Seattle planned to transfer police precinct to Black Lives Matter during the deadly autonomous zone

During the armed militant takeover of the Seattle Police Department's East Precinct following the death of George Floyd to form the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone in 2020, Seattle officials drafted legislation to transfer the East Precinct to a local Black Lives Matter activist group, according to documents recently obtained by The Seattle Times.

Three memos and a draft resolution about transferring the East Precinct were sent to former Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan from Calvin Goings, the director of the city's Department of Finance and Administrative Services (FAS), in an email on June 8, 2020—the same day SPD evacuated the precinct, leaving the community in danger.

In the draft resolution, Mayor Durkan's office discussed transferring the multi-million dollar property to Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County (BLMSKC), which was to take effect July 1, 2020. According to The Seattle Times, Durkan's office discussed the possibility of turning the East Precinct into a hub for public health and community care.

"Good afternoon Mayor, please see the attached documents as requested. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns," Goings wrote during the height of clashes between anti-police protesters and SPD at violent demonstrations throughout the city.

According to The Seattle Times, Durkan decided not to transfer the East Precinct to Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County when they declined the offer and said that they were in support of the precinct being returned to the Seattle Police Department, instead.

Rev. Harriett Walden, a community leader who spoke out in favor of police returning to the building, told Seattle Times that she was not made aware that the city wanted to transfer the police precinct to BLMKC. Walden said that the community needed to honor Sam Smith, the first black member elected to Seattle City Council, who supported the establishment of the East Precinct in 1986.

According to Casey Sixkiller, former Deputy Mayor of Seattle, the proposed transferring of SPD's East Precinct to Black Lives Matter was allegedly not a coordinated effort between Durkan's office and the anti-police activists despite occurring on the same day that SPD evacuated the precinct.

"It was a coincidence that the draft resolution was shared on the same afternoon the precinct was abandoned," Sixkiller told Seattle Times.

Sgt. Randy Huserik of the Seattle Police Department said that the department was not made aware of the city's proposed plans to transfer the East Precinct to BLM.

"We were not aware of any plans on the city's part to permanently leave the precinct, or any plans to share the space with the community," Sgt. Huserik told The Seattle Times.

Durkan has repeatedly denied allegations surrounding the potential transferring of the precinct to community members despite the draft legislation sent to her with "high priority." Chelsea Kellogg, a spokesperson for Durkan, told Seattle Times that Durkan didn't ask for the draft resolution.

"Interesting that you assume and state that the Mayor asked for a draft resolution on this property when that is not how the process works," Kellogg said. "FAS oversees both city owned property and many real estate deals."

"There was no plan to transfer the East Precinct and from the time SPD made the decision to temporarily evacuate the precinct for safety reasons, it always planned to return," Kellogg added.

The details surrounding the forfeiture of the East Precinct that led to the deadly autonomous zone have been at the height of controversy in the city. Mayor Durkan's text messages from her government issued phone were deleted during the violent uprising and transparency from Seattle officials remains non-existent.

Although the majority of text messages during this unprecedented time happened to get deleted, The Post Millennial obtained a text-exchange between city officials and Raz Simone—the "War Lord" of CHAZ who has since been accused of human trafficking– showing that the city was in direct communication with him during the autonomous zone.

Former Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan referred to the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone as a "Summer of Love," despite the fact that it resulted in numerous deaths, rapes, assaults, and strong-arm robberies. The Seattle Police Department dismantled the autonomous zone and reclaimed the East Precinct on July 1, 2020 following threats from former President Donald Trump to take the city back from the radical far-left extremists.

According to documents obtained by The Post Millennial via a public disclosure request, Seattle spent over $1 million dollars to secure city buildings during 38 days of riots and protests that ensued after the death of George Floyd. Those buildings include City Hall, as well as police precincts around which barricades were erected to keep out the vandals, looters, and rioters. Demonstrators smashed windows, burned police vehicles and threw explosives at city buildings and personnel.

Almost half of the funds were spent securing and maintaining the autonomous zone. The militant occupiers who had cordoned off the downtown area as their own demanded this city support, and the city provided it. Sanitation facilities, materials for barriers, the erection of cement boundaries, and personnel costs contributed to this sum.

According to invoices and work orders, Seattle spent $405,734 on just labor hours and vehicles, installing barriers for the CHOP occupiers as well as switching out the barriers for alternative materials when the barriers did not meet the occupiers’ approval. Police barriers were swapped for water barriers, which were swapped for planters, which were swapped for concrete barriers.