accountability, an accountability system which allows police to assault a nurse who is trying to help an injured man, an accountability system which resulted in no discipline after officers used at least 100 incidents of violence, including cytotoxic chemicals during the infamous “Pink Umbrella Attack”, an accountability system that allowed chemical weapons to cause an infant boy in his own home to suffocate in pain, an accountability system that led young parents to fear their infant son would lose his life while they squirted breast milk in his eyes, an accountability system which condemned a disabled man who suffered from asthma to hell on earth as he struggled to breathe while chemical weapons seeped into his home, an accountability system where union members investigate their fellow union members, an accountability system where someone abused and maimed by the police, has to present their story to their abuser; another police officer, for investigation, an accountability system where Chief Diaz can flat out reject the recommendations of the accountability 237 https://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/OIG/Other/ OIGReviewSPDCrowdPolicyLLWeapons081420.pdf (pg 34) 238 https://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/OPA/ Reports/2019-Police-Discipline-Appeals-Status-Report.pdf 239 https://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/OPA/ Reports/2020-Annual-Report.pdf

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2020 SPD Community Assessment

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agencies, an accountability system where the victim of police violence holds no procedural right to inform discipline or appeal, however, allows the police officers’ union the power to overrule the Chief of police’s own discipline, this accountability system, he says, “the City’s accountability system is working.”240 Less-Lethal-Language

SPD refers to weapons as “tools”. This specifically acts to diminish the suffering these weapons cause. To illustrate this point, if a private citizen walking on the street pointed the Milkor USA 40mm multi-launcher shown below in Figure 30 at police, would they write in their case report that the citizen pointed a “tool” at the police? The language used is ridiculous and acts to obfuscate the true injury these weapons cause. We know SPD communications staff are keenly aware of the power of language. Why else would the department call a candle an “improvised explosive device”?

Figure 30.

240 https://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2021/02/03/surpassing-reformspds-commitment-to-accountability-and-transparency/

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Right: Table 1 indicating a visual comparison between “Tools” and “Weapons” as an educational aid for SPD standards and policy personnel.

Below: Image of a man aiming a 40mm launcher at the camera. Source: https://www.milkorusa.com/product/m32a1-usmc-40mm-v-02/

To assist OPA, OIG, and SPD in the utilization of the English language, Table 1 indicates the differences between “Tools” and “Weapons” to convey the significance of these basic words.

“Kettling”

Pronounced, “Kettle · ing”, in practice, involves SPD herding large groups of people into a confined space, or a space where egress is restricted, and then releasing a torrent of weapons into the space that has been created through fencing tactics. SPD can also artificially create an enclosure through mobile bike lines, which then define a space which SPD then floods with munitions and chemical weapons. Frequently, this practice results in trapping individuals within an area where active detonation of munitions or chemical agents are taking place. While no formal policy defines the practice, it is frequently used as a practice to restrict and prevent egress, herd or stampede, resulting in maximizing injury onto the public.

Clear video reconstruction of the technique was recently produced by the Intercept in a stunningly detailed analysis of the premeditated nature of violence administered through kettling.241 Within their analysis, they reference the Seattle Police Department’s use of the technique.

A clear example of kettling occurred on 6/6/21, with clear video evidence.242 People were seen screaming, pleading to SPD to allow them to pass through to egress an area where munitions were being detonated. They were met by a mobile bike unit which had arbitrarily set up ¼ block outside of the intersection.

The bike unit then actively pushed individuals who were trying to egress the area into the area where munitions were exploding. The practice is barbaric and is a result of complicit planning from the incident commander down to individual officers combined with a contempt for human life, health and safety. How does 241 https://theintercept.com/2021/06/02/kettling-protestscharlotte-police/ 242 https://twitter.com/MikeApe7/status/1269533701194444800

“Tools”

“Weapons”

Table 1.

preventing innocent people from egressing a scene akin to a battlefield further public safety? How does forcing individuals into an area of active munitions and chemical weapons detonation further public safety?

Former consent decree court monitor, Merrick Bobb, acknowledged the practice of kettling, which he referenced occurring on 7/25/20. Mike Carter of the Seattle Times explained, “At that point, according to witnesses and sworn statements filed in court, the SPD declared a riot and then moved aggressively into the mass of people, catching many in a pincer like trap where officers use crowd-controlled weapons indiscriminately.”243

packed in extremely tightly with nowhere to go.

After the police created this bottleneck, they started grabbing people and arresting them, and throwing flash bang grenades overhand into the crowd, indiscriminately. I saw at least two flash bangs detonate in the air right next to someone’s head. I was almost hit with shrapnel from a round metal canister with orange labels that exploded right by someone’s face.”244

One such court declaration explained: “SPD pushed the protest all the way down back to East Pine Street and Harvard Avenue, crowding everyone into a small street. SPD basically trapped us so we could not disperse. We were

Another woman, in a later incident outside the Period of Review recounted: “If it wasn’t for the street medics there that day, the Seattle Police Department’s crowd control methods, including the use of blast balls and OC spray, would have killed me. This isn’t hyperbole. On September 6th, 2020, while attending a march to the Seattle Police Officer’s Guild, protesters were met with an extreme show of violence in response to what had been, up to that point, a peaceful assembly. Seattle Police Officers indiscriminately threw blast balls into the

243 https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattle-policehave-declared-riots-during-recent-protests-in-legal-terms-whatdoes-that-mean/

244 Baker Declaration https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/bakerdeclaration

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2020 SPD Community Assessment

3.0 SPD Tactics of Violence

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

crowd, including two at my feet, which seared my sneakers. They maced me from head to toe while backing away from officers because I was carrying an umbrella. Then, they kettled and marched us for over two miles, arresting anyone who couldn’t keep pace with the crowd.

I walked most of that with mace still in my eyes, as medics could not treat me due to how we were rushed. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t breathe.

Ultimately, I was escorted by a street medic to a grassy area despite active, verbal threats of arrest. I was told I lost consciousness and had to be revived through chest compressions by the street medic. Despite having an oxygen canister and breathing apparatus in their vehicle, SPD officers on the scene could not provide assistance due to not being trained to use such equipment. Luckily, an assisting street medic was a doctor who was able to use the equipment and render aid to me.”245

A total absence of comment by current federal court monitors, OPA and OIG on the practice of kettling further evinces that these entities are not established to proactively secure the health and safety to the citizens of Seattle. They are established to retroactively promulgate the guise of accountability, while the application of mass violence is administered on our friends, family and neighbors. These entities, where significant power is vested, who fail to permanently end this practice are complicit in this application of suffering and violence.

Restricting egress from areas of chemical weapons exposure is antithetical to public safety.

“Hold the Line” = “Administer Suffering”

The phrase “Hold the Line” is synonymous with “administer suffering”. One incident described by Assistant Chief Thomas Mahaffey clearly conveys this synonymous relationship. As he wrote in court filings, on 6/6/20, “there was a largely peaceful protest day until conflict arose when demonstrators refused to retreat from the police barricade around the East Precinct at 245 https://www.seattle.gov/Documents/ Departments/CommunityPoliceCommission/2021-01-29_ RecsUseViolenceCrowdMgmtPolicies_compiled_CPC.pdf

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Right: Screenshots from a twitter video showing SPD officers flanking protestors, kettling them and forcing them into an area of active chemical weapons munition detonation (far right). Source: https://twitter.com/ MikeApe7/status/1269533701194444800

approximately 7:30p.m. Based on my assessment of preliminary reports, at around 7:22, the crowd of demonstrators approached and started to push the line of officers back 15 then 20 feet.

SPD wanted to reestablish the line before officers were pushed farther.”246 In response to this arbitrary need to “Hold the Line” SPD would deploy at least: • • • • • •

58 Inert Blast Grenades 21 Blast Grenades with OC Agent 1 OC Agent Grenade 29 uses of OC Agent Spray 5 uses of FN 303 projectiles 6 40mm projectiles

All within a single incident, known as the “Move Back Attack.”. All to “Hold the Line”. The arbitrary and dubious nature of this “line” would be exposed two days later, as SPD command planned for the abandonment of the East Precinct247 and the “line” altogether. Why was this level of violence required, when SPD clearly showed they could just walk away, and to this day the precinct is still standing?248 246 Mahaffey Declaration 6/11/20 https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/ mahaffey-declaration-City-seattle%E2%80%99s-filings 247 https://twitter.com/DivestSPD/status/1397649887928274944 248 Many will have strong opinions about the CHOP area which resulted from the abandonment of the East Precinct. Many will say that the abandonment, at the direction of SPD Assistant Chief Mahaffey, of the East Precinct led to “increased crime”. A true assessment is more nuanced. The authors have prepared a three year “lookback” (Chart 13) showing crime rates within the Capitol Hill Neighborhood (MCPP). According to SPD Violent Crime Data (https:// www.seattle.gov/police/information-and-data/crime-dashboard), rapes and robberies decreased from 2018 to 2020, while homicides and assaults increased from 2018 to 2020. The authors wish to convey that one homicide, one assault, one rape is one too many. No one within our community deserves to be met with violence. Statistically, the numbers of crime within 2020 are up and down at the same time. When looking at violent crime and property crime together, in 2013, 2014, 2015, & 2016 more total violent and property crime was reported than the year of 2020 (2,463, 2,964, 2,679, 2,428 and 2,410 incidents respectively). These facts, coupled with the total-socialdestabilization of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, unemployment, trauma, sickness and malaise effecting our entire country would suggest that a direct correlation between the CHOP area and “increased crime” as a general statement would be irresponsible.

Additionally, after SPD abandoned the east precinct many in the community banded together to ensure that no-one would burn the East precinct down, and counter to SPD narratives, individuals within the community organized watch and protection of the precinct to ensure the building’s preservation after SPD had left.

Figure 31.

Figure 32.

In another case, SPD officers used the “Hold the Line” mantra as a pretext for violence.

OPA ruled that unacceptable: “While NE#1 contended that the threat was to the integrity of the line, this did not appear to be clearly established by the BWV and did not warrant the use of OC spray given the totality of the individuals’ conduct.”249

Additionally, as indicated earlier within the practice of Kettling, the “Hold the Line” mantra serves to reject the egress of individuals in danger of injury from munitions and chemical 249 OPA Case #2020OPA-0477. Closed Case Summary.

250

227

200

158

# of Incidents

Within another incident “Hold the Line” became more akin to “Stand Back, Stand By”: refusing to aid, while administering suffering.

On 6/8/20, Ofc Carl John Anderson detonated a blast grenade into a woman’s chest, causing her to collapse and undergo cardiac arrest. She was later resuscitated back to life by citizen volunteer medics and recovered at Virginia Mason hospital. Despite hundreds of SPD officers “on the line”, not one rendered medical assistance to the woman. These officers withheld aid, while a woman collapsed in cardiac arrest directly in front of them. That is nothing short of barbaric.

SPD Reported Crime Data - Capitol Hill Neighborhood 252

150

126

118 103

100

50

29

0

19

19

1

3

4

2018

2019

2020

Homicide

Rape

Robbery

Aggrevated Assault

Chart 13.

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3.0 SPD Tactics of Violence

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

weapons. Officers prevent egress through bike lines and use the “Hold the Line” mantra to condemn our neighbors to suffering.

Professionalism in Correspondence

SPD officers are the interface between the department and the public. These officers represent the department in every sense of the term. A review of some documented comments made by SPD officers show the deep-seated contempt the department frequently shows to the public at large. A survey of these comments made by SPD officers in the field form the “Service, Pride & Dedication” the community has grown to expect from interactions with SPD. A few known documented cases are provided in Table 2. These are alleged direct quotes from SPD employees.

Officers are bound to standards of professionalism, including maintaining professional levels of correspondence with the public at all times, regardless of circumstance or vitriol faced. Yet, many fail to meet this standard, acting callously and with contempt towards our neighbors.

2020 SPD Community Assessment

Large Scale Deployment Psychology

SPD Ofc Mike Solan250 often describes Seattle residents, our friends, family and neighbors, as a, “Mob.”251 This is endemic of how many SPD employees view Seattle residents who seek justice and accountability from SPD. This moniker is specifically intended to elicit the ideas of chaos, contempt for order, and deindividualization that allows violence to prosper.

SPD officers are humans as well, and when deployed in massive platoons, they can be observed taking on the same characteristics Solan aims to pin to the general public. As Steve Ijames noted, “19th century French 250 Solan is also the current President of the Seattle Police Officers’ Guild as of date of publishing. He has faced multiple calls for his resignation from current and former elected officials, and was recently disciplined for his illegal use of the South Precinct as his voting address.

251 https://mynorthwest.com/2180407/seattle-police-council-vetodefund/

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Right: Table 2. Correspondence between SPD personnel directed at community members.

Source: As indicated in table.

psychologist Gustave Le Bon believed that when acting alone man is a cultivated individual, but when in a crowd he becomes a barbarian.

Le Bon attributed the ‘anonymity, contagion and suggestibility’ of the crowd to causing ‘man to descend several rungs in the ladder of civilization.’…..police behavior in recent times (Ferguson), and including the immediate case [May Day 2015], has been characterized by some as the cause or catalyst for the public disorder that has occurred.”252 Ijames clearly states here that the actions of the Seattle Police Department were the catalyst, the cause, of public disorder.

This would seemingly be in direct conflict with the stated intent of a public safety system. In 2020 we saw this same behavior repeat, with the barbaric use of chemical weapons, blast grenades, and projectiles on innocent people.

Deliberate covering up of badge numbers through mourning bands, refusals to provide members of the public with officer badge numbers or names253, haphazard identification (often badge numbers and names were unintelligibly written on duct tape and taped to an officer)254, excessive violence, poor memory when recalling events, deterioration of command hierarchy and decision making, “accidental” and “unfortunate” damage and injury to bystanders, those fleeing violence, and those trying to aid the injured characterize the entire SPD 252 https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4449717-Dkt-41Kalish-Declaration-ISO-Sanctions 253 An SPD SWAT Ofc responded to a request for his name and badge number with “Smith 1234, I’m not giving you my phone number” (2020OPA-0486) In another case on 5/30/20, as seen in BWV, a member of the public asks an officer who appears to be chewing tobacco, “what’s your name and badge number sir?” The officer refuses to respond. The man asks again, “what’s your name and badge number sir?” The officer refuses to respond. The man asks again, at least 39 times in a row. The officer never responds, police abandon their bike line and the officer rides away while the man runs after the officer asking him, “what is your name and badge number sir?” Kent PD BWV. AXON 2 X81429049. 5/30/20.

254 “There was another officer who had no identifying badge number or name. I asked him for his name. He pointed to a white sticker on his chest. It was the type of ¼”x1in sticker that you use to label a file folder and it was written on in pencil. I told him that I couldn’t read it from that distance (I’m nearsighted) and I needed him to tell me his name. He just pointed at the sticker again. (Arnold Declaration, 7/27/20, https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/arnold-colterdeclaration

Seattle Police Officer Comment

Date

Source

“You’re a Bitch”

5/30/2020

OPA Case #2020OPA-0324

“I have a hard on for this shit and, if they cross that line, I will hit them.”

6/4/2020

OPA Case #2020OPA-0348

“Well if I wasn’t racist before..I’m getting there now.”

6/7/2020

OPA Case #2020OPA-0352

“I’m gona beat the shit out of you”

6/7/2020

“You piece of shit.”

7/2/2020

https://www.stritmatter.com/ firm-blog/2021/3/4/peacefulprotesters-ask-the-court-toamend-its-lawsuit-against-theCity-state-and-county

“get on your stomach you motherfucker.”

7/2/2020

OPA Case#2020OPA-0489

“Nobody Gives a shit...you gave up that bicycle when you fucked with us!”

7/2/2020

OPA Case#2020OPA-0489

After speeding his car onto the sidewalk, forcing people to jump out of the way, Sgt. calls protesters “cockroaches”

8/13/2020

OPA Case# 2020OPA-0515

“Thats what I fucking thought”

8/15/2020

OPA Case#2020OPA-0512

“Get out of the fucking way”

8/15/2020

OPA Case#2020OPA-0512

Ofc. asks if a person “had a dick” under her skirt. Ofc. asks to “show them whats under my skirt,” tells person they would probably, “need a microscope to see it.”

