Seattle police chief responds to statement that May Day response was ‘idiotic’

Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole said she was shocked when a Seattle City Council member said the police’s May Day response was “idiotic,” and that his statement contradicts the community’s response to police actions.

“I was shocked and disappointed to hear Councilmember [Bruce] Harrell’s comments today related to the SPD’s performance during the May Day demonstration on Friday evening,” O’Toole said in a statement on the Seattle Police Blotter. “His statements directly contradict the overwhelming, positive feedback the SPD has received from the community in recent days.”

“The Seattle Police Department has worked hard with the U.S. Department of Justice and our Monitor to develop the most comprehensive use of force policies and accountability systems of any police department in the United States,” she said. “We must all respect the review process and allow it to run its course.”

Related: Seattle councilmember calls officer’s May Day behavior ‘idiotic’

O’Toole’s statement came nearly nine hours after a meeting with the council’s Public Safety Committee where Councilman Bruce Harrell questioned the reasoning and need to make the first arrest during the protest. Officers on bikes rode into a protester from behind to arrest him.

“Why did that occur, because that looked like — from the video that I’ve seen — the first act of violence, the first act of unfairness,” Harrell said.

Incident Commander and Seattle Police Captain Chris Fowler argued that there was probable cause to make the arrest, and that it was the crowd’s violent reaction to the arrest that caused the riot.

“But wouldn’t you agree a person on a bicycle trying to arrest someone while on the bike, from behind it, just seems a little idiotic,” Harrell said. “I don’t know how else to describe it. It just doesn’t make sense to me.”