Seattle police chief announces tougher policy of prosecuting protesters who vandalize – By Mike Lindblom (Seattle Times) / January 23 2021
People who destroy property during street protests will be arrested and prosecuted under a tighter new policy coordinated with Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes, interim police Chief Adrian Diaz announced Saturday.
The enforcement was to begin Saturday afternoon, when a demonstration was set for Occidental Square.
However, it’s unclear what if anything will be different. Holmes wasn’t at the news conference and in a statement, his office said misdemeanor policies are the same. No documents to outline any enforcement changes were immediately available.
“We only learned about it after the fact,” Dan Nolte, a city attorney’s spokesperson, said regarding the hastily called news conference.
Diaz told reporters he has wanted to crack down on property destruction for months, and that in his opinion, violent protesters and vandals aren’t promoting a cause.