8/14/2020

OPA Case#2020OPA-0531

“go back to your own country”

UNKN

OPA Case#2020OPA-0382

“My officers, we’re not even sure whether or not you guys, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, or any of that even applies to you.”

UNKN

OPA Case#2020OPA-0382

“I have a very angry bicyclist with a brown cap, black backpack, black t-shirt shorts heading your way East bound.” NE#3 responded: “Should we arrest him?” NE#2 stated: “Well, if a bus happens to be going full speed and he gets in front of it, dont try to stop the bus.”

UNKN

OPA Case#2020OPA-0493

While almost killing protestors after driving their car through a group of people: “God I fucking hate these people.”

5/30/20

OIG Case#2020OIG-0004

“yeah, cuz its kind of annoying talking to you.”

8/13/20

OIG Certification Memo, OPA Case # 2020OPA-0515

“hey buddy, get a job buddy”, “you look homeless”, “you coward”, “whoop”

8/13/20

OIG Certification Memo, OPA Case # 2020OPA-0515

“We’ll fuck him up!”

“you little fuck.”

Table 2.

5/30/2020

7/2/2020

OPA Case #2020OPA-0324

OPA Case #2020OPA-0489 OPA Case #2020OPA-0489

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2020 SPD Community Assessment

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militarized police apparatus as acting within a sort of “Thunderdome” psychological space, granting them wide anonymity and tolerance for violence.

When you couple this “Thunderdome” mentality with the personal views of officers, who view the community with contempt, sometimes showing outright racist contempt255 the Seattle Police Department can be viewed as a de-facto violence machine, reflecting the fascist affinities and ideologies256 of many of its employees, while equipping them with extraordinary weaponry and inviting them to inflict suffering on the general public. These mechanisms, can be understood as entering the “Thunderdome.” Whenever deployed in large numbers, SPD enters this psychological “Thunderdome” space.

Perhaps no other incident better visually evinced the “Thunderdome” mentality than when an SPD Ofc rolled his bike over the head of a man peacefully lying down in front of him. SPOG characterized this as an “accident” however it is clear that the “de-individualization” within SPD’s massive deployment likely led this individual to think he had anonymity and could roll a bike over a person’s head without accountability. Up until the point of publishing, this assumption has been proven true. No ruling on the case has been made available to the public and King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg has failed to charge the officer with assault. These actions are barbaric in their contempt for the wellbeing of the community at large. The authors definitively reject any notion whatsoever this incident was accidental. The void in accountability for this officer’s actions is endemic of the entire “accountability” system’s acceptance of this “Thunderdome” operational environment. The author’s wish to ask King County Prosecutor 255 In a widely documented incident outside the Period of Review, an SPD officer was captured exclaiming he was going to, “beat the fucking Mexican piss” out of an individual he had detained. https:// www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Cop-in-Mexican-piss-stomping-casewon-t-be-fired-1377055.php 256 https://www.kuow.org/stories/more-seattle-police-officersadmit-they-attended-pro-trump-rally-jan-6

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Right: SPD personnel driving a bicycle’s front and rear wheels over a man’s face and head as he laid peacefully on the ground.

Source: https://twitter.com/davenewworld_2/ status/1309126503985221639?s=20

Dan Satterberg257 and Chief Adrian Diaz a few questions: Have you ever rolled a front wheel of a bike over someone’s head, proceeded forward, rolled the rear wheel over someone’s head and not realized you had rolled a bike over a human being’s head? Have you ever heard of anyone on earth rolling a bike over a human being’s head, twice, with both wheels in a row, and not realize they had done it? Why would an officer not look down when encountering such an unusual bump within the middle of a paved street? What kind of world are we living in?

SPD leadership and police leadership at large promulgate this “Thunderdome” mentality whenever deployed in groups. First-hand insight to this process was granted when a Washington State Patrol supervisor was caught on video “psyching up” his troopers, telling them, “Don’t kill them, but hit them hard!” In essence, this is the, “Two-men-enter! One-man-leaves!” psychological space that SPD operates within.

Any outward characterization of Seattle residents as a “Mob” can be used as a mirror to view SPD’s continued “Thunderdome” strategy of violence.

De-identified OPA Complaints

When a member of the public is falsely arrested by SPD and booked into King County jail, their name and information is available as public record, regardless of a decision to charge or release the individual. Regardless of guilt, this individual now holds a stain of arrest over their public profile. The police and press can state that, “Jin Doe was arrested for assaulting a police officer,” regardless of guilt or fact.

We deserve to hold our officers to a higher level of accountability than our community. At a bare minimum, OPA reports should not be de-identified. In many cases, the community may not agree with the OPA’s determinations on a case. Take for example the arrest of Andrew 257 King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg has a history of protecting police use of extraordinary violence against our community. In 2011, Satterberg refused to bring charges against SPD officer Ian Birk for shooting and killing seventh generation Nuu-chahnulth woodcarver John T. Williams for holding a closed pocket knife and a block of wood while walking across a crosswalk.

Figure 33.

Figure 34.

Buncombe, the chief U.S. correspondent for the Independent. OPA ruled his arrest lawful and proper. Yet our City ordinance firmly enshrines the right to observe police activity.258 The authors firmly disagree with the OPA in this specific ruling.259 We deserve to know if the officer who is threatening arrest for observing police action today, was the same officer who arrested Buncombe, evincing a history of contempt for the law.

Mexican piss” out of our neighbors,263 holds affinities to fascism,264 would enjoy watching another officer and his daughter have sex,265 or forcibly tried to tongue kiss an 18 year old intern on the job266, or shot and killed an unarmed man who was holding his baby child in his arms.267

The OPA must specifically name officers in complaints. This de-identification directly leads to a lack of trust in police. We deserve to know if the officer showing up to our door is alleged to have raped our community members,260 alleged to have assisted another officer rape our community members,261 purchased and used narcotics while an employee,262 “beat the fucking 258 See SMC 3.28.610 259 While accountability is not allowed 20-20 hindsight, this would also allow officers and the OPA itself to post-rationalize Buncombe’s arrest, and allow OPA to rubber stamp the post-rationalization.

Buncombe was arrested on charges for, “failure to disperse,” according to multiple sets of paperwork. However, on scene, upon questioning from Buncombe, officers failed to articulate what specific charge officers were arresting Buncombe for. They refused to provide Buncombe this information at the time of his arrest. (https:// www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/journalist-arrestseattle-chaz-protest-police-prison-black-lives-matter-a9606846. html) (http://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/OPA/ ClosedCaseSummaries/2020OPA-0403ccs012721.pdf) OPA then concocted out of thin air, an ulterior cause for arresting Buncombe, a charge not referenced in any arresting paperwork, used this ulterior cause within their analysis (which prevents 20-20 hindsight), and ruled the arrest of an international journalist with state department issued credentials proper. SPD policy clearly states, “When Taking a Suspect Into Custody, Officers Must Identify Themselves, Inform the Suspect that He or She is Under Arrest, and State the Reason for the Arrest As Early as Practical.” (6.010-POL 2.) OPA conspicuously omitted this specific policy violation from their review.

260 https://www.seattle.gov/documents/Departments/OPA/ ClosedCaseSummaries/2020OPA-0046ccs011921.pdf 261 https://www.seattle.gov/documents/Departments/OPA/ ClosedCaseSummaries/2020OPA-0046ccs011921.pdf 262 https://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/OPA/ ClosedCaseSummaries/2020OPA-0036ccs042621.pdf

Notable Individual Officers

Within the period of review certain individual officers took on more prolific roles in a campaign of violence directed at our community.

As conveyed in this report, a significant portion of the use of violence data (12% or 148 cases) obtained through public records requests were not able to be corroborated with SPD public UoF data. Thus, there is a potential that officers’ use of violence incidents may be higher than indicated within Chart 14. Backtracking and corroborating the missing 148 UoF incidents and determining the officer who used violence would take years of public records requests, as the department continually stymies this process.

Therefore, Chart 14, the top 20 officers who used violence most frequently, is not inclusive of these missing 148 case numbers from the SPD public UoF data set.

Many of the officers who used the most violence on our neighbors within the Period of Review have a sustained history of violent conduct. In March of 2003, Jason Diamond and his partner Simon Edison, allegedly attacked and arrested a group of young adults walking 263 https://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Cop-in-Mexican-pissstomping-case-won-t-be-fired-1377055.php 264 https://www.kuow.org/stories/more-seattle-police-officersadmit-they-attended-pro-trump-rally-jan-6 265 http://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/OPA/ ClosedCaseSummaries/2018OPA-0928ccs021920.pdf 266 https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/judge-upholdssuspension-of-spd-officer-accused-of-kissing-18-year-old-explorer/ 267 http://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/OPA/ ClosedCaseSummaries/2020OPA-0256ccs022321.pdf

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3.0 SPD Tactics of Violence

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

home. “[LaRue] Jackson and three of his buddies were heading home along Rainier Avenue. As they walked past a closed Shell gas station, Jackson veered toward a pay phone. He wanted to call his girlfriend and tell her he’d be home soon. After he noticed there wasn’t a phone in the booth, Jackson turned back toward the street. A police cruiser pulled into the parking lot, and cut him off… In a flash, Jackson says, two officers--Diamond and Edison--hopped out of the car. One grabbed Jackson’s friend Dante Hayworthe, and the other told Jackson to stay put. “I said, ‘We didn’t do nothing, officer, is there a problem?’ He said, ‘Yeah, there’s a problem, you’re trespassing.’” Moments later, Jackson says, he was on the hood of the police car. He says the officer told him to shut up, and talked about whacking people with his flashlight.

Meanwhile, Hayworthe says he was roughed up. “[The officer] slammed my head on the hood of the car,” 21-year-old Hayworthe reports. The officers arrested all four men and took them to the South Precinct and then King County Jail.

Neither Jackson nor Hayworthe had heard of either officer before that night, but have since heard plenty of stories from people who’ve had run-ins with the same cops. “When I was in jail,” Hayworthe says, “somebody said [Diamond] was an asshole, he always does stuff like that.

[Diamond and Edison] are always together, harassing people.” And the police report, written

by Diamond, gave a much different account of the evening--according to the cops, they twice asked the men to leave before getting out of the patrol car; also, Jackson and Hayworthe scuffled with the officers and were hostile, according to the report.”268

In another case in 2004, Diamond, tased a teenager four times after pulling him over for a faulty headlight. The boy had no weapon and continually complied with officers. “The boy tensed up when he got patted down and told the officers he was claustrophobic. When he was tackled to the ground and handcuffed, he tensed up further and got Tased, the attorney said.”269 268 https://www.thestranger.com/seattle/civil-war/ Content?oid=15254 269 https://archive.seattletimes.com/

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Right: Chart 14. SPD Top 20 personnel who used violence the most frequently during the period of review.

Source: SPD PDR data.

In 2017, Sgt. Diamond failed to attend Crowd Management Operational Incident Command training and was reprimanded by OPA.270 Jason Diamond would use 31 incidents of violence on our community within the Period of Review.

In 2017 Ofc. Adam Fowler failed to activate his In-Car-Video during a call. While on the scene, other officers were alleged to have sexually assaulted a woman in her bathrobe.271 In 2016, Fowler stopped an unsheltered Black man for riding his bike without a helmet. “The man tells Fowler he has PTSD and that he’s been shot by police before. Fowler calls [for] backup and keeps harassing the man…He detains the man and tells him he can’t ride without a helmet or a light. After his sergeant shows up Fowler says he matched the description of a suspect.”272 As noted in Crosscut, King County’s bike helmet laws have resulted in massive disparities in enforcement, disproportionately affecting unsheltered individuals in almost half of all cases with wide racial disparities as well.273 Ofc. Fowler would use 27 incidents of violence on our community within the Period of Review.

Steven Stone was one of 122 SPD officers to sue the City of Seattle in objection to the implementation of the federal consent decree.274 On page 24 of Stone’s lawsuit against the City.

He writes that limits on the use of force against visibly pregnant, elderly, pre-adolescent, visibly frail or disabled people, “makes no sense as a matter of public policy.”275 Ofc. Stone would use 29 incidents of violence on our community within the Period of Review.

archive/?date=20040921&slug=taser21m 270 OPA Case #2017OPA-0693. Closed Case Summary.

271 OPA Case #2017OPA-0223. Closed Case Summary.

272 https://twitter.com/DivestSPD/ status/1370480571172806657?s=20?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 273 https://crosscut.com/news/2021/02/king-county-reexaminedecades-old-bicyclist-helmet-law https://depts.washington.edu/ urbanuw/news/racial-disparities-prompt-calls-to-repeal-kingcountys-bicycle-helmet-law/ 274 https://www.kiro7.com/news/seattle-police-file-civil-rightscomplaint-against/81929981/ 275 https://www.clearinghouse.net/chDocs/public/PNWA-0004-0001.pdf

Sum of Total TOP 20 Officers - Use of Violence Incidents

50

50

40 34

23

23

23

Adam N Losleben

19

21

Michael B Renner

19

Aaron P Johnson

18

Johnathan Z Musseau

18

Michael A Eastman

17

Scott T Luckie

16

17

Daniel B Ward

16

Bradley M Krise

20

Aaron Edward Marshall

25

Jorge Bourdon

27

29

29

Steven Stone

30

David S Warnock

35

David J Sylvester

Total Uses of Violence 5/25/20 - 8/1/20

45

31

24

15 10

Carl John Anderson

Brehon Ness

Jason Milton Diamond

Adam K Fowler

Dwayne A Pirak

0

Alex James Pratt

5

Chart 14.

Officer Name

Michael Renner received SPD’s “Inspirational” Year-End Award in 2010.276 Renner and other officers beat a 19 year old UW Geography student while he was recorded on video yelling, “I’m not doing anything wrong! I’m not resisting! Why are you doing this?!”277 Renner and other officers beat David Pontecorvo’s face “with fists, batons and a flashlight because he was videotaping as they arrested one of his friends during a party… [Pontecorvo] underwent surgery… to repair his damaged sinuses, his lawyer said…He was treated in the emergency room for a broken nose, a broken cheekbone and other injuries and then transported to jail.”278 Pontecorvo was recording SPD officers arrest another individual at the time. Officers told him 276 https://westseattleblog.com/2010/11/seattle-police-awardslocal-officers-honored-local-student-speaks/ 277 https://apnews.com/article/ffedec41dffa4cac83c0109c5c0a91e2 278 Ibid.

he was going to be arrested for, “obstructing.”

He subsequently received an out of court settlement for $100,000 from the City of Seattle and was never charged with a crime.

Renner was also a defendant, “in a 2008 lawsuit filed by Eric Garcia-Arcos, who claimed he was beaten, shocked with a Taser and illegally arrested after a noise complaint in 2006. GarciaArcos suffered fractures to two vertebrae, two ribs and lacerations that required stitches, according to court documents. The City paid $85,000 to settle that lawsuit, according to court records and the City Attorney’s Office.”279 In another case, Renner was recorded telling a cyclist after nearly hitting him with his patrol car, that, “usually most people who do get up in my face and yell, they end up on the ground, 279 Ibid.

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2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

bloody.”280 He was also alleged to have “chest bumped” the cyclist. Renner would use 23 incidents of violence on our community within the Period of Review.

In 2018, a man who ran from officers, stopped, turned around, placed his hands up and told officers, “I surrender, sir.” Another officer then sicced a K-9 police dog on the man which took him to the ground and vigorously shook and bit his arm for almost 30 seconds straight. The man continued to exclaim his surrender, and did not resist or act with violence towards officers. As OPA stated, the “subject was handcuffed on the ground, no longer presented a threat, and had suffered a significant injury.

Moreover, he was not acting belligerently or in any way unreasonably towards the officers.“ Ofc Aaron Johnson then said to the man as he lay handcuffed on the ground, agonizing in pain, “You know what would’ve prevented that? ...

Stopping when I told you to stop. You got what you deserved – I’m glad to see it.” Johnson was disciplined for his comments.281 In January of 2020, Ofc Johnson also assaulted a 70 year old woman, knocking her to the ground while she was standing in the street.282 In 2008 he was alleged in a pro se complaint to have arrested a plaintiff without cause, and beat him to a point of unconsciousness while he was handcuffed.283

In another incident, in 2011, Johnson and another officer tackled a man who had walked into traffic, punching the man several times in the face after he had been handcuffed.284 In 2014, Johnson and another officer were arresting a compliant and unarmed man who appeared to be intoxicated. He was nonthreatening. One of the officers aims a rifle at the man and later tells him, “you moron, you almost died.” In 2017, a Black youth, 15, complained to the OPA that SPD officers harassed and profiled him.

