National Lawyers Guild: SPD targeting observers at protests ‘out of fear illegal conduct will be exposed’

The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) spoke out this week against recent conduct by Seattle police officers against legal observers at a SoDo protest.

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A court order issued in early August affords protections to legal observers and journalists at protests in Seattle. A legal observer is identified by a green NLG-issued vest or hat, or a blue ACLU-issued vest. According to the NLG, SPD officers threatened to arrest observers and “repeatedly assaulted them” at an Aug. 16 protest in Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood.

“It is clear that SPD is targeting legal observers out of fear that their illegal conduct will be exposed to the world,” the NLG said in a written news release. “SPD is currently following the approach of police departments in Belarus or Hong Kong which use force to silence anti-government protests.”

Legal observers are typically attorneys, law students, and legal professionals “who volunteer to monitor and document police actions against people engaged in political protest,” the NLG describes.

The events of the SoDo protest have been contested by both protesters and police. Roughly a half dozen officers reported sustaining various injuries during the protest, which was declared a riot by law enforcement at the scene.

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The rally took place outside the Seattle Police Officers Guild’s (SPOG) offices in SoDo. One officer reported being hit just below his eye by a firework.

“And these aren’t tiny fireworks, they’re not firecrackers — these are commercial grade mortars,” the officer said. “These are things that should be launched up hundreds of feet in the air in a safe place to be detonated so they can put on a firework display. These aren’t meant for weapons.”

Protesters and activists, though, paint a different picture, alleging a series of assaults from officers, while describing a video of inter-cut body cam footage set to dramatic music released by SPOG as “propaganda” that misrepresents how the night unfolded.

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