SPD installs large concrete barriers surrounding East Precinct
Aug 31, 2020, 9:01 AM
Walls outside of the East Precinct on Capitol Hill. (Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
In the wake of ongoing protests on Capitol Hill and recent threats to the Seattle Police Department’s East Precinct, the city has constructed six-foot-tall concrete barriers surrounding the building.
East Precinct commander: ‘I’m not going to allow this precinct to be taken over’
The move comes as part of what SPD is calling “structural updates … in an effort to protect the facility from arson and other damages, protect officers and detectives stationed in the precinct, and protect residents and community members who live near the precinct.”
A recent protest saw demonstrators attempting to set fire to the precinct building, and using what appeared to be quick-dry cement to seal one of the exits. Desmond David-Pitts, a 19-year-old from Alaska, was arrested and federally charged with arson for that fire. U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran tells the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH that the arson was “organized, [and] pre-planned.”
David-Pitts was originally scheduled for a court appearance in King County last Wednesday, before federal authorities stepped in to inform the county prosecutor’s office that they planned on pursuing first-degree arson charges at the federal level.
‘Enough is enough:’ SPD takes back East Precinct
He was transferred into federal custody as a result. If for any reason federal authorities decide not to proceed with charges, the King County Prosecutor’s Office plans to move forward with charges of its own.
The concrete walls in front of the East Precinct began to take shape last Friday, stacked in front of the fencing already in front of the building along 12th Avenue and East Pine Street. A separate chain-link fence was installed directly on top of the newly-installed walls.