He reported that they pulled up next to him 280 https://twitter.com/divestspd/ status/1293641910871965696?lang=en 281 OPA Case #2018OPA-1037. Closed Case Summary.

282 https://salishblackflag.noblogs.org/post/2020/01/08/seattlepolice-officer-violently-assaults-elderly-woman-at-3-counter-protest/ 283 https://twitter.com/DivestSPD/status/1354452464993357824 284 Ibid

114

while he was walking and asked, “Are you doing anything?” then said, “You must have done something.” Johnson and his partner were the only officers logged in the area at the time of the encounter.285 In 2003, Johnson wrote a blog post where he advocated for the U.S. Army to switch to hollow-point bullets. He wrote, “as it spins, its jagged edged expanded petals act like a blender as they rip through internal organs.”286 Ofc Aaron Johnson would use violence in at least 19 individual instances within the Period of Review.

Ofc Scott Luckie, in 2017, claimed that a transgender woman “squared up” and “tackled Officer Luckie, who was still riding his bicycle, to the ground” and elbowed another officer. The officers then tackled her. However, live video footage completely contradicted their story and showed her standing in front of officers with her hands outstretched. In the same report, Ofc Michael Eastman claimed that another individual, “grabbed Officer Harrington’s pepper spray and gun holster.” Video evidence again did not support this claim.287

In 2009, Luckie misidentified a suspect, pointed his gun at a random man and woman, then tackled the woman to the ground, “held her down” and “ground her face into the pavement until her left cheek was cut, bleeding and embedded with pavement material.” According to a lawsuit filed against the City.288 Luckie then arrested the woman he randomly pulverized into the pavement on charges of “assault” and “obstruction.”289 In 2010, Luckie was involved in the beating and choking of Isaac Ocak, a man of Turkish descent, who left his car running while he ran into a shopping center to buy a Christmas gift.290 Luckie used ten blast grenades in-a-row in one single incident on 7/25/20 at 16:21:00.291 285 Ibid 286 Ibid 287 https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2017/01/26/24792550/ an-spd-report-says-two-seattle-high-school-protesters-assaultedofficers-this-video-challenges-that-narrative 288 Western District Court Case 2:11-cv-01123-JCC Document 1 Filed 07/07/11 289 Ibid 290 https://twitter.com/DivestSPD/status/1349063403122278403 291 OPA Case #2020UOF-1205. Closed Case Summary.

On the same day, Luckie even dragged an unconscious woman across a pavement sidewalk while arresting her.292 Luckie would use at least 18 incidents of violence on our community during the Period of Review.

In 2018, Ofc. Vaughn Mckee told a Black man he was going to, “beat his ass” and used a, “historically racist term while threatening,” the man. He told the man “you’re going to jail motherfucker.”293 Mckee used at least 23 incidents of violence on our community during the Period of Review.

The patterns of extraordinary, unnecessary, unreasonable, and disproportionate violence administered by the Seattle Police Department are systemic, only further highlighted within the Period of Review. Many who used the highest frequencies of violence within the Period of Review were also found to have had consistent histories of escalation, violence, and contempt for human life. Yet these officers have been promoted, retained, defended, and even given awards. Our tax payments and City budget directly bankroll the lifestyles of violence led by the employees of the Seattle Police Department.

We bankroll their weapons, their training, the cost of investigations, the cost of OPA review, the costs of arbitration, the costs of paid administrative leave, the cost of attorneys, and the cost of out of court settlements for their actions. It’s time we put that money to a higher and better use to fund community programs targeted at r e d u c in g violence, not

SPD Algebra 101

In general, SPD is bound to use “force” when reasonable, necessary, and proportionate.

Proportionate refers to an algebraic relationship between values. Presented herein are calculations SPD found in the field to be “proportionate.” 294 295 296 294 OPA Case #2020OPA-0495. Closed Case Summary.

“Approximately 13 seconds after the water bottle was thrown, NE#1 deployed a blast ball towards the sidewalk where the projectile came from. The blast ball detonated in open space in between people walking on the sidewalk. Witness #1 was standing in the group on the sidewalk and fell to the ground from an injury sustained to her leg after the blast ball detonated. It appeared that this was caused by shrapnel from the blast ball after it exploded.”

295 Kent PD, BWV, AXON 2 X81430247, 5/30/20. In radio audio recordings captured over Kent Police BWV on 5/30/20, directives for blast grenades can be heard over SPD radio: UNKN#1 (T 5/31/20 03:04:00 Zulu): “Yeah we’re, ah, taking some bottles. Just one plastic bottle” UNKN#2 (T03:04:05 Zulu): “Deploy Blast Balls! Move that Crowd!

Deploy Blast Balls!”

296 OPA Case #2020OPA-0334 Closed Case Summary. On 6/1/20, officers and demonstrators were crowded together, with demonstrators huddled up against metal fencing SPD had erected.

Video from the incident, “did not capture any direct violence” from the crowd of residents gathered according to OPA and yet, Steve Hirjak authorized officers to “deploy blast balls and CS”, despite no space between officers and residents to detonate the blast and CS grenades. Officers detonated these grenades within the densely packed crowd of residents, exercising their constitutional rights.

Because a single officer felt threatened by a pink umbrella, Steve Hirjak would order then Lt. Brooks to order his officers to use extrajudicial violence to disperse a crowd of hundreds if not thousands of Seattle residents. SPD would deploy 3 CS agent grenades, 18 unspecified chemical weapon munitions, 10 40mm projectiles, 1 stinger blast grenade, 27 uses of OC spray, 1 OC aerosol grenade, 13 OC blast grenades, 22 inert blast grenades, 5 uses of FN303 rounds.

100 uses of projectiles, blast grenades, and chemical weapons munitions in total.

promulgating it...

292 https://www.seattletimes.com/video/8IhnK6Qx/arrest-ofsamantha-six-at-july-25-protest/ 293 OPA Case #2018OPA-0321. Closed Case Summary.

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3.0 SPD Tactics of Violence

SPD Algebra 101

=

=

OPA Case #2020OPA-0495 “Approximately 13 seconds after the water bottle was thrown, NE#1 deployed a blast ball towards the sidewalk where the projectile came from. The blast ball detonated in open space in between people walking on the sidewalk. Witness #1 was standing in the group on the sidewalk and fell to the ground from an injury sustained to her leg after the blast ball detonated. It appeared that this was caused by shrapnel from the blast ball after it exploded.”

2020 SPD Community Assessment

3.0 SPD Tactics of Violence

SPD Algebra 101

=

=

OPA Case #2020OPA-0334 On 6/1/20, officers and demonstrators were crowded together, with demonstrators huddled up against metal fencing SPD had erected. Video from the incident, “did not capture any direct violence” from the crowd of residents gathered according to OPA and yet, Steve Hirjak authorized officers to “deploy blast balls and CS”, despite no space between officers and residents to detonate the blast and CS grenades. Officers detonated these grenades within the densely packed crowd of residents, exercising their constitutional rights. Because a single officer felt threatened by a pink umbrella, Steve Hirjak would order then Lt. Brooks to order his officers to use extra-judicial violence to disperse a crowd of hundreds if not thousands of Seattle residents.

SPD would deploy 3 CS agent grenades, 18 unspecified chemical weapon munitions, 10 40mm projectiles, 1 stinger blast grenade, 27 uses of OC spray, 1 OC aerosol grenade, 13 OC blast grenades, 22 inert blast grenades, 5 uses of FN303 rounds. 100 uses of projectiles, blast grenades, and chemical weapons munitions in total. This incident is known as the “Pink Umbrella Attack.”

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

2020 SPD Community Assessment

3.0 SPD Tactics of Violence

Obstruction of Medical Aid

SPD Policy requires officers to provide aid after any use of violence that has caused injury.297 While SPD is required to render aid and decontaminate after use of violence, it should be noted the absurdity that an individual, who was maimed or injured by SPD would directly seek out their abuser for aid. That someone hit with a blast grenade in the face, bleeding from trauma, disoriented and stunned, ears ringing, adrenaline rushing, would turn around and directly walk towards an army of officers with an arsenal of FN303 guns, 40mm guns, 40mm multi-launchers, assault rifles, pointed directly at you, bearcat assault vehicles, throwing grenades and hissing OC agent, screaming at you to “Get Back!” This absurdity that SPD intends to follow through on providing aid as a consequence of their own initiated violence is endemic of the cynicism used by SPD leadership when drafting the very policies SPD holds themselves accountable to.

A muscle memory has been instilled through consistent experience within the community at large; if you approach SPD, you will be met with violence.

aid and assistance given to Seattle residents by SPD is currently unknown.

As former Federal Court Monitor Merrick Bobb wrote: “to prevent or frustrate medics from caring for the injured or wounded is inhumane. It is astonishing that any officer in the SPD would do that or allow their peers to do it.”298 Yet, not only would SPD prevent assistance to those who they wounded, the OPA would rule their obstruction lawful and proper.

In one case on 7/25/20, a nurse, who was wearing scrubs and volunteering as a medic, who was sprayed with OC agent by SPD officers, “accepted the risk when she advanced toward officers” to assist another man according to OPA. “When she did so, she put herself in a situation that could likely result in the application of lesslethal tools, including pepper spray,” and that SPD officers were, “entitled to base [their] force on her actions [walking towards officers], rather than her clothing.”299 The OC spray of a nurse in scrubs who was trying to assist an injured man was deemed “lawful and proper” by the OPA and, “did not violate policy.”

An SPD public records request was made for any records indicating where SPD provided aid to a victim of SPD violence. Documents within this request will likely be made available in January of 2022 by SPD. Despite well documented, widespread injury as presented earlier within this report, the scope of medical

In one incident outside the period of review on 9/17/20 at the International District light rail station, a person named JR was struck in the head and hand by a blast ball, cutting an artery. He began to lose significant amount of blood. “He was in shock as felt blood soak through his jacket. Police did not render aid. A fellow protester saw JR’s hand and called for a medic. Police would not allow them to stop to bandage the injury, so JR had to keep moving while medics assisted him. At one point, the group was forced to run while the medic radioed to the truck used for medical transport. The exit to the parking lot was blocked by the police.

Once JR arrived at Harborview, he was so weak from blood loss he could barely get out of the truck. The blast ball nicked an artery and JR was hospitalized for several days because the doctors could not stop the bleeding. JR lost half an inch of nerve in his right hand. On September 18,

297 http://www.seattle.gov/police-manual/title-8---use-offorce/8200---using-force

298 Merrick Bobb, “The Facts of the Protests”, pg 15 (SOURCE) 299 OPA Case #2020OPA-0471. Closed Case Summary.

In this specific case, it solidifies the importance of crafting a new agency in its entirety. As many community members will always see SPD in the light they have personally experienced, regardless of any pseudo-”reform.”

A new agency or series of agencies hold the opportunity to create a new muscle memory of care and compassion, of health and healing, unhindered by the searing association of violence that SPD holds in our mind.

Targeting Medics with violence

120

2020, he had nerve graft surgery. He still cannot feel parts of his hand.”300

In another incident, a volunteer medic, “encountered a woman who was crouched down and holding her face in her hands, suffering from CS agent exposure. He had with him a water bottle containing liquid antacid and water, a solution commonly used to flush the eyes of people exposed to chemical irritants.

As he stated in a KUOW interview; “I was like, ‘Okay, lean your head back. I’m going to grab the back of your head, and I’m going to pour this over your eyes, okay? It’ll help with the burning’,” he recalled saying. Moments later, a line of cops on bicycles emerged and advanced toward protesters. [He] said one of the officers hit him with his bike, startling him. The impact of the collision, [he] said, caused the open bottle of liquid antacid and water in his hand to splash into the officer’s face. “The next thing I remember is, I’m on the ground on top of his bike,” he said. “And he’s on top of me and both of our body weight is pushing me into his bike.

And his bike pedal actually made a puncture wound in my in my abdomen.”301 The volunteer medic was then arrested for assaulting an officer.

In addition, SPD officers would also object to his release, citing the alleged assault. What public safety strategy is it to strike an individual actively providing medical aid to someone, proceed to arrest them, then actively petition they not be granted bail?

As discussed previously, on 6/8/20, SPD would discharge CS chemical weapons into community medical tents, as confirmed by the OPA: “BWV did show CS canisters off gassing in a manner that would almost certainly affect persons inside the tents.” Yet, OPA ruled that the medic symbols were not large enough for SPD officers to specifically distinguish it as a medical aid facility, thus deploying CS agent directly into a medical aid tent was ruled lawful and proper

by OPA.302 300 http://www.spdviolence2020.com/incidents (JR) 301 https://kuow.org/stories/street-medic-arrested-during-seattleprotest-jailed-in-isolation-because-he-s-transgender 302 OPA Case #2020OPA-0344. Closed Case Summary.

As discussed previously, a journalist described being drenched with OC agent. He stated; “The police forced us to keep moving and wouldn’t let us to stop so I could get medical aid.”303 Officers would use violence on a journalist with clearly identified credentials, and then refuse to allow him medical aid, despite consistently complying with commands and not presenting any threat of violence to the officers.

Failure to decontaminate OC agent

While it is known that SPD used OC agent spray in at least 399 occasions within the Period of Review, SPD would not respond to comment on the use of decontamination spray or wipes.

In one case, where officers sprayed an individual with OC agent, “both officers said that they had no ability to decontaminate the arrestee at the time,” despite clear policy that requires decontamination.304 OPA wrote that, “the policy needs to be revised to clearly state what decontaminate means and to specifically instruct officers that, if requested, officers should rinse the eyes of individuals who have been affected

by OC spray.”305

Despite wide availability of products designed specifically to neutralize OC agent spray, no video evidence, or testimony reviewed by the authors suggest SPD utilized decontamination spray or wipes306 after any use of OC agent in the field. In summary, SPD plans only for violence, leaving the community to mitigate the trauma. Despite clear policy requiring decontamination307, SPD leadership would not equip officers to decontaminate members of the community they assaulted.

Individual officers would not engage in the actions of decontamination, evincing a widespread contempt for the victims of chemical weapons exposure in direct opposition to established policy.

303 Mitchell Declaration, https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/mitchelldeclaration 304 OPA Case #2020OPA-0613. Closed Case Summary.

305 Ibid 306 Sudecon wipes are specifically designed to decontaminate OC and CS chemical agents.

307 8.300–POL–4 7.

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PTSD

When requested, officers are to provide aid after use of violence. Yet, after a year of unrelenting violence perpetrated by SPD, many in our community need aid in the form of managing and mitigating the effects of complex post-traumatic stress disorder. Should we call 911 to receive our medical aid from our abuser?

The scale of effect to Seattle’s mental health may not be fully understood. However, court declarations, first-hand accounts, and video evidence paint a picture of trauma on a massive scale directly inflicted on our community by a singular City department. This trauma will have wide ranging side effects to our City residents’ mental health. SPD caused irreparable injury and traumatized our teachers, our nurses, our waiters, our grocers, our friends, and family.

Our citizens’ capacity to be their fullest self, to emancipate others, to bring joy, innovation and sustenance to their work will be affected by the toll of psychological trauma brought by the Seattle Police Department. This must be addressed. To be our fullest City, we cannot abuse our citizens and watch them crumble. That is barbaric.

