Christina Spicer  |  December 9, 2020

Category: Legal News

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Seattle protesters stand in front of a line of police officers - police violence

The Seattle Police Department (SPD) has been slapped with an order from a federal judge holding it in contempt for police violence, including the use of pepper spray, pepper balls, blast balls and paintballs during Black Lives Matter protests in Seattle.

At issue was a temporary restraining order that had been issued in June restricting the use of “chemical irritants or projectiles of any kind against persons peacefully engaging in protests or demonstrations.”

According to USA Today, SPD had agreed to restrictions on the use of “less lethal weapons” during protests, as well as to refrain from targeting journalists and medical personnel.

The plaintiffs, Seattle’s Black Lives Matter movement and other individuals, had submitted briefings alleging subsequent actions of the Seattle Police Department during protests had violated that order.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Jones agreed with some of the plaintiff’s allegations and issued an order holding the SPD in contempt.

“Four weapons and four protests,” the judge stated in his order. “This Order covers Seattle Police Department’s use of four weapons (pepper spray, pepper balls, blast balls, and paintballs) during four protests (August 26, September 7, September 22, and September 23).”

According to the order, the Aug. 26 protest occurred after SPD officers attempted to break up a car brigade shielding a group holding a vigil for a woman who was killed by a car in early July during a protest. SPD officers allegedly used pepper spray and a blast ball as vigil attendees protested when ordered to move their cars.

The Sept. 7 protest included hundreds who gathered at a light rail station. According to the order, the police department had received reports there was a Molotov cocktail in the crowd. SPD officers on bikes corralled the crowd and used pepper spray, blast balls and a pepper ball gun, according to reports.

Another protest occurred Sept. 22, the day the city council voted to cut the police department’s budget, according to the order. On this occasion, an SPD officer on a bicycle allegedly used a blast ball.

Finally, a protest occurred Sept. 23 after a grand jury failed to charge any officer in the death of Breonna Taylor. According to the order, SPD officers used pepper spray, blast balls and paintballs in response to protesters throwing rocks, fireworks and other objects.

A person holds up a handwritten "black lives matter" sign - police violence“In their briefing, Plaintiffs raise a range of concerns, from general police conduct and demeanor to specific SPD tactics, such as the use of bicycles to move crowds from location to location, the towing of protestor vehicles blocking roads, and the playing of loud country music during an arrest,” the order noted.

“Plaintiffs contend that they included these details for context. For clarity, however, the Court states here: Those tactics were not and are not before this Court. They were not part of the Court’s temporary restraining order, and they are not part of the Court’s operative preliminary injunctions.”

According to the order, SPD officers are permitted to use “less lethal” weapons in response to situations in which protesters pose a “specific imminent threat of physical harm” to the officers. Indeed, there were two such situations involving protesters using objects to threaten officers that the judge concluded did not violate the temporary restraining order.

“Stopping an assault on other officers was reasonable and necessary,” the order states. “Striking only the protestors posing a threat, and no others, was targeted. And firing only as many rounds as necessary to disable the threat, as the officers did, was proportional.”

Judge Jones did conclude that, on at least one occasion, SPD officers used pepper, or OC, spray in violation of the temporary restraining order.

According to the contempt order, a police officer on a bicycle rode up behind protesters who were retreating and used the spray for no apparent reason.

“At no time was the officer under attack or under threat of attack,” the judge noted. “That the entire incident was brief and that the discharge of OC spray was minimal are irrelevant. It was a prohibited and needless action under the Orders.”

Other reports of SPD use of pepper spray were too close to call, the judge ruled.

SPD officers used blast balls in violation of the temporary restraining order on several occasions, Judge Jones concluded, noting while protesters “pelt officers” with any number of projectiles, the specific threat the officers were responding to was unclear.

Ultimately, Judge Jones held both SPD and the city of Seattle in contempt for what he deemed were clear violations of the temporary restraining order. However, the judge did note SPD’s use of force was more restrained than in earlier protests, according to NPR.

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What do you think of the allegations of police violence in Seattle? Tell us in the comment section below.

The lead plaintiffs are represented by Perkins Coie.

The Police Violence Lawsuit is Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County, et al. v. City of Seattle, et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-00887-RAJ, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle.

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