Seattle Black Lives Matter protest takes over downtown streets

Update:

Seattle joined a chorus of protests around the nation as a vigil for two black men killed by police grew into a march with at least 1,000 people moving through downtown Thursday night.

While the crowd was described as “angry” by observers, Seattle’s march was peaceful and resulted in no violence or destruction. There was concern that the protest could move onto I-5, but Seattle police and Washington State Patrol blocked access to the freeway.

Related: Four police officers killed, 10 shot in Dallas during Black Lives Matter protest

“This did begin as a very peaceful vigil,” said KIRO 7’s Gary Horcher. “The loudest voices were coming from the clergy on what was the stage over at Westlake. And while they were calling for fixing the system within the system, there were a lot of voices of very loud dissent in the crowd. They were saying that this is no time for trying to mess within the system. They called very loudly for the crowd that was gathered to hit the streets.”

“The clergy and the people speaking at Westlake — including the brother of Che Taylor who was killed in a confrontation with SPD in February — said don’t get in the streets,” he said. “Half of the people then went into the streets outside of Westlake and quickly filled up the stairway outside the Federal Courthouse.”

This protest is being led by voices who drowned out some of the speakers at the earlier vigil. More anger here. pic.twitter.com/9oDMHlxIv6

— Gary Horcher (@GaryKIRO7) July 8, 2016

Horcher said that the crowd – which he estimated topped 1,000 — then left the courthouse and headed toward the Seattle Police Department headquarters. It then marched near access points to I-5 near James and Cherry Streets.

“I’ve covered every May Day protest out here and this crowd rivals some of those,” Horcher said.

“The people at the front are part of the Black Lives Matter organization … they are the ones that are leading the crowd,” he said.

Horcher noted that the crowd was mixed with black, white, Native American, Asian, and more marching through the streets.

“It’s a very broad makeup,” he said. “I can say it’s very loud, very angry. But it’s not violent at all. SPD is not in riot gear. They are flanking the crowd with a fraction of force that they have for the May Day protests.”

“I’m not going to be presumptuous and say SPD wasn’t ready for this, but I don’t think they expected this kind of crowd,” Horcher said. “I think if they did, there would have been a lot more police officers flanking the businesses on the streets, and to be here in case something happened. I think there is some tension in the air, because of what happened in Dallas.”

Horcher said that he did hear some calls for the crowd to march onto I-5. The crowd did linger around I-5 access points around Cherry and James Streets, but never made it onto the freeway.

Seattle police did use pepper spray on a handful of marchers, once as a few attempted to run onto an I-5 on ramp.

Original story

Seattle’s local Black Lives Matter group is planning to hold a vigil Thursday evening.

The vigil is slated for 6-8 p.m. at Westlake Park, 401 Pine Street, in downtown Seattle. The gathering is in response to two fatal officer-involved shootings of black men in as many days. Both incidents were caught on video and have garnered considerable media attention. The group also references the local shooting of Che Taylor, who was killed by Seattle police officers, and Taylor’s brother Andre is expected to be present at Thursday’s vigil.

Related: Four people arrested at Seattle Black Lives Matter holiday protest

There is no word on whether the vigil will move out into the streets as some past Black Lives Matter events have done.

The group’s Facebook event states:

#BlackLivesMatter
Stand with Andre Taylor and Not This Time against the rash of police shootings against Americans who are detained or in custody; the most recent deaths: Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. Demonstrate to Seattle and WA State Government that the citizens of this city and State, will no longer tolerate country-wide the continued homicides by police officers without independent investigation and with indeterminate accountability.
The Community speaks!

Alton Sterling was killed by Baton Rouge police on Tuesday while he was selling CDs outside a convenience store. Philando Castile was shot on Wednesday near Minneapolis. Castile’s girlfriend says he was reaching for his wallet to provide officers his ID when he was shot. Castile was reportedly pulled over for a broken taillight and informed the officer that he had a gun with a concealed carry permit.

Locally, the Seattle shooting of Che Taylor in February has garnered criticism from the man’s family and community, and the NAACP has called it an execution.

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