2020 SPD Community Assessment

Contempt for Journalists and Legal Observers

As Mike Carter of the Seattle Times wrote on 7/26/20, “Police have seen the media as the enemy for years, often because publicity about bad-acts by officers is the only real accountability they face. BLM has solidified those sentiments. This is the result. I’ve spent much of my 43 years as a journalist reporting on law enforcement and police accountability (or lack there of). You know me. This is retaliation. People should be outraged.”308

From the executive level down, SPD has shown contempt for journalists in the field covering SPD’s response to civil demonstrations against SPD violence. At the highest levels, SPD leadership chose to subpoena news organizations for unreleased bulk footage from 308 https://twitter.com/stimesmcarter/ status/1287458152871366656?s=20

122

Right: Table 3. Summary of SPD actions affecting journalists rights to observe. Source: As indicated.

protests on 5/30/20. In issuing this subpoena, SPD leadership callously asserted their perceived right to establish the free press as an arm of SPD surveillance. The pursuit of these materials shows a contempt for the independence of journalists at the highest levels of SPD leadership. The suit was filed by an outside legal counsel Brian Esler, of Miller Nash, Graham & Dunn, hired directly by SPD. As described by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: “SPD, acting through outside counsel, has targeted Seattle’s five largest news outlets with an expansive demand for vast amounts of unaired news footage and unpublished news photographs,” Eric Stahl, lawyer for the outlets, wrote in the brief. “The Subpoena is a procedurally irregular, overbroad and impermissible assault on the independence of the press.”309 Only after immense public scrutiny of the suit, and appeal through numerous courts did SPD rescind the subpoena efforts, on September 21st, 2020.

Table 3 provides further itemized incidents where SPD specifically interfered, injured, or chilled journalists’ first amendment activity, however, these incidents are not completely exhaustive. In an effort to show these problems continue to persist, these items are also not exclusive to the discrete Period of Review.

309 https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/seattle-policedepartment-subpoenas-five-news-outlets-protest-photos-videos/

#

Date

Journalist / Observer Targeted

1

11/3/2020

2

10/3/2020

Shauna Sowersby, a freelance reporter, was shoved by SPD while filming an arrest. “Sowersby was attempting to film an arrest using her phone when a police officer “just barrelled through me” from behind, she told the [US Press Freedom] Tracker in a phone interview two days later. Sowersby spent the summer reporting on protests against police brutality in Seattle and Portland, Oregon; in Portland, press stayed on the sidewalk, she said, so she did the same thing in Seattle. The officer shoved her for a “good four to five seconds,” she estimates. “I was shocked, it took me by surprise,” Sowersby said. “My friend tried to take a video of it happening [and] says it looked like he was going out of his way to push me. [The police] were barrelling through the press on the sidewalk.” At the time she was shoved, Sowersby had “Press” marked on her body, including on the bulletproof vest she was wearing.”1

3

10/3/2020

4

9/7/2020

5

7/6/2020

Scott Keeler, a freelance videographer, “took a direct hit of mace while filming an arrest.”2 The OC agent spray completely covered his camera.

Melissa Lewis, a freelance videographer, was hit with OC agent spray by SPD while filming an arrest. Lewis was, “told repeatedly as press that we had to disperse, that we had no right to be there and no right to film, which is bananas, and despite how many times we [ID’d] as press and showed credentials.”… Lewis told the [US Press Freedom] Tracker she believes they were deliberately targeted by the officer. “I got mace on my camera and on my gimbal,” she said3

David Obelcz was reporting from a rally at SPOG headquarters. Obelcz dropped his press badge while reporting. SPOG President Mike Solan wrote, “unfortunately in your hasty escape from [SPOG] a few minutes ago, you dropped your #press pass. Since I have it, does this mean that I’m now part of the #Resistance? Should I put it into @SeattlePD evidence? Please advise. #HOLDTHELINE!”4 SPD reportedly asked media to photograph specific individuals within the crowd.5

Table 3.

1 2 3 4 5

https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/seattle-police-shove-reporter-filming-arrest-during-election-night-protest/ https://twitter.com/ScottKeeler/status/1312624840524800000 https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalists-sprayed-with-chemical-irritant-while-covering-seattle-protest/ https://twitter.com/realmikesolan/status/1303151547291852805?s=20 https://twitter.com/AGarlandPhoto/status/1269822465577869313

123

2020 SPD Community Assessment

3.0 SPD Tactics of Violence

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

Right/ Below: Table 3. Summary of SPD actions affecting journalists rights to observe. Source: As indicated.

#

Date

Journalist / Observer Targeted

6

7/25/2020

7

7/25/2020

An Independent (Anonymous) photographer told US Press Freedom Tracker, “It was clear police were aiming for his head when we was hit with pepper spray. The entire right side of my helmet was blue.” He was walking down pine street with a group from Converge Media. He noted, “I had my NPPA [National Press Photographers Association] badge clearly displayed on the right side of my backpack, with press on my helmet, and a big camera.” The pepper spray destroyed his Canon 5D Mark IV camera.1

8

7/25/2020

9

7/25/2020

10

7/25/2020

11

7/25/2020

Independent social media journalist Joey Wieser was shoved by SPD and sprayed in the face and mouth with OC agent while reporting. Video shows “Wieser repeating, “we are moving back, we are being peaceful.” Suddenly an officer lunges toward him, sprays him and shoves him...Seconds later the camera turns back toward the police, and an officer blasts [OC Agent] directly toward Wieser… Seconds later on the video, several bangs can be heard. The video, blurry from the spray on the camera lens, shows a bright orange flash…

— explosive devices containing a chemical irritant — started erupting around his feet. He said it felt as though one had gone off directly near him, because he felt heat rushing up his legs… Wieser said he was incapacitated for about half an hour after he was attacked.”2

Journalist Omari Salisbury, of Converge Media, reported being hit by a blast ball, and other projectiles, and was wounded on 7/25. He continually followed every police instruction. “In the video, an officer suddenly advances, spraying an orange mist that Salisbury had earlier identified as pepper spray, at multiple people and toward Salisbury’s camera. As Salisbury backs away, he says he couldn’t see or breathe. About five minutes later, police can again be heard firing munitions toward the crowd and Salisbury shouts out in distress.

He later says that a flash-bang grenade had exploded in between his legs. He also says that at some point he’d been hit with “some kind of projectile” or shrapnel, which had cut him under his arm and caused him to bleed. “3 John Mitchell, a producer for Converge Media, was hit with a flash-bang grenade and pepper-sprayed by SPD.4

Renee Raketty, of Seattle Gay News, was subject to an officer who threw a blast grenade directly underneath her, as she was seated on a fire escape with no one within 50’ of her in a vast empty parking lot. “I sincerely feel that I was targeted as a member of the press — as a credentialed member who was wearing a press pass — who had been taking photos throughout the day,” she said.5 National Lawyer’s Guild Legal Observers directly targeted by SPD with OC agent.6

Table 3.

1 2 3 4 5 6

124

https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-pepper-sprayed-while-covering-seattle-protest/ https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-shoved-by-police-hit-with-crowd-control-devices-at-seattle-protest/ https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/multiple-journalists-targeted-projectiles-while-covering-seattle-protest/ Ibid Ibid https://twitter.com/NLG_Seattle/status/1287427693680582656

#

Date

Journalist / Observer Targeted

12

7/1/20

13

6/8/2020

Andrew Buncombe, chief U.S. correspondent for The Independent, was arrested by SPD while covering demonstrations in Seattle’s Cal Anderson park. “Buncombe wrote that less than five minutes after he arrived he was arrested at the northern edge of the park. An officer on the other side of a police tape line told Buncombe — who said he had not crossed the tape — to leave the area or face arrest. Buncombe said he showed the officer his State Department-issued press badge and told him he wanted to photograph what was happening inside the park.” “The officer again told me to retreat and said he was going to arrest me if I did not. I again told him I was a member of the media and intended to stay and do my work,” Buncombe wrote. “He then grabbed me and marched me towards several of his colleagues, who pinned my hands behind my back.” Officers seized Buncombe’s phone and told him he was under arrest, but would not tell him on what charge, according to the journalist.”1

14

6/6/2020

Jordan Pickett, Independent Journalist. “A flash bang grenade went off almost directly on my foot and that was scary enough that I started to push back further,” Pickett remembered. “I was walking with both of my cameras held up to try to appear as not intimidating as possible.” At 12:23 a.m. on June 8, officers hit Pickett with what he believes was a 40mm baton round in the back of his right thigh… he wrote the projectile tore through thick jeans from more than 50 feet away, breaking the skin and making him collapse in pain.2 According to his estimates, officers were still more than 50 feet away. Picket crawled behind a parked car to regain his composure while more tear gas was released around him. He said he was momentarily blinded and still disoriented when he got up and started walking towards Broadway, where a protester sprayed a baking-soda solution in his eyes.”3 “When I got home there was blood everywhere,” he said about the resulting wound. “It hurt so bad … It was hard to walk and sit down for days.”4

Shauna Sowersby, who was filing for KNKX public radio was manhandled by SPD and forcibly moved. “Sowersby said a Seattle police officer approached her as soon as she reached the street, telling her she needed to leave. “I told him I was press and without going any further or without asking me any more questions he just grabbed my arm, and he’s like ‘no, you need to leave.’”

“In a video she posted to Twitter from that evening, Sowersby can be heard repeating “I’m press,” while the officer leads her down the street, which had been cleared of protesters and was guarded by police. In the background, an unidentified man can be heard calling attention to “an accredited journalist” being harassed by a police officer. Sowersby said the officer was walking behind her and kept trying to put his arms around her, in a way she said felt threatening. In the video, the officer is seen walking close by her as he says: “You can’t be here.” When Sowersby objects, saying she is a member of the press and has a right to be there, he tells her she will be arrested if she doesn’t leave. Sowersby repeatedly asks the officer not to touch her. At one point she asks the officer’s identity, to which the officer says “It’s written right on my chest.””5

Table 3.

1 2 3 4 5

https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/british-reporter-arrested-held-six-hours-amid-seattle-protests/ https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/multimedia-journalist-hit-crowd-control-projectile-seattle-protests/ Ibid https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/as-legal-claims-over-protests-and-police-pile-up-seattle-faces-insurance-risks/ https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-journalist-forced-police-scene-seattle-protest-june/

125

3.0 SPD Tactics of Violence

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

Right: Image compilation showing Jo Ling Kent struck by an exploding CS chemical weapon grenade while reporting live on television.

Source: MSNBC & OPA. Below: Table 3. Summary of SPD actions affecting journalists rights to observe. Source: As indicated.

#

Date

Journalist / Observer Targeted

15

6/6/2020

16

6/2/2020

Cole Miller, of KOMO, was hit directly with a fragment of a blast grenade and was subject to chemical agents while reporting.1

17

6/1/2020

18

8/26/2020

Alyse Gallagher, an independent videographer, was hit with projectiles containing chemical agents. Less than two minutes later and still having trouble seeing, Gallagher was trying to untangle herself from her camera gear’s cables when she got hit in the chest by what she believes was a 40 millimeter crowd-control round containing a chemical irritant. “I just remember it hitting me in the chest and then like reeling backwards and then just screaming because I hit the ground hard enough that I recoiled.

Like I could feel my chest bounce back.”2 Of note, SPD did not disclose any use of 40mm Orange or pepperball rounds within public records request data on 6/2/2020. However, 5 uses of FN303 were recorded, indicating that potentially, FN303 rounds were used containing PAVA agent, or that a use of 40mm was not reported by SPD. Jo Ling Kent, a broadcast reporter for MSNBC was directly struck in the shoulder/upper arm/chest by a CS grenade thrown overhand by an SPD SWAT officer.3

UNKN Journalist. A Seattle Police officer grabbed a journalist’s phone from her hands as she was actively recording, and thew her phone to the ground.

He said, “I don’t care, move” when she showed him her press badge.4

Table 3.

2020 SPD Community Assessment

1 2 3 4

126

https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-hit-by-crowd-control-grenade-while-covering-seattle-protest/ https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/videographer-hit-police-projectiles-while-filming-seattle-protest/ http://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/OPA/ClosedCaseSummaries/2020OPA-0333ccs122820.pdf http://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/OPA/ClosedCaseSummaries/2020OPA-0557ccs032221_pt1.pdf

Figure 35.

OPA found the officer threw the CS chemical weapon grenade arbitrarily, without any cause or reason.

Why are the employees of the Seattle Police Department so consistently unreasonably violent?

Figure 36.

127

3.0 SPD Tactics of Violence

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

Through the above abuses of first amendment activity, SPD has steadfastly remained indifferent to the injuries to journalists.

Seattle Police Department spokesperson Randy Huserik told the Press Freedom Tracker in an email that, “If journalists covering events choose to place themselves within a crowd where those devices may be deployed, they have the potential to be exposed to these devices.”310 His statement aims to establish the “Thunderdome” psychological space as cover for excusable violence directly targeting journalists.

Huserik did not address the complications of his statement, that in some cases, journalists were specifically and directly targeted with violence, despite consistently complying with officer’s orders and directives. No one consistently complying with directives should be met with violence. Full stop. Huserik also appears to have no knowledge of the City’s police observation ordinance guaranteeing the right to observe police actions.311

2020 SPD Community Assessment

Dubious Arrests, Bookings and Petitions

The Seattle Police Department would refuse to provide data on arrests within time for the publishing of this report. Despite a public records request submitted in April of 2021, SPD would provide an estimated delivery for arrest records during the Period of Review in January of 2022, requiring 6 months to produce true records related to arrests. Without these records, the authors have compiled information from news reporting and King County open data to investigate the outcomes of SPD arrests.

In one incident, documented outside the period of review, SPD executive leadership would directly request King County Jail book individuals into jail who had been arrested for non-violent offenses, such as writing with chalk.

These requests would be made directly from SPD leadership to the director of King County Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention 310 https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independentjournalist-shoved-by-police-hit-with-crowd-control-devices-atseattle-protest/ 311 SMC 3.28.610 Public observation, recording, or expression in the vicinity of police actions

128

(DAJD) facilities, and were directly in opposition to COVID-19 DAJD booking protocols.312

One SPD officer told a person, who was arrested for writing with chalk, “someone ‘above their head’ wanted them booked into the King County Jail, even though jail officials were initially resistant because that would have gone against COVID protocol.”313 The individual further described what ensued, as SPD tried to force their way into King County jails; “It was to the point where some people I was in with got taken from West Precinct to [King County Jail] to [the Maleng Regional Justice Center in] Kent back to [King County] and then back to the West Precinct, and then eventually back to [King County Jail]. And then they were released from [King County Jail],” Ali recalled of the efforts to get her and her fellow protesters booked into the jail.”314

As Carolyn Bick details in the Emerald, “the public defender told her that the officer used the same phrasing that Ali recalled, saying that someone at ‘the assistant chief level or higher’ was the one who wanted the protesters booked into the jail… when [the public defender] asked why the jail had decided to override booking policies on these two separate occasions, all [DADJ Executive] would say was, ‘Ask City executive leadership’… in this same follow-up question, the Emerald also pointed out that it was unclear how writing on a wall presented imminent danger to the public. [SPD Sgt] Huserik replied that he had no additional details.”315

We deserve to know why a Chief or Assistant Chief of Police, would waste City resources to jeopardize the safety of our neighbors by forcefully booking them into King County Jail within a deadly respiratory virus pandemic. All for the crime of writing with chalk. At best, it shows the juvenile philosophy of playground 312 https://southseattleemerald.com/2021/02/08/top-spd-officialsasked-king-county-jail-officials-to-override-covid-restrictions-andbook-nonviolent-protestors-they-complied/ 313 Ibid.

314 Ibid.

315 Ibid.

punishment at the Chief of Police level. At worst, it shows a contempt for the health and safety of our neighbors, and a deep-seated contempt and forcible suppression of our neighbors’ rights to criticize the actions of the Seattle Police Department. At worst, we have a Chief who has endowed the philosophies of fascism at the executive level of decision making, where the department takes extraordinary effort to silence and punish those who oppose the department’s practices.

These actions, at the Chief level, evince the deep philosophical decay of this department, which now requires three external and individual oversight entities in addition to monitoring by the United States government in order to operate. No other City department requires so much external hand holding and oversight. Could you imagine if the Seattle Parks Department required an Office of Park Employee Accountability, an Office of Parks Inspector General, and a Community Office of Parks Oversight? In addition to being found to have violated our neighbors civil rights, the Parks department would be under a U.S. government consent decree and would be required to present their yearly statistics on planting rates, barbecues, after school programs and tree canopy coverage to a federal judge for approval.

This scale of resources required to ensure that one City department just follows the law is absurd.

In a survey of arrest records at the national scale for protests within the summer of 2020, the Guardian found that, “most of a dozen jurisdictions examined, at least 90% of cases were dropped or dismissed.”316 In Detroit, “The mass arrests were also part of a public relations campaign by [Mayor] Duggan and the Detroit police chief, James Craig, to paint the protesters as violent agitators and undermine their messaging, a strategy used by police in cities across the nation, said Tyler Crawford, the National Lawyers Guild director of mass defense.

