1 arrested, officer injured in overnight Seattle protest over Wis. police shooting
SEATTLE - Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Seattle overnight in solidarity with protests in Kenosha, Wis., and around the country over the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Here in Seattle, one person was arrested and an officer was injured after some protesters vandalized businesses, smashed windows, started fires and spray-painted graffiti.
Protesters started at Cal Anderson Park at about 9 p.m. Monday, chanting “Black Lives Matter” and “No Justice, No Peace.”
Demonstrators marched to the police department's East Precinct, blocking the intersection around it, carrying wooden shields, umbrellas, wearing goggles and gas masks.
At the East Precinct, strobe lights were flashed at the building as some demonstrators climbed the fence and threw objects at the building. Some in the crowd climbed over a chain-link fence and set a fire next to the building. One person was arrested in suspicion of arson.
A few officers came out in riot gear, but they went back inside. It appeared they were outnumbered.
Along the way, protesters kicked in and ripped off plywood at a boarded-up Amazon Go store that had already been the target of demonstrations.
Some produce was smashed on the ground in the store and littered the sidewalk outside.
When protesters arrived at the West Precinct, a Seattle police bus had every one of its windows busted out, as well as the door and the windshield. The wall around the West Precinct was spray-painted with vulgar language and graffiti.
A Starbucks across the street from the West Precinct was damaged, with smashed out windows, shattered glass everywhere, chairs flipped over and bottles thrown inside. Workers had started cleaning up the shattered glass late Monday night.
All over the country, there has been unrest following the shooting of an unarmed black man, Jacob Blake, who was shot several times in the back by a police officer in Kenosha, Wis., as Blake leaned into his car.
The shooting happened in front of his three children and fiancé.
