Seattle police chief, mayor clash over CHAZ: Top cop vows to retake precinct ‘as soon as possible’

Seattle’s chief of police says she wants her officers to return to the abandoned East Precinct building that was boarded up just before Black Lives Matter protesters began occupying a so-called ‘autonomous zone’ near downtown.

But Police Chief Carmen Best’s message appears at odds with comments made by Mayor Jenny Durkan, who has supported a more hands-off approach while saying that the protesters are exercising their First Amendment rights.

When asked by CNN’s Chris Cuomo on Thursday how long she expected protesters to remain in the area before police return to the precinct, Durkan said: ‘I don’t know. We could have a summer of love.’

Meanwhile, members of an armed left-wing group, the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club, have been spotted in the area after they were hired to provide security for ‘some very prominent black voices’ who were giving speeches, according to The Daily Beast.

Protesters have sealed off a six-block area in the Capitol Hill neighborhood that has become known as the CHAZ – or Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone – after the mayor ordered police to abandon the area after near-daily clashes in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

The clashes between demonstrators and police drew nationwide attention after law enforcement officials made widespread use of controversial crowd control tactics like stun grenades, pepper spray, and tear gas.

The massive unrest prompted the city’s mayor, Durkan, to order police to abandon the East Precinct building, yielding it to protesters.

Despite reports of widespread lawlessness, the area appears to be largely peaceful, as authorities describe a ‘block party atmosphere’ where people are having cookouts, film screenings, art exhibits, and other cultural activities. 

Protesters, however, said they plan on maintaining the ‘no-police zone’ as long as their demands for reform, including the cutting of funding to law enforcement, are not met. 

Durkan’s office on Thursday released a statement saying it was the mayor’s decision to remove barriers around the East Precinct.

‘Over the last week, Mayor Durkan requested that Chief Best have SPD prepare a range of operational plans to respond to the protests on Capitol Hill and the continuing public safety issues,’ the statement read.

‘On a daily basis, SPD adjusted its tactics trying to reduce conflict points.

‘After events Sunday night, it was clear that the situation needed to be significantly defused and de-escalated.

‘The cycle of conflict between demonstrators and officers was harmful to residents, demonstrators, businesses, officers, our city, and the opportunity to make real progress with the community.

‘On Monday, Mayor Durkan concluded the situation could only be deescalated between officers and demonstrators by removing the barriers.

‘After long consultations with Chief Best and SPD, on how to do so in a safe manner, the Mayor directed free access to Pine Street for peaceful demonstrations Monday evening.’

The mayor’s office released the statement on Thursday hours after Best posted a video criticizing the decision and implicitly accusing Durkan of caving to ‘severe public pressure.’

Best went public and distanced herself from the decision. She told her officers that she did not give the order to abandon the precinct.

‘I’m angry about how all this came about,’ Best said in the video.

Best said that SPD had ‘solid information’ that led them to believe anti-government groups would destroy the precinct.

Best told KIRO-TV on Friday that she wanted to see her charges back in the precinct ‘as soon as possible.’

She said that 911 response times have increased threefold since the precinct was abandoned. Best said the department and city officials are now pondering their next steps.

‘We’ve certainly been in conversation about what we might do and what the alternatives are,’ the police chief said. 

‘Ideally, we just need to get back into the building. People are looking for a plan, but we want to make sure we modulate anything that we’re doing. 

‘We don’t want to exacerbate or intensify or incite problems that are going to lead to harm to the officers or the people who are standing by. 

‘We know that several are armed. We want to make sure that we are being very thoughtful about how we respond.’ 

Durkan, however, was noncommittal when asked about officers returning to the building, though she said police will have a presence in CHAZ to make sure public safety is upheld.

‘The police will be policing there, I want to be very clear on that … our chief of police was in there assessing today,’ the mayor said.

‘We take public safety very seriously, we met with businesses and residents today.

‘We don’t have to sacrifice public safety for First Amendment rights.

‘Both can exist and we’ll make sure both exist in Seattle.’

President Trump taunted Washington State Governor Jay Inslee and Durkan about the situation on Twitter and said the city had been taken over by ‘anarchists.’ 

‘Take back your city NOW. If you don’t do it, I will,’ Trump tweeted.

The president continued his complaints in a Thursday interview with the Fox News Channel. 

‘If we have to go in, we’re going to go in,’ Trump said. 

‘These people are not going to occupy a major portion of a great city.’ 

The president has sparred before with Inslee and Durkan – both liberal Democrats.

Inslee previously sought his party’s presidential nomination.

Inslee tweeted Thursday that state officials will not allow threats of military violence from the White House. 

‘The US military serves to protect Americans, not the fragility of an insecure president,’ he tweeted.

