Lawsuits reveal city is missing June 2020 text messages from Seattle mayor, SPD leaders, fire chief May 10, 2021 at 12:04 pm
Police Chief Carmen Best, center, speaks at at a news conference, Monday, July 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Lawsuits filed against the City of Seattle related to protests that took place last June revealed that the city is missing text messages from Mayor Jenny Durkan, then-SPD Chief Carmen Best, Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins, and several other SPD leaders.
One of the lawsuits brought on behalf of Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County had sought to use texts among city leadership to paint a picture of behind-the-scenes communication that led to the frequent use of tear gas during protests early last summer. Another filed by Capitol Hill residents and businesses had looked to decipher the series of events leading up to SPD abandoning the East Precinct last June, and the eventual creation of the CHOP.
A Seattle police chief rejected an invitation to a law enforcement appreciation dinner he said is hosted by evangelical Rev. Franklin Graham, citing concerns over its ties to groups against gay and transgender rights.
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Sign at the entrance of the CHAZ. Seattle, Washington / USA – June 10, 2020. VDB Photos / Shutterstock.com
The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, colloquially known as the “CHAZ,” was an occupation that took place between June 8 and July 1 of 2020 in Seattle, Washington during the midst of mass protests against the police killing of George Floyd. On July 1, the Seattle Police Department retook the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), giving rise to the following account:
We awoke in the early hours to the sounds of police sirens. We had all grown used to this sound over the past five weeks. This time around, the sirens were not met with the voices of thousands, but, instead, they were met with what felt like a whisper, the final words of someone close to death. We knew this day was slowly approaching as we saw the barriers removed and car traffic slowly began to flow through the streets that we saw clouded in tear gas for weeks. Our tents and, for some, all their posses
Their demonstrations weren’t the biggest seen in West Seattle, but the
Seattle Evening March protesters’ visits here were among the most memorable, as they marched along many residential streets on their way to visit officials including City Councilmembers and, on this night, King County Executive
Dow Constantine.
May 7, 2020 – 215 comments
As part of the city’s pandemic response, some streets were closed to through traffic to give people more space to walk, run, and roll. When Beach Drive’s northern end, alongside Constellation Park, was added, many were thrilled, many others were not.
May 10, 2020 – 230 comments
Shortly after the aforementioned stretch of Beach Drive was closed to through traffic, it was suggested that adding Alki Avenue west of 63rd would make sense too – and that happened quickly.