Protesters take to streets of Seattle following Ferguson decision

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• Photos from downtown Seattle
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• Complete transcript of grand jury case: State of Missouri vs. Darren Wilson

Protesters hurled rocks at police and passing cars on I-5 as a mostly peaceful demonstration became violent Monday evening in downtown Seattle.

Several hundred took to the streets after a grand jury in Missouri declined to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting that left 18-year-old Michael Brown dead.

Officers began using pepper spray and flash bangs around 10 p.m. to disperse a crowd before it reached an I-5 off-ramp near Madison. Police said some in the crowd were throwing canned food at officers. Someone reportedly threw a knife at one of the cops.

A handful of protesters, including rapper Macklemore, bypassed police and ran onto I-5, briefly blocking traffic before police cleared the scene.

Once on the freeway’s northbound lanes, the crowd began chanting “We Won.”

The Seattle Police Department reports five people were arrested. A 51-year-old man was arrested for reckless endangerment; a 22-year-old woman was arrested for failure to disperse; two men, a 34 and 28-year-old were arrested for obstruction. Officers also arrested another man armed with a handgun on a weapons violation.

Police also say they are investigating several incidents of property damage after vandals spray painted buildings at 6th Avenue and Pike Street and 9th Avenue and Madison Street. Vandals also reportedly shattered a bank’s window at Madison and Boylston Avenue.

The protest started around 5 p.m. when a group staged a “die-in” in Seattle’s Westlake Park, laying down in the street before marching to Capitol Hill and then onto the Central District.

Chanting “Black Lives Matter” and “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot,” and “(Expletive) the Police,” marchers stopped periodically to sit or lie down in city intersections, blocking traffic before moving on. Dozens of police officers watched the marchers.

Seattle Police had activated the city’s emergency management center as a precaution, under the direction of Captain Chris Fowler, head of the SPD’s West Precinct, as incident commander.

Fowler has overseen Seattle’s May Day protests the past two years and is credited with helping keep violence and disruption to a minimum.

“Operationally speaking, we certainly are taking a stance much like May Day,” Fowler told KIRO Radio’s Brandi Kruse. “We’re here to facilitate demonstrations and constitutionally protected free speech.”

Mayor Ed Murray urged calm in a speech following the decision:

My message to the young African American men in Seattle today is this:

While we do not have the answers today, we in this city are listening to you.

Your city hears you. And your city loves you.

In this hour of pain, your city is absolutely committed to moving forward with you, together, towards greater peace and greater justice.

My message today to all Seattle residents is to ask that we all reach out to our neighbors – across racial and cultural lines in particular – commit to a promise of making our city a better place.

The city partnered with community members to host “Rapid Response” events where people could gather to peacefully discuss the grand jury decision.

“Regardless of the decision, we need a place for our young people to come process this event,” said the Rev. Harriett Walden, co-founder of Seattle-based Mothers for Police Accountability, in a news release. “We need to be able to channel the energy into constructive and positive outcomes and answer the basic question: What do we do now? We are looking for adults in the community to come out and just be a presence at each event.”

Three hours after the decision was announced, two community centers were opened to the public, but some protesters refused to attend until all police officers left the building.

King County Executive Dow Constantine issued the following statement in response to the grand jury decision:

We all mourn the loss of a young man’s life. This is a moment to say what is in our hearts, with tolerance, respect, and restraint, as we were asked to do by Michael Brown’s family.

The events in Ferguson have laid bare the ongoing racial divide that stretches across the breadth of these United States. Here in King County we have made equity and social justice a central tenet of our work — a value that each employee will consciously and daily pursue as we serve the public. Our task now must be to learn from this moment, and to redouble our efforts to create the long-term, systemic changes our nation needs to fulfill its destiny.

The Seattle School District had also taken steps to prepare for the grand jury decision, sending a message to the principals at all schools detailing how they should handle potential demonstrations and teach students regardless of the outcome.

KIRO Radio’s Brandi Kruse and MyNorthwest.com’s Stephanie Klein contributed to this report