Seattle panel: Police should apologize over 2020 protest response

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.