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The year of protests
WORLD Radio - The year of protests
Seattle and Portland brace for more unrest as they mark the anniversary of George Floyd’s death Victoria Beach outside the Seattle PD s East Precinct. Photo courtesy of Bonnie Pritchett
MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Tuesday the 25th of May, 2021.
Glad to have you along for today’s edition of
The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.
NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. First up: living with unrest.
One year ago today, George Floyd died in the custody of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. The death sparked demonstrations around the nation and even the world to call attention to racism and police brutality. Some of those demonstrations devolved into rioting, arson, vandalism, and looting resulting last year in at least $1 billion in insurance claims and maybe twice that.
Former SPD chief offers new details on why East Precinct was abandoned last summer
SPD s East Precinct in June of 2020. (Getty Images)
Nearly a year after the Seattle Police Department’s East Precinct was temporarily abandoned last summer, former Chief Carmen Best has provided further insight into the decision making that took place behind the scenes.
In early June, sources confirmed to KIRO Radio at the time that preparations were underway to secure the East Precinct on Capitol Hill, remove sensitive materials, and potentially abandon the building. Days later, SPD left the precinct entirely, and protesters moved in, setting up barricades and forming what would later become known as the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest.
The East Precinct in what was known as the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest. (Getty Images)
The Alaska man who set fire to the Seattle Police Department’s East Precinct last summer now faces jail time.
Desmond David-Pitts, 20, was sentenced Monday in the U.S. District Court in Seattle to 20 months in prison for conspiracy to commit arson in connection with the fire he set Aug. 24, 2020, at the East Precinct. Surveillance video shows him piling up trash and lighting it on fire outside of a precinct door. He was arrested shortly after the fire.
At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour noted the danger posed to the officers who could have been trapped in the building.