Officers Attacked by Rocks and Flying Explosives as They Try To Quell Anti-Cop Riot
Police officers sacrifice their lives every day to help their citizens in times of trouble and pain.
How are they rewarded in Seattle? With rocks and explosives thrown at them.
Law enforcement officers were attacked again Sunday night when an anti-police protest turned into a riot.
About 100 rioters threw rocks and explosives at the officers, the Seattle Police Department said in a news release published Monday.
The protest began in SoDo, a Seattle neighborhood, about 7 p.m. and included demonstrators marching on foot and cars trailing behind, the release stated.
The group moved in the direction of the Seattle Police Officer Guild building in the 2900 block of 4th Avenue South.
Things turned violent about 10 p.m. when someone in the crowd set off a large explosive and tried to break a police vehicle window, according to the news release.
“Individuals in the crowd began throwing rocks and bottles at officers. Multiple explosives were thrown toward officers,” the release stated.
“The incident commander declared the incident a riot. Officers used OC spray and blast balls to the stop the assault on officers. The crowd moved northbound, eventually dispersing.”
Several officers have been injured, and arrests made on 4th Avenue. This has been declared a riot. Officers taking projectiles and fireworks. Please stay out of the area. We will update with additional information when available.
— Seattle Police Dept. (@SeattlePD) August 17, 2020
Eighteen suspects were arrested.
They were booked into the King County Jail.
“A total of six officers were injured in Sunday’s riot. One officer was hospitalized and has since been released, but has not returned to duty,” the Seattle Police Department said in an update on Monday.
Police released body cam and open source video from the riot that show the different types of explosives used against the officers as they tried to calm the crowd and navigate the area.
WARNING: The following video contains graphic language that some viewers will find offensive.
“F— you SPD!” a woman yells from the crowd, right before a large explosion sounds.
The officers are heard asking each other if they are all right and cough through the smoke as they are aggressively attacked by protestors, one after the other.
Mayor Jenny Durkan‘s Twitter account had nothing to say regarding the injured officers and chaos occurring in her city.
She is much too busy worrying about the “blatant lies” that President Donald Trump is spreading about Seattle and the issue, or lack thereof, with mail-in voting.
Sadly, it’s no surprise that @realDonaldTrump continues to spread blatant lies about Seattle. King County has voted by mail for years. Individuals gathering to protest systemic racism in our country has nothing to do with this administration’s made-up problem with mail-in voting. https://t.co/c0q4PjFe5B
— Mayor Jenny Durkan (@MayorJenny) August 18, 2020
Perhaps she needs to worry less about what the president is up to and more about the utter ruins the condition of her city has fallen into.
With violence, rapes, and murders occurring within the protest zones, it is clear that these rioters have contempt not only for the lives of police officers, but for the rights and security of other citizens as well.
Days before the riot, Seattle police chief Carmen Best, retired from the force after Seattle announced plans to reduce the police department by about 100 officers, Fox News reported.
“It really is about the overarching lack of respect for the officers, the men and women who work so hard, day in and day out,” Best said when asked what her motivation was to resign, according to Fox.
“The idea that we’ve worked so incredibly hard to make sure our department was diverse, that [it] reflects the community that we serve, just to turn that all on a dime and hack it off, without having a plan in place to move forward, is highly distressful for me.”
In an email to the police department, which was obtained by Jason Rantz, a local radio host, Seattle’s first black police chief said her retirement will start Sept. 2.
“I am confident the department will make it through these difficult times,” Best wrote. “You truly are the best police department in the country, and please trust me when I say, the vast majority of the people in Seattle support you and appreciate you.”
#BREAKINGNEWS: Chief Carmen Best just emailed her resignation notice to Seattle police officers. pic.twitter.com/Y8y7etOXvU
— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) August 11, 2020
This anti-cop sentiment that is being encouraged by the left has America’s police at risk and being forced to either take this abuse or step down.
Something has to give, but will it take the country living in a state of chaos without police to finally realize why they are funded in the first place?
It seems like we will have to take to the voting polls this November and vote for those who respect and acknowledge the sacrifice that law enforcement officers make every day.
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