“What they try to do is spin it and say ‘Look 316 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/apr/17/georgefloyd-protesters-charges-citations-analysis

at how unlawful protesters are as is evidenced by all of these arrests that we’ve made,’” he said. “Then they hope people have stopped paying attention after six, 10, 12 months when prosecutors say, ‘Hey, we’ve got to drop these charges because these people shouldn’t have been arrested.’”317

In Seattle, some were merely arrested for being on the sidewalk while SPD forces biked into their backs as they were walking, hitting them from behind, then arresting them on the spot. In 2019, Bike officers can be seen riding onto the sidewalk and hitting pedestrians from behind who were merely walking away.318 In another earlier video viewed 3.5 million times, an officer trips on his own bike, and then uses it as a justification to bullrush into a crowd of individuals who were merely standing near him and arrest them.319

On 5/31/20, SPD officers were seen using this same type of attack. Video shows them attempting to pass an individual on a crowded sidewalk. The Ofc brushes up against an individual who was walking on the sidewalk as he waived them past. Unprovoked, the officer then proceeds to tackle the man to the ground and arrest him.320

Journalist Andrew Buncombe wrote of others in his cell who were dubiously arrested; “Like everyone else, Kai had been charged with a minor offence, failure to disperse. Another man, Josh, 29, had not even been at the protest but was detained when he set off to get food from a local restaurant and turned the wrong corner.

He was charged with ‘pedestrian obstruction’.

Another man, Daniel, who had been chanting ‘Black Lives Matter’ in the prison van, was arrested in his car and charged with ‘vehicular obstruction.’”321 317 Ibid.

318 https://twitter.com/benjancewicz status/1206051263282130944 319 https://twitter.com/spekulation/status/1203883493224116225 320 https://www.reddit.com/r/PublicFreakout/comments/gv9g5n/ the_police_were_spotted_instigating_violence/ 321 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ journalist-arrest-seattle-chaz-protest-police-prison-black-livesmatter-a9606846.html

129

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

Right: “Superform” Arrest affidavits, filed by Seattle police showing copied text across multiple arrest records/

2020 SPD Community Assessment

3.0 SPD Tactics of Violence

Source: https://twitter.com/sadenochill/ status/1288977921512583174

In reviewing further data, a larger pattern begins to emerge, where an overwhelming majority of arrests are for petty misdemeanor charges which are subsequently, and overwhelmingly dropped. In concert, these dubious arrests, detentions and petitions act to chill and injure constitutionally protected 1st amendment rights to free speech and should be examined further for widespread criminal charges under the color of law statute (18 U.S.C.§ 242).

SPD Copy + Paste Arrest Records

In multiple cases, SPD officers would copy and paste booking affidavits (Superforms) under penalty of perjury. While the authors had limited access to these documents, these cases represent a “tip of the iceberg.” How many other arrest records were fabricated under penalty of perjury? How many other arrest records were akin to, “he said the guy did something, but I didn’t see it and there are no witnesses, and we have no evidence he did it. Anyways, he should be charged with X.”? The arrest affidavits contain no descriptions or identifiers of the arrestee or any witnesses to the alleged incidents. The affidavits signed by Seattle Police officers are farcical in their dearth of evidence. As presented later within this report, these farcical arrests, affidavits, and charges, written under penalty of perjury, would be overwhelmingly dropped.

King County Prison Abuse and Conditions

SPD leadership reached out directly to King County DAJD as detailed above, requesting they book individuals who had written in chalk on a wall to be booked into King County Jail.322 Not only would these SPD executives act in direct opposition to DAJD booking guidance related to non-violent arrestees, and COVID-19 transmission, it would indicate they may have specifically intervened against this guidance in retaliation against individuals who had written chalk on the SPD East Precinct concrete 322 https://southseattleemerald.com/2021/02/08/top-spd-officialsasked-king-county-jail-officials-to-override-covid-restrictions-andbook-nonviolent-protestors-they-complied/

130

fortification walls. SPD executive leadership would specifically intervene in these cases to place the health and safety of individuals arrested on dubious charges (writing with chalk) in jeopardy during a worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

King County DADJ has had 284 individuals test positive for COVID-19 while in-custody to date. In addition, 121 DAJD staff have tested positive for COVID-19 to date.323 Despite claiming to provide inmates with clean masks, one arrested by SPD said, “guards placed a bag over her head when she refused to wear a face mask stained with make-up. They said to put it on and I said ‘no,’ I wanted a clean mask,” she said. “And they grabbed my wrists and wrenched them backwards and threw me backwards into a chair and put a bag over my head.”324 In addition many DAJD employees refused to wear masks while interacting with inmates, as corroborated by testimony from an individual arrested on 5/31/20, who “noticed several guards not wearing masks at his booking.”325

Individuals who were arrested by SPD were subject not only to misconduct and abuse by SPD employees, they were funneled into the King County’s human caging system.

Within DAJD, they were subject to ridicule, abuse, disrespect, retaliation, insubordination, falsification of records, causing injury, use of violence, and uncontrolled outburst of anger and profanity by King County DAJD staff. At least 67 complaints would be filed during the Period of Review at King County Prisons detailing many allegations of abuse.326 Individuals who were dubiously arrested, and later not charged with any crimes, such as journalist Andrew Buncombe, would be subject to aggressive prison staff and guards.

Buncombe detailed his experience within

323 https://kingcounty.gov/depts/jails/covid-updates.aspx (Reviewed 7/13/21) 324 https://www.kuow.org/stories/denied-anti-seizure-meds-kneein-neck-protesters-feared-death-following-arrests 325 https://kuow.org/stories/street-medic-arrested-during-seattleprotest-jailed-in-isolation-because-he-s-transgender 326 King County DAJD, I000328_Formal_Complaints_

Figure 37.

Figure 38.

Figure 39.

131

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

Right: Chart 15. King County Misdemeanor Arrest charges against Seattle Municipal Code Sections. 5/29/20-8/1/20.

2020 SPD Community Assessment

3.0 SPD Tactics of Violence

Source: https://data.kingcounty.gov/LawEnforcement-Safety/Adult-Jail-Booking-May-12020-to-April-30-2021-as-/j56h-zgnm

an article in The Independent. He would be “manhandled” by DAJD staff. “A 53-year-old protester, Gina Hicks, saw what happened. ‘There was no attempt to have a conversation with you,’ she later told me [Buncombe]. “He just yanked you down and threw you back in the cell.’ … The toilet was filthy, the room stank, one protester became ill and vomited in it. I requested some soap, and asked one of the officers what was the capacity for the cell. What did I mean? Well, you know, you have signs about avoiding the coronavirus and yet there are 10 men in here, barely a foot apart. What is the capacity?”327

Others detailed degrading DAJD practices.

One woman, “said that female officers demanded that she strip while in the presence of a male guard as she was issued jail provided clothing. ‘I turned around and saw a male officer standing in the room and he was not looking away,’ she said. ‘And I said, ‘Absolutely not. He needs to leave the room — that is not legal. I am a rape survivor. He needs to leave.’”328

Buncombe also described another detainee’s experience, who, “also said he had been threatened by a female jail official, who told him to take his hands out of his trousers or she would ‘punch him in the head’. When she came into our cell, another protester asked her if it was true she had threatened [him]. ‘That’s right, I did,’ she replied. They asked for her badge number. A moment later she reappeared with a Post-It note, on which she had written her name and badge number with a smiley face.”329

Other behavior revealed SPD staff’s contempt for the medical conditions and health of a detainee. One woman, Samantha Six, was, “taken for processing at the Seattle Police Department’s West Precinct. That’s when [she] learned that her backpack — containing her Investigation_05252020-08012020 327 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ journalist-arrest-seattle-chaz-protest-police-prison-black-livesmatter-a9606846.html 328 https://www.kuow.org/stories/denied-anti-seizure-meds-kneein-neck-protesters-feared-death-following-arrests 329 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ journalist-arrest-seattle-chaz-protest-police-prison-black-livesmatter-a9606846.html

132

anti-seizure medication, which she takes every 12 hours — had been lost. KUOW spoke to several other protesters who were arrested on July 25. One of them, Aisling Cooney, said she witnessed police officers at the West Precinct mock [her] while she was in distress about her lost medication. ‘She was screaming that she needs it or she’ll have seizures,’ said Cooney.

‘And the cops were laughing at her and nobody was helping her’… Cooney, who was in jail at the same time as Six in a nearby holding cell, said she and others could hear Six in distress.

Cooney said she saw jail guards ignore Six as she appeared to have seizures. ‘They were all turned away from their desks on their phones — nobody even looked or cared, and she screamed the whole time.’”330

In another incident, a man was, “left without access to four of the five medications he takes — two of which were in a fanny pack he had at the time of his arrest — for the duration of his jail stay. He was there for approximately 43 hours, according to jail records, and was released without bail.”331 His charges were later dropped.

There is no question that many DAJD staff harbor racist and fascist worldviews, yet are empowered to control humans who are shackled in cages. Racist harassment is even rampant within DAJD staff ranks. One Black corrections officer, “Steve Porter, a 38-year veteran of the jail, said that twice in the last five years, someone has put human feces in the shoes in his locker.”332 Additionally, “Unlike the two employees who entered the King County building with MAGA hats, a Black officer was confronted for wearing a President Barack Obama shirt, and another person was confronted for donning a “Black Lives Matter” shirt... This attire sparked a subsequent department email condemning the shirts.”333 One Black DAJD employee, Anthony Eigner, died 330 https://www.kuow.org/stories/denied-anti-seizure-meds-kneein-neck-protesters-feared-death-following-arrests 331 https://www.kuow.org/stories/he-captured-footage-of-childpepper-sprayed-during-seattle-protest-then-was-arrested 332 https://www.kuow.org/stories/feces-in-lockers-to-harassmentracism-is-rife-in-king-county-corrections-employees-say 333 Ibid.

Count of RCW / Ordinance Number Misdemeanor (SMC) Arrest Charges 5/29/20 - 8/1/20 80

68

70 60

62

58 45

50 40

39

7

6

4

2

1

RECKLESS ENDAGERMENT

POS OF STOL PROP

DISORDERLY CONDUCT

PROPERTY DESTRUCTION

CRIMINAL TRESPASS

THEFT

FAILURE TO DISPERSE

OBSTRUCT PUBLIC OFFC

0

HINDERING LAW ENFORCEMENT

9

10

RESISTING ARREST

20

PEDESTRIAN INTERFERE

30

Chart 15.

SMC Section

by suicide in 2019, after alerting supervisors to the violence and abuse directed at Black and Brown inmates and staff. Eigner was pushed to the brink by the hostile and racist workplace environment.

Additionally, as reported by KUOW, “Other corrections officers have posted racist memes on social media, anti-Black rhetoric and hateful sentiments aimed at people protesting against racial injustice across America. “These are people that carry weapons, people in leadership roles,” said a current Black employee… One of the social media posts in question features a photo of Kyle Rittenhouse, the white teenage gunman in Kenosha, Wisconsin, shooting dead a second protester. Eric Dean Wilkerson, a King County corrections officer, wrote below the photo: “Great Shot! Two less votes for Uncle Joe,” referring to Joe Biden, the Democrats’ nominee for president. “Trump Trump Trump!!”

Wilkerson continued.”334 It should clearly be stated here that the Merriam Webster definition of fascism includes the, “forcible suppression of opposition.”

by Crosscut, “tests showed that a few areas had lead levels that slightly exceed the EPA limits” according to DAJD. Other levels contained “well above” EPA limit levels.335 The extent of lead exposure within inmates arrested

by SPD remains unclear. The conditions within the King County DAJD are deplorable. Hundreds of individuals within our community were dubiously arrested by SPD, made to submit to abuse, negligence, and squalor, only to have their charges dropped.

Misdemeanor Sentence Rate

A preliminary review of public King County DAJD arrest data indicates King County DAJD received the volume of charges as indicated in Chart 15. This information cannot be parsed out and confirmed to only contain cases related to protests or demonstrations, however, gives a preliminary indication of the volume of misdemeanor arrests between 5/29/20 and 8/1/20.

In addition to the dangers met through COVID-19 exposure, and abuse from SPD and DAJD staff, the Seattle DAJD facility would expose individuals to lead in drinking water throughout the building. As reported

Chart 15 is inclusive of 301 total arrest charges. News reports have indicated SPD has made 261 protest related arrests in 2020.

However imperfect, this preliminary review would indicate that SPD arrested more people for alleged failure to disperse than they did people for alleged property destruction.

334 Ibid.

335 https://crosscut.com/2019/09/high-lead-levels-king-countyjail-have-inmates-and-staff-using-bottled-water

133

3.0 SPD Tactics of Violence

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

KOMO reported on the breakdown of these arrest numbers on 12/10/20: “According to the City Attorney, 261 arrests for protest related misdemeanor offenses were referred to their office. Charges were never brought in 143 of the cases. Charges were brought in 8 cases, of which 6 where eventually dismissed. That left 2 cases. ‘The reason why the numbers are so much lower in terms of charging versus arrests is we are looking at different factors than SPD is going to be looking at’ said the City Attorney’s Chief of the Criminal Division Kelly Harris. ‘We protect first amendment rights’ he said. ‘When we see a case come in and its not anything more than just protest related activities, then they are not charged with anything.’”336

2020 SPD Community Assessment

The Seattle City Attorney’s office was contacted for this report, and has yet to respond with an update on the sentencing rate for these arrests. At this point in time, as reported

by KOMO, only 0.7% of individuals arrested

by SPD for misdemeanors would be found guilty in Seattle Municipal Court. In essence, less than one percent of individuals arrested for misdemeanors by SPD would be found guilty of the charges SPD had arrested them for. In other words, over 99% of our neighbors arrested by SPD during the Period of Review for misdemeanor charges would be cleared of wrongdoing. That is staggering.

Our elected officials deserve some responsibility for the widespread arrest of our friends, family and neighbors. Many were charged with minor or obscure misdemeanor violations such as “Pedestrian Interference” (SMC 12A.12.015). Asking someone if they could spare 50 cents for a bus fare to get home or accidentally running into someone around a blind building corner on the sidewalk could be grounds for arrest under SMC 12A.12.015.

Seattle City Council should follow suit from Brooklyn Center, MN and immediately rescind the ability for the police department to arrest people for petty misdemeanors.

336 https://komonews.com/news/local/City-attorney-chargesbrought-in-8-out-of-261-protest-related-arrests-in-seattle

134

Below: Chart 16. At the time of printing, only two individuals who were arrested by SPD for Misdemeanors were found guilty in Seattle Municipal Court. Source: https://komonews. com/news/local/City-attorney-chargesbrought-in-8-out-of-261-protest-relatedarrests-in-seattle

SPD Misdemeanor Arrestees

SPD Misdameanor Found GuiltyArrestees found guilty 2

Chart 16.

During the Period of Review, the Seattle Police Department would go to extraordinary lengths to place our friends, family, and neighbors in cages. Cages where our neighbors were subject to abuse, negligence, and squalor.

When the time came to soberly assess if these individuals committed any crime, only 0.7% would be found guilty. How many millions of dollars do we spend on handcuffs, officers to arrest individuals, prisoner transport vans, gas, vehicle maintenance, CCTV systems, paperwork and booking systems, staff to book and cage, anti-ligature toilets and showers, the steel cages for humans, access controls, ballistic resistant glass, medical evaluations, meals, jumpsuits, shackles, clubs and batons, and 24/7 security all to ensure that someone who has written in chalk on a wall will be successfully caged and condemned. We have our priorities backward. In this case, the Seattle City Council and Mayor set City policy. They hold the power to reverse these barbaric and fiscally wasteful practices of caging our neighbors for petty misdemeanors.

At the time of publishing, only 0.7% of individuals arrested by SPD during 2020 civil demonstrations for misdemeanors would be found guilty of a crime.

Arresting and caging innocent people is a colossal waste of time, public money, and catastrophic to the health of our community.

Numbers are inclusive of the Period of Review.

