Kshama Sawant wants East Precinct converted to community center
Jun 11, 2020, 6:34 AM | Updated: 10:50 pm
The words "Black Lives Matter" are painted in the middle of East Pine Street in an area being called the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) that reopened to pedestrian traffic after Seattle Police closed the East Precinct, in Seattle, Washington on June 11, 2020. - The area surrounding the East Precinct building has come to be known as the CHAZ, Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. Volunteer medics are available to tend to medical needs, alongside tents with medical supplies, gourmet food donated form local restaurants, fruit, snacks, water bottles free for whomever needed them. (Photo by Jason Redmond / AFP) (Photo by JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images)
(Photo by JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images)
The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone saw many visitors today, including KIRO Radio’s Gee and Ursula, KTTH’s Jason Rantz, and some Seattle police officers. Mayor Durkan said there is no timeline for the city’s plans on the East Precinct, sitting at the heart of CHAZ. She also reminded Seattleites that she supports Police Chief Carmen Best. Her message was delivered hours after Chief Best told her officers, in a video made public, that the decision to abandon the precinct was not hers.
See updates for Thursday:
10:37pm – Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant tweeted Thursday night that she wants the now empty East Precinct converted into a community center.
The process for deciding East Precinct conversion must include those involved in CHAZ, black community organizations, restorative justice, faith, anti-racist, renter orgns, land trusts, groups, labor unions that have a proven record of fighting racism.https://t.co/QaQsGHo6fs
— Kshama Sawant (@cmkshama) June 12, 2020
9:37pm – Protesters are on stage with a mic telling their stories in front of the East Precinct at 12th and Pine.
8:17pm – The Seattle Times reports there were tense moments in CHAZ tonight when some police officers tried leaving the East Precinct. Witnesses caught on camera two officers deploy pepper spray at at least one protester. Protesters were heckling the officers as they were trying to leave.
7:33pm – Issaquah releases information about a protest on Friday. Several streets in Olde Town will be closed for the city’s “Issaquah General Strike and March for Black Lives.” Read more here.
6:27pm – Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County is hosting a Statewide Silent March and General Strike on Friday, June 12, 2020. A few of the local group’s leaders held a Facebook live Thursday evening to provide a community update and share details about the event.
5:07pm – A large crowd has stopped at the corner of 12th and Pine, the location of the East Precinct.
A demonstrator in Capitol says he wants to have meetings in CHAZ at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. “every day for the foreseeable future” @KIRONewsdesk @KIRORadio @Mynorthwest pic.twitter.com/sUh7ff6Dfr
— Meili Cady (@MeiliKIROFM) June 11, 2020
4:45pm – Reports that there are hundreds of people at the capitol building in Olympia for a cookout protest.
4:05pm – Mayor Durkan said there is no timeline for returning police officers to the East Precinct in Seattle. Durkan assured people that President Trump will not bring the military into Seattle. She also said she fully supports Police Chief Carmen Best. Read more.
From overnight Wednesday:
A Seattle Youth Protest rallied at Volunteer Park and then marched to the Seattle Police West Precinct on Virginia. The crowd stood behind the metal fencing for awhile before turning back. Hundreds of people also marched in the city’s White Center neighborhood Wednesday afternoon.
Follow moment-by-moment accounts of Wednesday’s protests here.
White Center, known for being one of Seattle’s most diverse communities, began its rally with hundreds gathered on 8th Avenue Southwest, as speakers addressed the crowd. The rally began marching toward the neighborhood’s downtown area shortly after 5 p.m.
One of Seattle’s most diverse communities showed up in force. A local car club helped stop traffic at intersections, businesses handed out water and supplies, and residents cheered from their front porches along the route. pic.twitter.com/leUMRlwtSa
— Nick Bowman (@NickNorthwest) June 11, 2020
A local car club helped manage traffic flow at intersections, along with volunteers in neon vests. Organizers led chants of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor’s names, while businesses along the route on 16th Avenue Southwest set up tents distributing water, snacks, and other supplies.
Other members of the community were seen handing out bottled water as well.
The march ended back where it started on 8th Ave SW around 6 p.m., where organizers again spoke to the crowd.
Across the city, protesters remained near the East Precinct on Capitol Hill, now known as the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.”
