Young Democrats group joins Antifa and BLM to protest against Seattle police

On Wednesday, hundreds of people showed up to voice their support for the Seattle Police Department (SPD) in the face of proposed budget cuts by the Seattle City Council, but not everyone was there to support SPD. Black Lives Matter and Antifa activists were joined by members of the King County Young Democrats (KCYD), including the party chair, to protest against and advocate for defunding the police.

According to rally participants, this Democrat, Antifa, BLM crew yelled "fu*k you" to demonstrators and officers, and called officers keeping the peace "pigs".

Earlier this year the former vice chair of KYCD, Chase Cross, was part of an Antifa group hurling expletives at a group of African Americans holding a MLK day event.

The "Support the Seattle Police Department" event was organized by spouses of SPD officers who brought children, friends and community members to Seattle City Hall to push back against the Seattle City Council's plan to defund SPD by 50 percent. Seven of nine council members supporting the cuts to SPD creating a veto proof majority, a plan which Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best calls "the height of recklessness".

Chief Best noted that the cuts would target primarily officers of colour because SPD has spent the past years hiring more minorities and improving training to create a more progressive police force. Typically, terminations due to budget cuts target those most recently hired, a "last in first out" policy. This means those new hires of colour would be terminated first.

Leading up to the event, organizers of the pro-police rally said they received death threats. "Two of the organizers, Emily and Michelle, who asked us not to use their last names, say their husbands have been continuous targets of attacks, even when they're performing CPR on people dying of an overdose. He's had fireworks, pee, even rocks thrown at him, he is regularly attacked when he's performing lifesaving procedures, Emily said, adding that typically, families of police officers tend to keep a low profile." This according to Kiro 7 News.

Despite their city affiliation, pro-police demonstrators were not allowed to gather in city hall. Flinging open the doors to protestors has not previously been a problem, however, for Marxist Council Member Kshama Sawant. She opened the door for CHOP protesters to stage a sit in at City Hall in the middle of the night at the beginning of the occupation of Capitol Hill, causing many to ask if there is a double standard.

Pro-police demonstrators fear what will happen in Seattle if SPD is defunded. Before the death of George Floyd, SPD was operating at only 60 percent of capacity while crime continued to rise exponentially in the city.

The Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP) would not allow SPD into the area. As a result, help for shooting victims was delayed because emergency services could not enter the armed occupied territory. Victims of gun violence in the CHOP were taken by private car to hospitals and not always in time. There were multiple shootings, and two deaths.

Additionally, the inability of officers to access the crime scene meant that evidence from the shootings was tampered with before SPD could investigate. Murder suspects still remain at large.

Pro-police demonstrators carried signs asking: "Who you gonna call?" One woman attending the rally claimed to have been part of the protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd and opposes the cuts. She discussed the impacts the cuts would have on multiple departments in SPD and leave us more exposed.

Seattle Council Member Andrew Lewis has suggested replacing officers with social workers and other services for "diversion" and "treatment". However, while at the Seattle District Attorney’s office CM Lewis was personally responsible for releasing multiple felons to diversion programs. Many of these criminals continue to plague residents and businesses of downtown Seattle because of a "catch and release" justice system.

Council Members Lewis and Dan Strauss both claimed to be advocates for SPD and said last year while campaigning that they want more officers to solve the crime epidemic. Yet they are now advocating for defunding SPD.

Mayor Jenny Durkan opposes the cuts and, together with Chief Best, held a press conference on Monday to outline alternative cuts and ideas. The plan did not satisfy council members or activists. The council is expected to vote on the cuts before the August recess.