More marches in Seattle day after Ferguson decision
Nov 25, 2014, 10:17 AM | Updated: 5:10 pm
Roosevelt High School students take to the streets Tuesday morning following a grand jury decision in Ferguson. (KIRO Radio/Tim Haeck)
(KIRO Radio/Tim Haeck)
- Jason Rantz: Seattle’s reaction is embarrassing
- Dave Ross: Why the Ferguson grand jury ruled as it did
- Five people arrested in Seattle protest Monday
- Ferguson police officer not indicted
- Brown family blasts prosecutor; Wilson speaks
- Complete transcript of grand jury case
About 1,000 Garfield High School students left campus Tuesday afternoon to join a march that converged on downtown Seattle Tuesday in a second day of demonstrations following the decision of a grand jury in Ferguson, Mo. not to indict a police officer who shot a teen.
A large group that included Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and police chief Kathleen O’Toole marched from Mount Calvary Baptist Church to the Federal Courthouse .
The demonstrations follow Monday’s grand jury decision in Ferguson not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in a shooting that left 18-year-old Michael Brown dead.
Organizers with the Seattle King County NAACP and United Black Clergy said Tuesday’s protest was “a teaching moment around national legislation on policing and use of excessive force” because “change won’t happen until we make it happen.”
Students at West Seattle High School also walked off campus and converged at the Hiawatha Playfield in West Seattle.
About 500 students from Roosevelt High School left class shortly before 11 a.m. to march to the University of Washington in protest. They subsequently returned to campus.
The Seattle School District said the student walkouts are unauthorized absences unless parents have approved their participation.
Tuesday’s protests follow a mostly peaceful demonstration in downtown Seattle Monday night.
The Seattle Police Department reports five people were arrested. A 51-year-old man was arrested for reckless endangerment; a 22-year-old woman was arrested for failure to disperse; two men, a 34 and 28-year-old were arrested for obstruction. Officers also arrested another man armed with a handgun on a weapons violation.
Police also said they are investigating several incidents of property damage after vandals spray painted buildings at 6th Avenue and Pike Street and 9th Avenue and Madison Street. Vandals also reportedly shattered a bank’s window at Madison and Boylston Avenue.
At one point, some protesters walked out onto the northbound lanes of I-5 near Madison. The state patrol briefly shut down the highway around 10 p.m. until police were able to round up the group.
Another rally is planned for Saturday, Nov. 29, 3 – 8pm at the African Center for Education & Innovation.
