Opinion: Police concerned about safety shouldn't want federal agents in Seattle
Federal law enforcement agents and protesters have continued to clash nightly in Portland. In Seattle, we’re already seeing the beginning of a push from local law enforcement to bring that situation north.
Under the pretense of protecting federal buildings, a smattering of camo-clad agents from Customs and Border Patrol and the U.S. Marshals have been in Portland for nearly a week now. We’ve heard numerous credible reports that those same agents have been snatching up protesters marching nowhere near federal property and throwing them into unmarked vehicles.
We’ve also seen other reports of agents brutalizing peaceful bystanders, breaking the hand of a Navy veteran doing little more than standing in front of them, punching a Seattle-based reporter for the New York Times in the head, and indiscriminately deploying tear gas and rubber bullets into large crowds.
Link to tweet
“I’ve been documenting violent and militarized police responses to protests in Portland for more than four years, but nothing prepared me for the unrestrained brutality I’ve witnessed and experienced in recent days,” the ACLU’s Doug Brown said this week.
Now, at least one prominent leader in local law enforcement is calling for a similar federal occupation in Seattle.
“You saw the success federal officers had — perhaps this is the time now in Seattle when we might need some federal intervention here,” Seattle police union head Mike Solan said Monday.
https://mynorthwest.com/2036063/opinion-police-concerned-safety-federal-agents-seattle/
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