After months of protests, sweeps, and clashes with police, Seattle reopens Cal Anderson Park
Dec 23, 2020, 11:37 AM
Cal Anderson Park over the summer. (Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)
(Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)
Seattle Parks and Recreation announced Wednesday that it has officially reopened Cal Anderson Park, which had seen three homeless encampment sweeps, several arrests, and many clashes with police throughout 2020.
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The park was first closed to the public on June 30, in part to limit crowds during the ongoing pandemic, and has since found itself as the epicenter of controversy in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. That began when SPD temporarily abandoned the East Precinct, leading to the creation of the now-infamous Capitol Hill Occupied Protest. After four shootings over a 10-day period in or around the CHOP, police cleared demonstrators from the area in early July.
Cal Anderson Park was the location of several subsequent incidents in the weeks to follow, including a religious rally defying COVID restrictions attended by hundreds of unmasked participants, an incident where protesters reportedly chased private security out of the park, and three sweeps by police to clear homeless encampments and aid tables.
The third sweep of the park in mid-December saw SPD arrest 24 people, ranging from “misdemeanor trespass, failure to disperse, resisting arrest, obstructing arrest, and property destruction.”
24 arrested during sweep at Seattle’s Cal Anderson Park
Two days after that, police arrested a group of people dressed in all black playing soccer in the park. One man was arrested for assault, and then six other people attempted to “unarrest” that person, according to police. Those six people were then arrested as well.
With the park reopened, Mayor Jenny Durkan vowed to continue an “ongoing conversation to provide services to those who are unhoused, create new ongoing activities to support diverse community needs, increase safety, and restore the vibrancy and inclusivity of the Capitol Hill neighborhood.”
During its closure and after encampment sweeps, city workers repaired buildings, removed graffiti, picked up litter, and removed 100 tons of debris. Additional maintenance and repair efforts are expected to continue.
The city also plans to begin offering “new recreational activities” at Cal Anderson Park in 2021.