Source: https://komonews.com/news/local/ City-attorney-charges-brought-in-8-out-of-261protest-related-arrests-in-seattle

135

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

2020 SPD Community Assessment

3.0 SPD Tactics of Violence

Shutting Street Lights Off

One conspicuous aspect of Figure 11, and Figure 40, taken in the early morning of 6/8/20, is that the existing street lights and traffic signals at the intersection of 11th Ave and E Pine St. have been turned off. Additionally, SPD appears to have brought in auxiliary, generator powered, site lighting to overcome the lack of illuminance at the street level. Many questions remain who ordered the street lighting to be turned off and what specific public safety strategy would warrant such a decision.

The City of Seattle has installed and utilized street lighting as a public safety benefit since the City’s inception. Current street lights are operated by Seattle City Light. The purpose of street illumination is to reduce injuries from collisions, tripping and falling and to increase visibility and safety. Seattle City Light have not responded to records requests from the authors for communications and correspondence relating to shutting off public street lights.

The reduction in illuminance creates further hazards, reducing individuals ability to navigate and egress safely. This is the reason why street lights exist in the first place, to increase public safety, yet someone made the decision to actively eliminate these public safety devices.

The use of floodlights, the minuscule and haphazard identification markings on officers, and the extensive use of black clothing (“black bloc”) by Seattle Police Officers would directly obscure identification of officers who used violence.

Separate from the intention of turning off street lights, this decision would directly result in less accountability for the Seattle Police Department’s actions. As conveyed by OPA in multiple cases, dim lighting conditions would obscure, and add anonymity to individual officer’s actions, facilitating the “Thunderdome” environment and effect of SPD’s deployment.

In an incident occurring in the early morning of 6/8/20, the, “OPA attempted to determine who the involved employees were by reviewing 136

Near Right: SPD uses mobile lighting towers in the early morning hours of 6/8/20. Source: https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2020/06/ after-mayors-speech-on-deescalation-policemaking-strongest-show-of-force-yet-atstandoff-at-11th-and-pine/ Far Right: A screenshot from Mel Gibson’s Thunderdome

Body Worn Video (BWV) of employees who were at the incident. After reviewing BWV, OPA could not identify the specific employees that the Complainant alleged targeted him.”

(2020OPA-0430) This individual was struck by a 40mm round, hit by shrapnel from a blast grenade, and targeted with a CS grenade. He was peacefully standing in the intersection, and not targeting officers with any violence.

On the same day, another individual was struck with a blast grenade in their upper thigh, which then dropped to their feet and exploded on them. Within the OPA report, “The Complainant recorded video of the incident.

The footage showed a small group of protestors standing a few yards away from a line of officers. The identities of the officers could not be determined from the video because it was dark outside, and SPD was using flood lights to illuminate the crowd.”337 OPA notes, “As discussed above, this was due to the significant number of individuals present at the time of the deployment, [&] the dark conditions… Given this, OPA cannot determine whether this specific deployment was appropriate and consistent with policy.”338

To the authors, this suggests fundamental problems with SPD uniforms and identification markings. Why has OPA not recommended enlarging officer name plates, and changing the font to florescent orange? Why do officers not wear florescent markings to indicate their squad or position? Why does each officer’s helmet not have large florescent markings indicating badge number? The minuscule font, and “black bloc” clothing worn by Seattle police directly acted to obscure and cloak violence used by the department. When the streetlights were turned off, this cloaking was magnified, and officers were able to get away with felony assaults on Seattle community members scot-free, granting near total anonymity to each officer’s actions.

337 OPA Case #2020OPA-0451. Closed Case Summary.

338 Ibid

Figure 40.

Jenny Durkan’s “Thunderdome”

Figure 41.

Mel Gibson’s “Thunderdome”

137

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

2020 SPD Community Assessment

3.0 SPD Tactics of Violence

Documented Effects of Seattle Police Department Use of Violence on the Human Body

Public Health Implications of Police Violence

Images of injuries to Seattle residents caused by the Seattle Police Department and other agencies are gruesome and traumatizing to view. The authors have explicitly excluded this imagery from this publication. The authors are not interested in promulgating “trauma-porn.”

However, these images tell an extraordinary story of injury, suffering, trauma, pain, hospitalization, uncertainty and terror with wideranging and ongoing health implications for our friends, family and neighbors.

Employees of the Seattle Police Department have used extraordinary violence, causing permanent disability to members of our community. Some cannot see anymore. Cannot walk. Cannot think due to extraordinary tinnitus.

Cannot hear. Reproductive health complications.

These injuries were caused by the violent, barbaric, actions of employees of the Seattle Police Department, at the direction of sergeants, lieutenants, captains and chiefs.

More information on the public health implications of police violence can be seen within a website produced by the University of Washington School of Public Health: http://www.spdviolence2020.com/ Presented at the right is an overlay compilation of injuries sustained by Seattle community members as a direct result of violence perpetrated by Seattle Police Department employees. The list is not complete or exhaustive, and only presents a sampling of injuries in the interest of brevity.

138

1 http://www.spdviolence2020.com/ incidents (EF)

17 2020 SPD Community Assessment video #0004.

2 https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/sternerc-declaration

18 http://www.spdviolence2020.com/ incidents (JH)

3 http://www.spdviolence2020.com/ incidents

19 http://www.spdviolence2020.com/ incidents (IG)

4 https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/indadeclaration

20 https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/ martini-declaration

5 https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/ cooney-declaration

21 https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/ chapman-declaration

6 http://www.spdviolence2020.com/ incidents

22 http://www.spdviolence2020.com/ incidents (LH)

7 Estate of Summer Taylor, et al vs.

City of Seattle. 20-2-14351-1 SEA King County Superior Court.

23 https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/ matney-declaration

8 http://www.spdviolence2020.com/ incidents (JR) 9 https://kuow-prod.imgix.net/store/08 9f3fd5cfb7f4c64be4aba6130f40c7. pdfstate-for-wrongful-death-andinjuries 10 https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/ vignau-declaration 11 https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/ lagree-declaration 12 https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/ vignau-declaration 13 http://www.spdviolence2020.com/ incidents 14 https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/brucedeclaration 15 https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/ woldeab-declaration 16 https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/ kyashna-tocha-declaration

24 https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/ bonafilia-declaration 25 https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/ bunting-declaration 26 https://www.kuow.org/stories/around-up-protesters-injured-by-seattlepolice-in-demonstrations-for-racialjustice 27 http://www.spdviolence2020.com/ incidents (YS_2) 28 https://www.seattletimes.com/ seattle-news/protester-who-claims-shewas-denied-anti-seizure-medication-injail-sues-seattle-and-king-county/ *The term “Pig-pile” is used here in the sense as it is defined. Colloquially, police have been called “pigs” and the term “pig-pile” may be considered degrading. The authors wish to express the explicit use of the term to describe a large group of individuals piling on top of each other, typically as a form of punishment or torture to the individual at the bottom of the pile.

C-PTSD. 7/25/20.

[Blast Grenade] 27 Loss of Eye. 5/30/20.

[Pepperball]26

Temporary Total Blindness and Vomiting 6/1/20. [CS Agent]13

Loss of Consciousness [Blast Impulse to Head] 6/8/20 [Blast Grenade]1

Shrapnel Strike to Head 7/25/20. [Blast Grenade]14

Sensorineural Hearing Loss 7/25/20 [Blast Grenade]2

Severe Persistent Headache.

6/2/20 [CS Agent]15

Insomnia & Tremors 6/2/20 [CS Agent]3

Lacerations of Ear Due to Blast Fragments 6/3/20 [Blast Grenade]16

Cardiac Arrest 6/7/20 [Blast Grenade]4 Anaphylaxis 6/7/20 [OC Agent]5

Asthma Attack (Restricted Airway) 5/30/20 [CS & OC Agents]17

Ribcage Lacerations and Contusions [Likely 40mm Round]6

Fractured Rib 6/7/20 [SPD Pig-pile*]18

Bone Contusion, Nerve Damage, Muscle Damage 6/7/20 [UNKN Projectiles/ Munitions]7

Ulnar Fracture 7/25/20 [40mm Rounds]19 Major Contusions Kidney Region 6/7/20 [40mm Round]20

Loss of Nerve, Disfiguration of Hand, Life Threatening Blood Loss 9/17/20 [Blast Grenade]8

Unusual Menstrual Bleeding.

7/25/20. [OC Blast Grenade]21

Partially Amputated Thumb 5/30/20 [Blast Grenade]9

Pelvic Scarring and Severe Contusions 6/7/20 [Blast Grenade]22

Menorrhagia. (Heavy, Irregular Menstrual Bleeding) 7/25/20.

[OC Blast Grenade]10

Severe Contusions on Thigh.

7/25/20.[40mm Round]23 1st & 2nd Degree Burns on Thighs.

7/25/20. [Blast Grenade]24

Tennis Ball Sized Lacerations 7/25/20. [40mm Rounds]11 Fractured Toe. Blast impact.

7/25/20. [Blast Grenade]12 1 2 https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/ sterner-c-declaration 3 http://www.spdviolence2020.com/ incidents 4 https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/indadeclaration 5 https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/

Seizures & Withholding of Essential Medications While in Custody. 7/25/20.28

Lacerations and Chemical Burns on Feet and Ankles 7/25/20. [OC Blast Grenade]25 Figure 42.

2020 SPD Community Assessment

11th & E Pine St. 6/?/20. Photo Not By Authors.

Figure 43.

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

Right: Chart 16. “Pink Umbrella Attack” SPD weapons use. Source: SPD PDR data.

4.0 SPD Communications Trust is established when individuals follow through on promises, act in each others’ interest, and provide true and correct information. Once broken, regaining trust requires acknowledgment of guilt, self-reflection, reparations for harm, truthfulness, and humility.

SPD has provided none of these tenants to rebuilding trust.

2020 SPD Community Assessment

4.0 SPD Communications

Chief Adrian Diaz on “Accountability”

As SPD Chief Adrian Diaz noted in his open letter, “Surpassing Reform: SPD’s Commitment to Accountability and Transparency” published on 2/3/21; SPD is “committed to transparency.”

And yet, when contacted to provide information on this report, Chief Diaz would not respond.

Diaz himself would actively thwart community efforts of transparency and accountability.

Dishonesty is pervasive within this department, starting at the very top.

Further in his letter, Chief Diaz would note, “SPD has not used a blast ball since September 26, 2020.” Yet, clear video evidence shows SPD throwing one directly into a homeless individual’s tent on 12/18/20339 Diaz also writes SPD, “has not used any other tool except personal pepper spray since October 3rd, 2020” Yet, again, clear video evidence shows the discharge of Pepperball munitions on 12/18/20.340 How can you deliberately produce verifiably false information to the people you serve within a letter entitled, Commitment to Accountability and Transparency? The contempt for the truth is sprung from the top of SPD’s command, and flows down to every individual employee.

Within a subsequent open letter, Chief Diaz overruled OPA’s sustained findings of violations of policy. The Chief would refuse to discipline the acting incident commander, John Brooks, for ordering a massive torrent of weapons deployed on Seattle citizens on 6/1/20 in the infamous Pink Umbrella Attack. Diaz asserted 339 https://twitter.com/Sadenochill/ status/1341088925939449857?s=20 340 https://twitter.com/caseyworks/ status/1339997510903898112?s=20

142

that, “Simply put, accepting as true for purposes of this review that the circumstances were not such that dispersion was warranted at the time, I believe the allegation, landing on [Brooks], is misdirected… Decisions were made at levels of command above [Brooks] that bore directly on [Brooks’] action and thus actions taken by officers in the field… I cannot hold [Brooks] responsible for circumstances that were created at a higher level of command authority.”341 Further discussion on this incident is presented below.

Eichmannism and the Pink Umbrella

Adolf Eichmann was a Nazi office administrator during the second world war who was tasked with the logistic administration of the Holocaust. Eichmann attended a meeting with his superiors, the Wannsee Conference, on January 20, 1942. He took meeting minutes, took down orders and proceeded to develop and administer the processes of genocide. After the war ended, Eichmann was captured in Argentina, where he had fled, and arraigned in Israel on charges including war crimes and crimes against humanity.

At trial, Eichmann showed no remorse for the gravity of his involvement in the administration of genocide. He stated that he was merely following orders. He had not ordered the execution of the Jews. He had no authority within the Nazi hierarchy and was merely a desk clerk. He wrote, “There is a need to draw a line between the leaders responsible and the people like me forced to serve as mere instruments in the hands of the leaders… I was not a responsible leader, and as such do not feel myself guilty.”342 He was found guilty and sentenced to death.

Eichmannism, as Neil Postman writes, “is talk that tries to ennoble technique, to make it appear that the kingdom of Heaven awaits those 341 https://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2021/05/12/letter-from-chiefdiaz-regarding-discipline/ 342 https://web.archive.org/web/20160128004724/http://www. nytimes.com/2016/01/28/world/middleeast/israel-adolf-eichmannholocaust.html

CS AgentChemical Agent- Not Specified40mm Projectile "Stinger" Blast Grenade OC Spray OC Grenade OC Blast Grenade Inert Blast Grenade FN303 Projectile

6/1/20 "Pink Umbrella Attack" Use of Violence Values CS Agent

Chemical Agent- Not Specified

40mm Projectile

"Stinger" Blast Grenade

OC Spray

OC Grenade

OC Blast Grenade

Inert Blast Grenade

FN303 Projectile

30

27

# of Deployments

25

22

20

18

15

13 10

10

5

3

5 1

0

2020-178585

Chart 16.

Date Occurred

1

1-Jun

CASENUM

who follow the proper routine.”343 Eichmannism asserts that those who follow orders are not accountable for the real impacts of those orders.

Chief Adrian Diaz and then Lt. John Brooks would embrace the ideology of Eichmannism when Diaz refused to discipline then Lt. Brooks or his 60 subordinate officers who used over 100 individual uses of violence on 6/1/20 when an individual with a pink umbrella dangled it over an arbitrary barricade. Officers and demonstrators were crowded together, with demonstrators huddled up against metal fencing SPD had erected. According to OPA, “the crowd did not appear to be engaged in violence, and neither third-party video nor BWV showed individuals throwing projectiles.”344 Yet, supervisors authorized officers to “deploy blast balls and CS”345, despite no space between officers and residents to detonate the blast and CS grenades. Officers detonated these grenades within the densely packed crowd of residents, exercising their constitutional rights to assemble.

Because an officer felt that an umbrella was a threat to his life, SPD would deploy 3 CS agent grenades, 18 unspecified chemical weapon munitions, 10 40mm projectiles, 1 stinger blast 343 Neil Postman, Crazy Talk Stupid Talk, 1976, pg 184.

344 OPA Case #2020OPA-0334. Closed Case Summary.

345 Ibid

grenade, 27 uses of OC spray, 1 OC aerosol grenade, 13 OC blast grenades, 22 inert blast grenades, and 5 uses of FN303 rounds. 100 uses of projectiles, blast grenades, and chemical weapons in total. Steve Hirjak, John Brooks and every officer who used violence here showed a strong contempt for human life, safety, & constitutional law in a massive administration of wanton violence on our community.

In this specific moment, parents of a young infant within an adjacent apartment building would dramatically struggle to save their infant son from the suffocating effects of chemical weapons seeping into their personal home. 60 separate and individual Seattle Police Officers would choose to use violence on community members not engaged in any violence or property destruction. To the author’s knowledge, there has not been 60 OPA investigations opened for this attack. Each individual officer is responsible for their own use of force, and would have had to make a decision to use, “necessary, reasonable, and proportionate” violence against our community members. None of these officers have been charged with Color of Law violations.

Diaz argues that these officers should face no real accountability, despite their real injury they caused our friends, family and neighbors.

Diaz’s embrace of Eichmannism is a spit in 143

2020 SPD Community Assessment

4.0 SPD Communications

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

the face of accountability. Real officers would cause real injury and face no consequences for their actions. They were merely, “following orders.” The individual who allegedly made these orders, Steve Hirjak, would be “returned to his former rank.” Again. Diaz spit in the face of accountability. Residents of Seattle remain irreparably injured as a result of these actions and Chief Diaz has not yet made the citizens of Seattle whole. Diaz’s further embrace of Eichmannism and a refusal to acknowledge the injury caused by the department, his lack of remorse for the physical and psychological injury caused to Seattle residents raises significant concerns with Diaz’s fitness to lead a department capable of administering deadly violence.

