Seattle panel: Police should apologize over 2020 protest response

Apr 20, 2023

Mahmoud Bennett Social Media Producer/Reporter

By Mahmoud Bennett (Social Media Producer/Reporter)

The Seattle Police Department should “offer a sincere, public apology” for how it treated demonstrators in the city after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, according to a conclusion from a Seattle panel of officers, citizens and accountability experts. The panel completed its final review of how police responded and reacted to months of racial justice protests in 2020.

While the demonstrations included both violent and peaceful protesters, the city’s Office of Inspector General review panel found that Seattle police failed to differentiate between the two, blending troublemakers with Black Lives Matter protesters who were legitimately exercising their First Amendment rights, The Seattle Times reported.

The panel acknowledged that officers were stressed during months of protests and had received some inaccurate or overblown intelligence reports about threats on the ground.
Seattle Inspector General Lisa Judge said the police actions that caused the protests, as well as SPD and the city’s inability “to immediately craft particularized responses to the needs of peaceful protesters while addressing threats to public order and safety,” have had “deep and lasting” effects.

The panel also criticized officers’ apparent targeting of journalists and civil rights observers during some of the protests. A public apology from the police department would be “a significant step in building trust between police and Seattle communities,” the report said.

The final review focused on Seattle police response to one protest in July and two in September 2020.

In response, the police department referenced a 2021 public letter of apology from its police chief and stated that many of the panel’s recommendations have been implemented.

Tags: Black Lives Matter, George Floyd, Seattle

THE SEATTLE POLICE DEPARTMENT SHOULD OFFER A QUOTE SINCERE PUBLIC APOLOGY FOR ITS RESPONSE TO PEOPLE DEMONSTRATING IN THE CITY AFTER THE KILLING OF GEORGE FLOYD IN MINNEAPOLIS

THAT’S ACCORDING TO A CONCLUSION FROM A PANEL OF OFFICERS, CITIZENS AND ACCOUNTABILITY EXPERTS WHO COMPLETED THEIR FINAL REVIEW OF HOW POLICE RESPONDED AND REACTED TO MONTHS OF RACIAL JUSTICE PROTESTS IN 2020

THE PANEL FOUND THAT WHILE DEMONSTRATIONS HAD BOTH VIOLENT AND PEACEFUL PROTESTERS POLICE FAILED TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN THE TWO – BLENDING A FEW TROUBLEMAKERS WITH BLM ACTIVISTS WHO WERE LEGITIMATELY EXERCISING THEIR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS

THE PANEL ACKNOWLEDGED THAT OFFICERS WERE STRESSED AMID MONTHS OF PROTESTS AND HAD RECEIVED INACCURATE INTELLIGENCE ABOUT THREATS ON THE GROUND –

STILL, INSPECTOR GENERAL LISA JUDGE SAYS, THE CITY’S INABILITY TO IMMEDIATELY CRAFT PARTICULARIZED RESPONSES TO THE NEEDS OF PEACEFUL PROTESTERS HAS HAD QUOTE “DEEP AND LASTING” EFFECTS

THE REPORT SAYS A PUBLIC APOLOGY FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WOULD BE A SIGNIFICANT STEP FORWARD

IN RESPONSE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT POINTED TO A 2021 PUBLIC LETTER OF APOLOGY FROM ITS POLICE CHIEF AND SAYS MANY OF THE PANEL’S RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED