The police really are hell bent on killing people to make their point that they are not about killing people. Makes total sense. There are more people who are against the police than there are police. The police are going to lose. The question remains, how many people will they kill before it ends.

@1: No they aren't "hell bent" on killing people. But you're certainly hell bent on fanning the flames.

Evaluate each incident individually. They are our employees, its about time you showed them just a little respect, or is that beyond you?

I know this is not going to be a popular opinion but you are just wrong about what is going on in Capitol Hill. It may have started as a protest but it has transformed into a mob and like all mobs they will not be satiated until they have their pound of flesh. I watched last night as they continually pushed the police farther and farther up the street toward the east precinct trying to incite a response. To their credit the officers on scene fell back until there was literally nowhere else to go. Only then and only after repeated warnings did the officers deploy non-lethal crowd deterrents. You may not like those actions but the alternatives are let the mob have their way or attempt to physically move them. Either of those puts the protestors, the officers and the community surrounding that area in danger and is completely unacceptable. Emboldened by politicians who are using the continued skirmishes to push their own agendas I have no doubt this is going to continue until the police are forced by the council (probably today) to abandon the east precinct. It will then be burned to the ground as some sort of symbolic sacrifice and when that happens we will all lose. If you want to see a protest just look at what happened in Othello yesterday. There was no confrontations, no umbrellas, no blast balls. Ask yourself, why is it continually necessary for the "protestors" to push up Pine toward the police station? What is the goal? Once the east precinct is burned then what? Does the mob become the new "community protectors" on Cap Hill? If you want to hate the police that is your right but recognize what is going on at 11th and Pine right now has nothing to do with protesting and everything to do with inviting conflict for the sole sake of destroying something. I hope I'm wrong but I don't see how this ends any other way other than the east precinct in flames.

Starting at 12:05 AM SPD deployed a minimum of 100 explosive devices (blast balls & CS grenades) in the first 8 minutes over about a one block area. Stopped counting after that, but certainly another 100+ were deployed in the 15-20 minutes following.

@4 Cool story bro.

@7 if you want to compare this to a revolution that's fine. My point, and you do a wonderful job of helping me here, is let's be honest about the intent of the crowd that is gathered on Cap Hill. They are not going to be satisfied until they burn down that police station and if hey if any innocent residents in the area are hurt or killed as part of the revolution then I guess that's how it goes.

@8:

You have absolutely no idea what the protesters want.

And "District13refugee" you're so clearly full of crap. I hope you're at least making some money off of this.

And I'm sorry... even if i supported "cracking skulls" and that BS... The SPD has demonstrated they are the world's worst tacticians. Holy hell I'd kick their asses in Risk.

Anyone who uses “Cap Hill” automatically has no cred in the area.

@raindrop respect is a two way street. It’s earned not given. When the police stop viewing themselves as warriors against the citizenry then we can start talking about respect. It’s foolish and naive to think the police consider themselves our employees. They largely see themselves as a force above the law used to control the citizenry not to serve or defend it.

Christ, David, just gonna dial it in like that? Where's your pride in your troll craft?

District3refugee is spot on. I was there in the afternoon and it was entirely peaceful. By mid evening, you had the protestors deconstruct the new barricade and move towards the police. By 11:00 the protestors were face to face with the police who had already retreated somewhat. Something sparked and all hell broke out.

The protestors led by Sawant absolutely wanted the police to respond. This helps their cause. It helps the dump Durkan drive.

@15 You are pro using chemical weapons on citizens. In a lot of places, there's a phrase for people like you... war criminal. That's what I'll think of every time I see you post... this is the war criminal perspective. I hope that is how you are treated generally going forward.

Whether or not the protesters want to burn down the east precinct is immaterial, but you can't fault SPD for accommodating it in for a worst case scenario.

@14: Of course it's a two way street. So how respectful is "The police really are hell bent on killing people", or should we just take it as acceptable hyperbole and projection?

The SPD made a tactical mistake when they decided to create the barricades. Can you tell me what the critical importance of that location is? You can keep the cop cars somewhere else for a week or two. You can negotiate access rights. Like morons, they decided to make this a power thing. They've backed themselves against a wall and that's why you see them getting increasingly desperate. They're seeing the power slide away from them. The ironic thing is that the tighter the clutch, the quicker they lose it.

@21: "Can you tell me what the critical importance of that location is?"

They know that the East Precinct is a target. So they are trying to protect city property so as not to have to take millions out of the homeless assistance and bicycle trails budgets to replace it if destroyed.

Wouldn't the same statement be made if any of the other, currently far less protected, precincts were set on fire? And this sure as hell is not a monetary thing. How much is all this OT, ordnance, National Guard, barrier, etc etc etc costing? Probable spent the value of the (almost certainly insured) building 2-3x over already.

No - this is because some aggro moron unwisely decided this would be their hill to die on. They backed themselves into a corner for no good reason other than to say FU to the neighborhood.

Let's play worst case scenario: they pull the barriers and somebody sets the building on fire. A major loss, sure. But what would happen to public sentiment? It would almost certainly turn towards the cops and give Durkan/etc more than enough justification to clamp down. But the SPD is full of idiots who hate the city they're patrolling so here we are.

During the day protests at East Precinct are generally tame. In the evening people who are trying to provoke a confrontation push until it occurs and it is used as evidence SPD is overreacting. The City council is taking advantage as they have with Covid-19 to further ideological agenda. They have the power for the time being, the rest of us are along for the ride. Maybe they are right.

Look at LA. Look at Atlanta. Look at just about any other major city. They have the protesters but they don't have nearly the same trouble we've been having. That might be because they aren't a bunch of unprofessional nitwits.

Completely agree with Tservo. It's just a matter of time until the police pull the barriers and withdraw from the area. Once that happens if the east precinct ends up destroyed or heavily damaged I think any sentiment that has been built up will rapidly diminish. I sincerely hope for everyone involved that saner heads can prevail but with local politicians seemingly more interested in using that standoff to fuel their own agenda and ambitions I have low expectations.

Last i heard, the streets were still public property and the 1st Amendment was still a thing.
Maybe the fuzz could arrest looters and miscreants without acting like an occupying invasion force sooooo eager to use their toys or something idk

I've been telling those around me that we live in a police state for 20 years and many thought it was hyperbole. They don't think that any longer.

"If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever."
George Orwell

@26. Learn how to read. This is on the SPD. They completely mismanaged everything from the get go. They constantly made spurious claims to support their violent and unjustified handling of these protests. If the precinct goes up in flames now, they've got nobody but themselves to blame. And I sincerely doubt too many people will feel bad for them.

I wish the SPD had the foresight and basic intelligence to have handled these protests in a humane and sensible manner. Nobody wants to see this violence. But they are not helping discourage violence, just the opposite. Peace officers my ass.

"#31 Cops Deploy Blast Balls, Tear Gas in Longest Confrontation Yet on Capitol Hill
Thank goodness. The looting and criminals is not good"

The trouble is that the SPD is Blast Balls and Tear Gas against the peaceful protestors, not the looters and criminals.

The SPD has a long history of enforcing racist lifestyle crime against citizens for things like using drugs while being black, or offering a hand job for money while being Asian.

When it comes to actual crimes like murder, rape and looting the police simply have no training or interest. No police department ever made a boat load of asset forfeiture money fighting real crime. Not to mention, dealing with real crime can be dangerous and they can use letting is spread to justify fund raising. "Well, if we only had more resources....."