(The authors wish to disclaim here they do not make a direct comparison of the Seattle Police Department to Nazis. However, the department does contain many individuals with fascist affinities and ideologies. Additionally, the department frequently shows a propensity to forcibly suppress criticism or opposing views and views which advocate for marginalized people and racial groups disproportionately affected by police violence. Further, the department, as an institution, advances institutional racism through the disproportionate negative impacts on people of color. The City Attorney Pete Holmes would accept these disproportionate impacts as acceptable and seek certification of full compliance with the consent decree. Here, Attorney Holmes evinces his involvement in the administration of institutional racism. All these tenants together blur into an institution of fascism, however a direct comparison between SPD and Nazis in the perpetuation of genocide specifically against the Jewish people is not warranted.)

The “Candle Tweet”

On 6/1/20, according to a SPD public affairs employee, “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 144

Right: SPD “Candle Tweet” and community response. Source: http://www.seattle.gov/ Documents/Departments/OIG/Other/OIGReviewSPDCrowdPolicyLLWeapons081420.pdf Right bot: Screenshot showing user interface prompt when altering iPhone text message retention settings. Source: https://twitter.com/ lewiskamb/status/1392493898044362758

Precinct.“346 This statement was verifiably false, as determined by the OPA, “the crowd did not appear to be engaged in violence, and neither third-party video nor BWV showed individuals throwing projectiles.”347

On 6/6/20, SPD communications staff Tweeted an image of a candle and claimed that “improvised explosives” were being thrown at officers. This was used as justification for a massive munitions assault on civilians. The candle itself would be turned over to the arson and bomb squad (ABS). The ABS would later forensically determine that the candle in question was not involved in any explosion.348 As found by OPA, SPD communications staff were, “pressured to post information as quickly as possible” by her superiors. She was under, “an enormous amount of pressure from the incident commander on scene to start putting information out.” Her post was “clearly incorrect,” however, the information had been provided to her by other SPD staff, and she was compelled to parrot their misinformation to social media as quickly as possible. A presentation of this Tweet and sample public response is provided by OIG at the right.

Apparently, the SPD PR team needed another justification for the use of violence beyond “rocks and bottles.” Accordingly, this public affairs employee would also not be disciplined, as she was merely following orders, parroting verifiably false information to the public. No known OPA investigation would be made into her supervisors who ordered her to distribute this false information.

Command Staff Conspiracy to Destroy Evidence

As reported in the Seattle Times, nine City employees and executives likely deliberately destroyed evidence and public records generated during the Period of Review.349 346 https://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2020/06/01/spd-declares-eastprecinct-demonstration-a-riot/ 347 OPA Case #2020OPA-0334. Closed Case Summary.

348 OPA Case #2020OPA-0425. Closed Case Summary.

349 https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattle-mayor-

Figure 44.

Figure 45.

This critical information, text message communications, was destroyed during the extraordinary period of civil demonstrations occurring in Seattle over the summer of 2020.350 In these demonstrations, the Seattle Police Department would use chemical weapons (CS) on civilians, would be found by United States Justice Richard Jones to use, “unreasonable, unnecessary, and disproportionate”351 force against civilians, and, “exerted excessive force without provocation”352 against civilians.

Additionally, the City would deliberately abandon a City police station, leading to the formation of an “autonomous zone” within Seattle’s densest urban neighborhood. Suffice to say that the conspicuous “loss” of critical communications between the Chief of Police, Assistant Chiefs of Police and Mayor during this extraordinary moment in history is deeply troubling. These actions are antithetical to transparency and accountability.

These individuals all used City issued phones. As shown by Seattle Times reporter Lewis Kamb, changing the retention period for text messages on an iPhone would jenny-durkan-had-phone-set-to-delete-texts-older-than-30-days/ 350 The Seattle Times even reported that these communications were destroyed while active public requests for the records were pending. https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2021/jun/04/seattletimes-sues-City-of-seattle-over-mayor-jenn/ 351 https://publicola.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ order-12-7-20.pdf 352 https://news.seattle.gov/wp-content/ uploads/2020/06/061220Order.pdf

Figure 46.

145

4.0 SPD Communications

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

Right: SPD manipulated propaganda video produced by the department to deliberately malign the existence of Seattle residents established around the department’s East Precinct building. Source: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=cefDp_rsfgo&t=92s Below: Seattle City employees who were found to have likely destroyed public records amidst a historic series events for the City of Seattle and a critical moment in the assessment of the federal consent decree.

display a clear warning that the action would “permanently delete all text messages and message attachments” older than 30 days.

Then- Chief Carmen Best would have had to proactively confirm that, yes, she wanted to destroy communications required by law to be retained, of high public interest, and of interest to ongoing litigation, further evincing a contempt for the law from within the highest echelon of the department.

City Employee

Position

Carmen Best

(then) Chief of Police

Jenny Durkan

Harold Scoggins Idris Beauregard

The City employees who were found to have destroyed or “lost” communications include those indicated in Table 4. As these communications were germane to ongoing settlement and court monitoring with the United States of America353, the following criminal code sections are presented for reference:

Kenneth Neafcy Chris Fisher Eric Greening

Valerie Anderson Deanna Nollette

Mayor

Chief, Fire Department

Director, Clean City Division, Transportation

Operations Coordinator, Emergency Management Executive, Strategic initiatives

Assistant Chief of Police

Executive, Administration, Police Assistant Chief of Police

Table 4.

18 U.S.C. § 1519

2020 SPD Community Assessment

Destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in Federal investigations and bankruptcy [Class C Felony] Whoever knowingly alters, destroys, mutilates, conceals, covers up, falsifies, or makes a false entry in any record, document, or tangible object with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States or any case filed under title 11, or in relation to or contemplation of any such matter or case, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.

18 U.S.C. § 371 Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United States [Class E Felony] If two or more persons conspire either to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

If, however, the offense, the commission of which is the object of the conspiracy, is a misdemeanor only, the punishment for such conspiracy shall not exceed the maximum punishment provided for such misdemeanor.

353 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. City OF SEATTLE, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE, Case 2:12-cv-01282 Document 3-1 Filed 07/27/12 https:// www.clearinghouse.net/chDocs/public/PN-WA-0001-0002.pdf

146

Raw Axon Body 2 footage contains clear Zulu time stamp markings. Deliberate manipulation of these markings would have required post- processing and manipulation by the Seattle Police Department.

Figure 47.

These specific records would have given key insights into the use of chemical weapons, key tactical decisions, and command staff process critically important to understanding the mechanisms for how the Seattle Police Department caused irreparable injury to the people of Seattle under the color of law.

Chief Diaz has yet to inform the public on how Chief Best and his own command staff’s coordinated, likely criminal, actions further the department’s commitment to transparency and accountability, let alone the rule of law. Will the WA State Attorney General or U.S. District Attorney initiate an investigation into whether then-Chief Carmen Best’s actions violated the law? Or does accountability stop when the pension starts? How will this department ensure that full accountability will be made to the residents of this City regardless of an individual’s employment status? How specifically does the department expect to gain public trust when its top executives brazenly violate the law, yet continue to lead?

Propaganda Video

On 6/20/20, SPD released a video on YouTube354 which claimed that residents and protestors “prevented officers safe access to the victims” of a homicide on Capitol Hill near the East Precinct.355 SPD’s presentation of events was later completely debunked, and the cause for the delay would reveal internal SPD conflict and miscommunication.356 Despite SPD’s presentation of events being completely debunked, then-Chief Carmen Best “responded that she stands by her comments that protesters prevented police from reaching the dying man.”

It is comforting that the Chief of Police, when presented with clear rebuff of SPD propaganda, doubles down, and asserts that community members who risked their health and safety 354 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cefDp_rsfgo&t=92s 355 https://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2020/06/20/homicideinvestigation-inside-protest-area/ 356 https://kuow.org/stories/seattle-police-and-fire-confusion-

147

4.0 SPD Communications

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

to advocate against police violence, would be demonized and alleged responsible for the incompetence of the Seattle Police Department itself.

Still, after debunking SPD’s presentation of events, the propaganda video still exists on YouTube. The most conspicuous feature of the video is that it has been post-processed and manipulated to purposefully blur the AXON Zulu time stamp in the upper right corner of the video. This critical component to the video likely contradicts SPD’s own false claims of how the events unfolded, necessitating a public communications supervisor, directing some communications intern to manipulate the video, in order for SPD to expunge the contradiction from their own presentation of events.

The public deserves a true accounting of events, not some manipulated propaganda piece that demonizes Seattle residents. The events that led the chain of command to direct the production, manipulation, release, and double down of this verifiably false statement, even after it had been debunked, further evinces a contempt for the truth, endemic through multiple levels of staff and command hierarchy.

2020 SPD Community Assessment

Veracity Questions of SPOC incident Reporting

In one SPOC incident report presented to the public for incidents occurring on 5/30/20, the report indicated that Bellevue SWAT was dispatched to respond to fire set by looters at Pacific Place: REPSONSE Figure 51.

However, in Bellevue SWAT’s own reports of the incident, their stated objective was to, “help escort several security guards out of the building slowed-response-to-chop-shooting-not-protesters

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that had been locked on the roof.”357

In not one single report within 25 pages of narratives from Bellevue SWAT, from 15 separate officers, was there ever any reference to any fire, or any reference they were dispatched to review fire, or any reference to looters burning any items.

While in this specific instance, the sworn statements of Bellevue PD SWAT officers contradict the statements presented by SPD within the SPOC dispatch reporting, it is representative of the continual misinformation pipeline parroted by SPD’s highest and lowest ranking sworn staff. While this specific incident appears to be false, the SPD legal team includes a disclaimer on the information stating, “Some reported events may be inaccurately reported.”

Thus, only a thorough and comprehensive review of SPOC incidents will determine the accuracy or veracity of each of the 163 separate events presented on 5/30/20. When a department consistently provides information that is misleading or inaccurate, the credibility of the department is irreparably decayed.

Private Medical Information & Police Violence Victims

Within OPA case # 2020OPA-0344, OPA published private medical information from a Seattle resident. It is unclear if they received permission form the individual to access her medical records. This panel specifically requested clarification from OPA. We wrote, “Did the FIT and OPA receive express permission from the subject involved to access her private un-redacted medical records and to publish details of these private, un-redacted medical records?” The OPA has not responded to this request. Further OPA speculates on the details of her medical records and proffers medical judgment against her condition. SPD Policy 1.110 cautions SPD employees not to, “speculate” when releasing statements to the public through media outlets, however OPA 357 Bellevue PD Case# 2020-00025875, Hershberger, P310, Narrative

does not conform to these policies and engages in speculative analysis of a Seattle resident’s medical conditions within their own reporting.

This speculative analysis is insulting to the victim of police violence, and we urge immediate Seattle City-wide policy that prohibits release of medical information or speculation by any Seattle governmental entity on the medical condition of any citizen.

In another case referred to OPA,358 an SPD employee authored a Twitter post which made inferences to the medical status of a Seattle resident’s condition, referencing specific alleged reactions to medications or medical treatments.

It remains to be understood if the individual provided SPD permission to view or release their private medical records to the public.

No statements or information of any individuals’ medical condition or status beyond the generally accepted base patient conditions as defined by the American Hospital Association, and in accordance to HIPAA guidelines should be offered by any Seattle governmental department. The role of government is not to slander individuals or speculate on their personal medical conditions. This conduct by OPA and SPD is insulting and disrespectful to the confidentiality of private medical information and likely a criminal violation of HIPAA law, as the Seattle Police Department knowingly and forcibly obtained private patient health information with the express purpose of releasing that information publicly as part of an analysis of the individual’s medical condition.

Would Director Myerberg, Chief Diaz, Chief Best, Inspector Judge or Monitor Oftelie wish their private medical records and conditions to be made public against their will? Likely not. The same standard should apply to all individuals regardless of circumstance.

Parroting Rumor, Protesters Extorting Businesses

On 6/10/20, Assistant Chief Deanna Nollette held a press conference. Regarding individuals open carrying weapons within the CHOP, she stated: “While they have a constitutionally protected right to bear arms and while Washington is an open carry state, there is no legal right for those arms to be used to intimidate community members… We have heard anecdotally, reports of citizens and businesses being asked to pay a fee to operate within this area [CHOP]. This is the crime of extortion.”359

On 6/11/20, then-Chief Carmen Best recorded a video released to the public. She stated, “We have heard that there are armed people ‘patrolling’ the streets near 12th and pine…We’ve also received reports that these armed people may be demanding payment from business owners in exchange for some of that protection. We’ve also heard that they may be demanding to see identification from people who live in the area. This is not legal.”360 However, these “reports” of extortion were totally unsubstantiated. In a review by the Seattle Times, the “reports” appear to have originated from right-wing clickbait internet blogs361 and a single comment by “Marcus S.” on the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog, a neighborhood news site. “Marcus S.” used a foreign IP address, which, “would vary across wide global spaces” according to the publisher of the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog.362 This would potentially indicate the use of a proxy server or of a virtual private network to mask identity.

At best, it shows that Chief Best and command staff were negligent in doing due diligence in assessing their ongoing intelligence.

Would they parrot every unsubstantiated rumor

358 OPA Case #2020OPA-0695.

359 Deanna Nollette, 6/10/20 press conference https://komonews. com/news/local/spd-to-hold-press-conference-on-east-precinct 360 https://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2020/06/11/chief-bests-addressto-officers/ 361 https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattle-areaprotests-updates-for-thursday-june-11/ 362 https://twitter.com/jseattle/status/1347384386690244609

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found in the acrid comment sections of all internet blogs? At worst, it shows a concerted effort to present unsubstantiated right-wing clickbait as fact, and use these unsubstantiated rumors to deliberately malign our friends, family and neighbors who had won a temporary reprieve from days of police violence directed at our community. Once the attacks on our neighbors’ bodies stopped, attacks on their character began. SPD presented itself at war with our community. Certainly, physically, we are presented with armored vehicles, chemical weapons and explosives and platoons of real soldiers in our communities. When this physical oppression was overcome by shear democratic resilience, the department immediately began to play sabotage and malign the same people the department is sworn to protect and serve.

It should be noted that “spread disturbing rumors” is item (5)(11)(c)(7) within the CIA’s Office of Strategic Service Simple Sabotage Field Manual.363 SPD Affinities with Fascist and White Nationalist Groups and Ideologies

2020 SPD Community Assessment

It is notable to provide the Merriam Webster definition of fascism here: Fascism (fas·​cism) noun: “a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition”

Outside the Period of Review, on 8/9/20 Seattle Police Officers’ Guild welcomed individuals from white nationalist (fascist) groups to a rally at Seattle City hall. In at least one moment, these individuals, welcomed by the Seattle Police Officers’ Guild assaulted members of the public as confirmed by video evidence.

Yet no law enforcement response to these assaults were made, despite their occurrence at the Seattle Police Officers’ Guild own rally.

363 https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=750070

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Near Right: Ethan Nordean welcomed by SPOG to “back the blue” rally on 8/9/20.

Source: https://twitter.com/WANaziWatch/ status/1292616708423708672/photo/1 Center Right: Ethan Nordean outside the United States Capitol on 1/6/20. He granted himself “war powers” during the insurrection of the United States Capitol. Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ commons/1/14/Ethan_Nordean_cropped. png Far Right: Nordean inside the invasion of the United States Capitol on 1/6/20.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/opa/page/ file/1364196/download

Additionally, many photos confirm that the same individuals who were welcomed and embraced

by SPOG at Seattle City hall on 8/6/20 were directly involved in the criminal forced entry of the United States Capitol on 1/6/21.

These same white nationalist (fascist) groups and individuals that SPOG welcomed to their “Back the Blue” rally on 8/9/20 were also seen roaming around the Capitol Hill neighborhood assaulting and beating the sh*t out of our neighbors the month previously. (See Figures 56-60.)

Seattle Police Officers have also openly embraced the use of violence on our community members in the name of white supremacy. SPD Officer Eugene Schubeck (6696) reportedly liked a comment on Facebook that stated, “I admit I enjoy seeing the Proud Boys thump the Antifa emo’s, [sic] just a little.”364 The OPA and Chief Diaz have yet to inform the public how Officer Schubeck’s embrace of political violence advances the departments policy of non-bias policing and professionalism.