The zone set up by protesters stretches a portion of Capitol Hill, where dozens of people show up to listen to speakers calling for police reform, racial justice and compensation for Native groups on whose land the city of Seattle was founded.

Signs proclaim ‘You are entering free Capitol Hill’ and ‘No cop co-op’ along sidewalks where people sell water and other wares. 

On Thursday, speakers used a microphone to discuss their demands and how to address the police presence after they visited the precinct during the day. 

Down the street, artists continued painting a block-long Black Lives Matter mural on the street. 

Several individuals inside the CHAZ have been seen with assault rifles.

These armed leftists who are members of the PSJBGC describe themselves as part of an ‘anti-fascist, anti-racist, pro-worker community defense organization committed to accountable, community-led defense in the Puget Sound region.’

The group is often asked to provide security at rallies and protests staged by left-wing activists. 

Group members said that their presence in CHAZ is part of a loosely organized effort and not one that is centrally coordinated by PSJBGC leadership.

Armed members of the group began showing up to CHAZ after a scary incident last Sunday.

Video from the scene captured the moment an armed white man attempted to drive his car through a crowd of protesters before exiting his vehicle and shooting one demonstrator with a Glock hand gun.

Daniel Gregory, a 27-year-old black man, was wounded by a gunshot to the arm.

The shooter who drove his car into the crowd turned himself in to the police. He was charged with first-degree assault.

From that moment on, PSJBGC decided that they were going to be present in the area.

‘We have to rely on each other to protect each other,’ one member told The Daily Beast. 

Media reports from conservative-leaning news outlets like Fox News have broadcast images of the armed individuals inside the CHAZ.

But they are pushing back on suggestions that they are part of an anarchist movement. They say they have no intention of clashing with police.

‘It’s not like our club is going force-to-force against the police; that’s not what we do,’ one armed member of the group said.

Their goal is to deter far-right armed movements like Proud Boys and the boogaloo bois from showing up. 

The group also says it is working to ensure that anyone armed inside CHAZ is educated on responsible gun ownership and usage.

PSJBGC activists say they have been doing patrols with ‘random community members, affinity groups, [and] antifa that aren’t labeled with a specific group.’

One of them told The Daily Beast: ‘That’s kind of the world we live in, right? 

‘We have people who are disciplined with firearms, and people who get into firearms who don’t have that discipline, so when we see it, we’re not policing people; the best we can do is educate people

‘Other people are carrying and we want to make sure that people are carrying safely, so we’re also discussing whether we can do trainings for people here.’ 

Washington State is open-carry, meaning gun owners can legally carry their firearms in public within view of others while going about their business.

On May 30, the mayor imposed a ban on weapons in the city. But her office said that authorities within Seattle city limits could choose not to enforce the ban.

‘There have been individuals with weapons – open carrying is legal in Washington State,’ the mayor’s office said in a statement when asked about armed protesters inside CHAZ. 

‘While the CHAZ is within the area of the City currently under a weapons ban, the Emergency Order establishing the weapons ban does not mandate enforcement. 

‘It gives officers the option to take certain actions (i.e., confiscate weapons) if they deem it necessary.’

‘The City will continue to assess the area on a regular basis and work with community and other stakeholders on a path forward that allows individuals to demonstrate, businesses to continue their operations, and preserves public safety for local residents,’ the spokesperson added. 

‘Officers in the East Precinct have continued to respond to calls. 

‘[Seattle Police] Chief [Carmen] Best and Command Staff have been on site at the East Precinct including yesterday, and some personnel are now staffing the precinct.’ 

PSJBGC members said claims that the area is lawless and that anarchy reigns are false. 

Many of those claims are fueled by images shared on social media showing people handing out guns in the CHAZ.

But members of the gun club say they are simply exercising Second Amendment rights.

‘Sure, there are occasionally people open carrying, and usually they’re people of color, but all that they’re doing is exercising the same Second Amendment rights that the three per centers and right wingers never shut up about,’ said one PSJBGC member. 

‘But because they’re afraid of the c-word, “communist”, [right wingers] lose their minds over it. 

‘And unlike whatever’s happening in their own personal fantasyland – all this talk of the boogaloo, without the rule of law – the threats of violence against these communities are actually credible.’

So far, CHAZ protesters don’t seem to mind the presence of the armed members. They hope that the concept of an autonomous, civilian-run, police-free area will replicate in other cities.

‘Here’s what’s happened in the last few days of occupation: a lot less tear gas,’ a PSJBGC member told The Daily Beast. 

‘That precinct has not gone on fire, and there’s talk of turning it into a community center if we can get the police to leave. 

‘If somebody calls the police, they’ll just show up 30 mins late and end up swatting the wrong address and shooting someone’s dog. 

‘Those are all things that we’re missing, and I’m not sure that anybody here has any complaints about that.’