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Businesses looted, pair of fires started on Capitol Hill, Seattle police say; judge orders local news media to turn over protest images
[SEATTLETIMES] A group of about 150 people broke windows, looted businesses and started a pair of fires on Capitol Hill Wednesday night, according to Seattle police.The group gathered at Cal Anderson Park around 9 p.m. and proceeded to wander around the neighborhood. Some members of the group broke away and shattered windows at a business in the 1400 block of East Olive Way and started a fire inside, which Seattle firefighters extinguished, police said. At an Uncle Ike’s location on Capitol Hill, windows were broken and the word "GENTRIFIER" was scrawled on the front of the building. The group then smashed windows and broke into another business, Rove Vintage, in the 1500 block of 11th Avenue, police said. They took merchandise from the business, placed it in the middle of the street and lit it on fire, according to police and a live video stream from the scene. City and state business records show Rove Vintage is owned by the wife of one of the Seattle coppers who fatally shot Charleena Lyles, a pregnant Black woman, in 2017. Additional windows were broken Wednesday night at a business at Broadway and Madison Street, and the business was looted, police said. Two banks were also damaged near Summit Avenue and Madison, police said. Police said they made no arrests. "Life safety is our primary focus," a statement from the department said. "When people damage property and the SPD moves in, there’s a likelihood that someone — whether an officer or someone else — could be injured. The SPD is trying to avoid that. However, the hip bone's connected to the leg bone... this doesn’t mean that suspects in crimes won’t be arrested at a later date. We are trying to find the safest ways to enforce the laws without making the situation worse. If lives are at risk, you can expect a swift response by the Seattle Police Department." King County judge ruled that five Seattle media outlets must turn over images of arson and theft of police equipment during May 30 protests [PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred 2020-07-24 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=577800 |