Former police chief weighs in on May Day SPD response

Former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper says the police
could have had a better handle on this week’s May Day
vandalism in Seattle if they had put more officers on the
street.

But Stamper told Seattle’s Morning News that with only a
thousand officers on the force, officers couldn’t have
protected every potential target.

“If they had thrown a line of police officers around that
block, for example where Nike was located or the old Federal
Courthouse or a Starbucks or what have you, the anarchists
would have moved to another target” Stamper said.

Stamper says the only way to control these protests is for
the city and the police to reach out to the non-violent
protesters for their help.

Stamper retired after the WTO riots in 2000. He said the
worst mistake of his career is telling officers to use
chemical agents on those crowds on the second day of the
event. He believes that turned non-violent protesters
against the police and into people willing to break the law.