In 2009, Schubeck shot a man in the face while he was holding his 20mo old baby son.

The man was not holding any weapon and was engaged in discussion with Schubeck at the time. The man survived and received a $1.9 million settlement with the City of Seattle.365 On 12/18/20, Schubeck was seen refusing to comply with the department’s COVID-19 masking guidance. The retention of officers who share strong affinities with white nationalist and fascist groups is a threat to the health and safety of our friends, family, and neighbors throughout Seattle.

364 https://twitter.com/spekulation/ status/1147537320381276162?s=20 365 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-washingtonsettlement/seattle-settles-2-million-lawsuit-for-excessive-force-bypolice-idUSKBN0OY2Q720150618

Figure 48.

Figure 49.

Figure 50.

the 2020 presidential election.

Ofc Christopher M. Gregorio, who shot Terry Carver in the back in Lower Queen Anne in 2020, frequently shared and parroted fascist accounts online, including content from U.K. fascist propaganda accounts, white supremacist Milo Yiannopoulos and anti-Muslim propaganda.366

Chief Adrian Diaz has noted that first amendment activity while not in uniform is acceptable. However, when will Chief Diaz make a judgment on the content of this activity?

Members of the Seattle Police Department lent their physical and spiritual presence to an event which aimed to install a racist, autocratic leader, supported by criminals, and foreign governments by attempting to forcibly extinguish the democratic institutions and systems which negated his hold of power.

These officers physically supported these efforts through their presence. These officers supported the installation of a fascist, autocratic, regime on American soil, disgracing the legacy of countless Americans who lost their lives fighting the rise of fascism overseas in the second world war. That alone is grounds for termination. Full stop.

As many officers show affinities to white supremacist groups and ideologies, others specifically target the Black Lives Matter movement. SPD Detective Sean Hamlin, wrote, “BLM is nothing more than a domestic terrorist organization.”367 Hamlin also posted other grotesque and disturbing content on Facebook, including an image the authors will exclude from this report, which shows a samurai holding the severed head of a human dripping in blood.

Hamlin’s post states, “The only solution for bad and violent people are good people who are more skilled at violence.”368

On 1/6/21, at least six SPD employees369 would attend a fascist demonstration in Washington D.C. which would eventually lead to the invasion of the U.S. Capitol building, the death of U.S. Capitol Police Officer, civilians, and the deliberate disruption of the certification of 366 https://twitter.com/WANaziWatch/ status/1294358344426086400?s=20 367 https://twitter.com/DivestSPD/ status/1380228019093037056?s=20 368 https://twitter.com/DivestSPD/ status/1380228016433897473?s=20 369 @DivestSPD reported on the identities of these officers: Sgt. Jake Briskey, Sgt. Scott Bach, Ofc. Alexander Everett, Ofc. Caitlin Rochelle, Ofc. Jason Marchione, & Sgt. Michael Settle.

Even if these officers did not forcibly breach the capitol grounds, or assault capitol police officers, they witnessed these actions firsthand, and as a “law enforcement” officer, had a duty to intervene to assist. No evidence is currently available to suggest that these officers intervened against the criminal actions of others.

Off-duty police officers from around the country were found to have forcibly entered the U.S. Capitol on 1/6/21. Seattle Police sent the largest known delegation of police officers to the 1/6/21 insurrection of any municipal police department in the country. Their actions conveyed a contempt for the foundations of democracy, a contempt for the rights of those they are privileged to serve. This privilege to serve must 151

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4.0 SPD Communications

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be revoked immediately. Anything less supports the application and affinities of fascism within a department tasked with holding everyone equal in the application of the law.

Further connections to fascist ideologies and iconography permeate the culture of the Seattle Police Department. Documents obtained by @DivestSPD show the department’s own internal martial arts training group is called the “Black Shirts.”370 This is a direct reference to the “Black Shirts” armed military police squads of Mussolini’s fascist Italy. Mussolini’s “Black Shirt” squads organized and marched through the streets destroying, socialist, communist, republican, Catholic, and trade union cooperatives while beating and murdering their members within the community. Adley Shepherd, a former SPD officer, who was terminated after beating a handcuffed woman’s face to the point of breaking her eye socket, was a “Black Shirt” trainer.371

The absence of any discussion or assessment of the ideologies of white supremacy and fascism, which permeate police culture, is suggestive to the general public that the department embraces fascism and fascist ideologies. It is suggestive that the ideologies of white supremacy and fascism are synonymous and inseparably interlinked with police culture.

The absence of comment by the United States Government, the Federal Court Monitor, OIG, OPA, and the Chief of Police specifically on these affinities with fascist ideologies within the Seattle Police Department convey a broad contempt for the equal application of the law, and the health and safety of our community.

This has led this panel to interpret Chief Diaz, Director Myerberg, Inspector Judge, and Monitor Oftelie’s deafening silence on the affinities to white supremacy and fascism that permeate the department as evidence of their tacit embrace of these ideologies and an acknowledgment of their fundamental and essential linkage to the institution of the Seattle Police Department.

370 https://mobile.twitter.com/DivestSPD/ status/1400505952617435137 371 http://spdblotter.seattle.gov/wp-content/uploads/ sites/11/2016/11/DAR_11.9.16.pdf

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Figure 51.

“I admit I enjoy seeing the Proud Boys thump the Antifa emo’s, [sic] just a little.”

Text from a Facebook comment reportedly liked by SPD Officer Eugene Schubeck, pictured above, refusing to wear a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: Photo: https://twitter.com/Atlas_ EnbyPride/status/1339973546164948993/photo/1 Facebook post:https://twitter.com/spekulation/ status/1147537320381276162?s=20

Right: Proud Boy 1 punches a random man in the face, while Proud Boy 2 reaches for a clearly visible handgun he has tucked in his pant waist on 6/15/20. Capitol Hill, Seattle.

Figure 52.

Source: https://twitter.com/spekulation/ status/1272742555700957191?s=20

Right: Proud Boy 1 punches a random man in the back of the head while Proud Boys “Stand Back & Stand By.” Proud Boy 3, (seen below) pins the random man to the ground, while Proud Boy 1 punches him in the head 6/15/20.

Capitol Hill, Seattle.

Source: https://twitter.com/spekulation/ status/1272742555700957191?s=20

Below Center: Proud Boy 3 pins and assaults a random man to the ground outside SPOG’s rally at City Hall rally on 8/9/20. Below Left: The same individual can be seen assaulting a community member above and seen supporting SPD at SPOG’s rally at City Hall.

Below Far Right: SPOG president Mike Solan speaks to the crowd of Proud Boys and supporters at City Hall on 8/9/20.

Figure 53.

Source: https://twitter.com/spekulation/ status/1311175261761581056?s=20 https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/ politics/pressure-mounts-on-seattle-policeunion-president-mike-solan-following-capitolsiege-remarks-City-council-members-call-forresignation/

Figure 54.

Figure 55.

Figure 56.

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Capitol Hill. 8/26/20. © Mike Scaturo

2020 SPD Community Assessment

Figure 57.

1.0 Section Name & Title

https://www.mikescaturo.com/seattle-protests

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5.0 Findings

5.0 Findings

From the embrace of white supremacist and fascist ideologies, to the wanton application of violence on our community, to a total and complete void in accountability, dissemination of lies and propaganda, the conspicuous destruction of public communications, to individual officer’s conduct and dispositions, it is evidently clear the Seattle Police Department suffers from extraordinary decay as an institution. At this moment in time, where so many in our community are tired, and have asked for fundamental changes to our systems of public safety, the Seattle Police Department has spit and slammed the door in our face.

2020 SPD Community Assessment

Acting Chief Diaz has embraced the ideologies of Eichmannism. Hundreds of officers have walked away scot-free from heinous, violent assaults on our community members under the color of law. Violence, which if perpetrated in reverse, would have directly led to countless felonies. Yet, not one single Seattle Police officer has been charged. This is a practice environment of zero-accountability.

Prior investigations have led to substantial evidence that the Seattle Police Department has systemically engaged in frequent violations of our community members’ constitutionally protected civil rights. Over eight years of settlement monitoring, federal oversight, the establishment of three separate “oversight” and “accountability” agencies, has led to extraordinary wanton violence perpetrated by the Seattle Police Department on our community. Extraordinary and clear violations, under the color of law, of our community member’s constitutionally protected civil rights, continue to persist to this day. The leadership of the Seattle Police Department, the Seattle Police Officers Guild, the Seattle Police Management Association, nor individual officers themselves have expressed any remorse whatsoever for their use of violence. These actions and the failed nature of federal “reforms” drafted by Jenny Durkan are not consistent with the authors expectations for a system of public safety.

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Chief Best and other assistant Chiefs’ destruction of public communications do not meet the authors standards and expectations for executives of an institution of public safety.

The callous and extraordinary use of chemical weapons on peaceful individuals within a respiratory virus pandemic and public health emergency are incongruent with the authors expectations for a system of public safety. The simple use of chemical weapons, and blast grenades of any type, in the eyes of the authors, are incongruent with the mission of public health, safety and wellbeing.

The juvenile, taunting, “Feel Safe yet?” memes posted on the internet by Seattle Police Officers1 are hurtful and disrespectful to the families and victims of violence in our Seattle community. In the view of the authors, these juvenile memes are incongruent with public service and disqualifying.

73% of individuals who filed a complaint with OPA were dissatisfied with the outcome of their complaint. 69% said confidence in SPD diminished after going through the complaint process,2 an overwhelming super-majority of Seattle community members. Individual grievances with individual OPA rulings are too numerous to list concisely within the page limits the authors have self-allotted. The OIG has found numerous concrete and fundamental problems with OPA investigations. These current “accountability” mechanisms and processes do not meet the authors expectations for a system of public safety, let alone a public agency routinely capable of injuring, maiming and killing members of our community.

The conduct of officers, consistently as presented within this report, taunting community members, calling them “cockroaches”, taunting them to “get a job,” saying they “look homeless,” using profanity, and expressing disdain for the population these agents are sworn to protect, 1 https://twitter.com/SPOG1952/ status/1409923825928740864?s=20 2 http://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/OPA/Reports/ Complainant-Experience-Report-June-2021.pdf

in the eyes of the authors, is disqualifying of public service, and does not meet the authors’ expectations for agents of a public safety system.

The opacity and extraordinary delays in the fulfillment of public records requests do not meet the authors’ expectations of transparency for a City department capable of injuring, maiming, and killing members of our community.

The ability for police officers to frequently milk extraordinary profit through likely criminal time theft and overtime does not meet the authors’ expectations for the fiscal responsibility of a public safety agency.

The purchasing and stockpiling of obscure and barbaric weapons for use on the Seattle community is, in the eyes of the authors, fiscally irresponsible and incongruent with a mission of public health and safety.

Dragging an unconscious woman across the pavement while arresting her, laughing about her clearly articulated medical condition, and then withholding critical anti-seizure medication from detained persons, in the eyes of the author, is not compatible with the actions of an agency tasked with providing public health and safety.

Assaulting members of our community, who are trained medical first responders, who are actively providing medical aid to victims of police violence is incongruent with the authors’ expectations for an agency tasked with public health and safety.

The dissemination of propaganda, false information, miss-characterization of intelligence, false intelligence claims, and the baseless promulgation of inflammatory rumors do not meet the authors’ expectations for agents of a public safety system.

The total and complete lack of accountability for legally baseless felony assaults, perpetrated by countless Seattle Police officers on our community members, is utterly incongruent with the authors’ expectations for accountability of a public agency wholly trained, equipped and

capable of inflicting deadly violence on our community.

The callous chilling, physical assaults and detainment of journalists surveying and reporting on the actions of the Seattle Police Department is incongruent with constitutionally guaranteed first amendment rights, and incongruent with the authors expectations for transparency and accountability of a public safety agency.

The widespread and traumatic injury inflicted by the Seattle Police Department as a whole, affecting nearly every bodily system, through the use of barbaric weapons and practices is incongruent with the authors’ expectations for a system of public health and safety.

Whereas, Seattle Police executives destroyed communications, required by law to be retained, violated constitutionally protected 1st amendment freedoms, officers assaulted innocent people with deadly weapons and explosives under the color of law, engaged in activities of insurrection, welcomed known violent white supremacists under their wing, engaged in the embrace of political violence, arrested, imprisoned and detained countless individuals without due-cause, engaged in likely perjury and provision of false information to OPA investigators, used the color of law and threats of violence to disappear and destroy our community members’ personal private property, the authors find that the Seattle Police Department does not “enforce” the law. Thus, the term “Law Enforcement” does not appear applicable to SPD as an entity, or SPD personnel at large.

The actions across all command positions, from the Chief, Assistant Chiefs, Captains, Lieutenants, Sergeants and individual officers solely within the discrete Period of Review analyzed by this panel paint a picture of an agency, wholly undeterred to act outside the boundaries of current law, assault community members, and walk away with no remorse.

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Figure 58.

5.0 Findings

The Seattle Police Department is decayed, structurally deficient, hazardous, toxic, and does not meet our current needs.

It’s time to demolish and rebuild something new.

2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment

6.0 Postscript

2020 SPD Community Assessment

6.0 Postscript

Violence prevention does not mean more “community police officer” FTE allotments.

It means providing resources directly to our community members in greatest need.

Violence is a direct product of wealth inequity in our society. Prominent moneyman Jeff Bezos made $13,000,000,000 in one day, on Monday, July 20th, 2020. That same day, a man struggled to find socks, and a morsel of sustenance to sustain his visceral survival.

20% of those arrested in Seattle suffer from homelessness.1 SPD’s proposed 2020 operational budget of $409,538,851 could pay for 21,5542 of our neighbors to be housed in permanent supportive housing. The 2020 one-night count found 11,751 individuals unhoused in King County. We could house every single individual in permanent supportive housing and still have a public safety budget of $186,269,851 left over, 154% more than the entire national police budget of Iceland,3 the country with the lowest crime rate in the world.4

New, diverse, multi-faceted approaches to public health, safety and wellbeing are urgently needed. It’s time we start over. Start from scratch, to build from the ground up a public system of wellbeing that is not tied to the legacy of violence, racism5, subjugation, dysfunction, sabotage, and racketeering at the core of the Seattle Police Department.

1 https://crosscut.com/2019/02/seattle-1-5-people-booked-jailare-homeless 2 $19,000/person is used as annual costs for permanent supportive housing. The Third Door Coalition provides a figure between $16,000-$22,000/person/year.

3 https://tinyurl.com/y5jjph9s 4 https://www.visionofhumanity.org/maps/#/ 5 Per capita, Native American persons were stopped nearly 9 times as frequently as White persons, and Black persons were stopped over 5 times as frequently as White persons; disparities which have direct impacts on population health. Source: https:// spdblotter.seattle.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2021/07/ SPD_CityReport_Final_1.11.21-1.pdf & https://www.sciencedirect.com/ science/article/abs/pii/S0277953621004354?via%3Dihub

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When the rubber met the road, the Seattle Police Department went to extraordinary lengths, to procure more weapons, procure more soldiers, produce misinformation, yet not one employee appears to have made any sustained or concerted effort to directly engage with the greater Seattle community. One off conversations and kneeling on the line were frequently followed by volleys of chemical weapons. SPD then-Captain Bryan Grenon had to borrow a megaphone from the crowd to speak to thousands of our neighbors.6 It appears that SPD was most concerned and dedicated to sustaining a consistent supply of chemical weapons and munitions to their officers than sustaining any meaningful dialogue with our community.

The booming voice of blast grenades and the hissing of chemical weapons eclipsed any voice of reason or reconciliation.

This survey has revealed total debilitating deficiencies in the structural integrity of the department so severe, they warrant the total and complete dissolution of the Seattle Police Department as a whole. Concomitant with this process of dissolution, the authors urge the office of the mayor and Seattle City council to establish and immediately stand up new public health approaches and departments for public safety, health and wellbeing focused on eliminating the root causes of violence, including homelessness, housing instability, poverty, wealth inequities, institutional racism, pollution, barriers to mental health care and general health care, chemical dependency and hunger. Our collective health, safety and wellbeing depend on it.

6

https://tinyurl.com/ruu634jn

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2020 Seattle Police Department Community Assessment REV 0 162

RELEASED: 7/26/21

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