Messages to Seattleites while city leaders are on summer break
Aug 26, 2020, 1:05 PM | Updated: Aug 27, 2020, 5:03 pm
Fire set outside the East Precinct in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. (Seattle Police)
(Seattle Police)
While the Seattle City Council is on a break for a couple of weeks and Mayor Jenny Durkan hasn’t addressed recent violence on Capitol Hill, Gee and Ursula are stepping in for the politicians and have messages for residents.
Ursula’s message:
The violence that we have witnessed the last few nights in Capitol Hill and downtown Seattle is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. While I fully support everyone’s right to protest peacefully, setting fires, breaking windows, looting businesses and the attacks on the police precincts amount to criminal behavior and the people who insist on harming others will be arrested and prosecuted.
Over the last few months — the pandemic and the murder of George Floyd — have exposed the racial injustices and the inequities that still exist across the country and in our city. Now, the police shooting in Kenosha has reignited anger and fear and has raised questions about policing in America and in our own city. I urge you to reserve judgment until we learn more about this case.
We must and we WILL make changes to ensure that Seattle is a place where everyone feels safe, where everyone is valued, and where families and businesses can thrive. We will continue to build on the hard work that has gone into reforming the police department under the federal consent decree. Although SPD has made progress, there is still work to do to address racial inequity and excessive use of force. The police chief and her department are committed to doing the necessary work to ensure that public safety for ALL is our top priority.
As much as we want all of these changes to happen now, we can’t do it overnight. What we WILL do immediately is invite all of you, all the leaders from our communities of color, the LGBTQ community, the business community, religious leaders, and the police to work together on solutions.
Listen to Gee’s message below:
Listen to the Gee and Ursula Show weekday mornings from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.
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