Police in Seattle were ordered to clear out the city’s ‘autonomous zone’ and arrested over 30 people following an executive order from Mayor Jenny Durkan.
The “occupied” zone, which has been dubbed the Capitol Hill Organized Protest area, was cleared by police on Wednesday. The order from Durkan came after a handful of shootings led to 5 people being shot, two of which were fatal, occurred in the area within the last month. #defundSPD activists protested in front of Durkan’s home on Tuesday.
The Seattle Police Department wrote on Twitter,
“due to ongoing violence and public safety issues in the East Precinct/Cal Anderson Park area, Mayor Jenny Durkan has issued an executive order to vacate the area. Seattle police will be in the area this morning enforcing the Mayor’s order.”
In a statement shared by Chief Carmen Best of the Seattle Police Department, he added,
“Black Lives Matter, and I too want to help propel this movement toward meaningful change in our community, but enough is enough.”
Tensions over how to handle the area have been fraught for some time now. President Donald Trump has been a vocal critic of how local authorities handled the situation, while local business owners have shared their intentions to sue the city of Seattle.
According to police, at least 31 people were arrested for failure to disperse, obstruction, resisting arrest and assault
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