A new neighborhood has emerged after cops abandoned the East Precinct
The day after the Seattle Police Department deployed tear gas, OC grenades, and blast balls in their most aggressive and sustained response to protests against police brutality on Capitol Hill, the cops cleared the path to the East Precinct and essentially let the protesters police themselves.
The slightly annoying trumpet-guy sounded a note of victory as some of the crowd triumphantly marched up the block of battered roadway that had served as the site of intense conflict for ten days, a site where a man had driven into a crowd, shot a protester, and then turned himself into police without incident.
The protesters, left to their own devices, became their own security force, their own informal news network, their own high-drama city council, and their own healers.
Organizers first gathered people to the center of the intersection on 12th and Pine and encouraged the crowd to keep the peace. They warned the group of rumors of Proud Boys planning to burn down the precinct and then blame protesters, and vowed not to give the cops any excuse to don riot gear again. “They gave us this precinct, and we’re not going to destroy this motherfucker,” one speaker said.
They drained water from water barriers and set up a perimeter one block in every direction from the station. Bicycle fencing, cement blocks, and cars formed street barricades. On 11th and Pine, a cardboard sign duct-taped to a barrier read, "You Are Entering Free Capitol Hill.”
As the night progressed, rumors of armed Proud Boys and white supremacists continued to dominate conversations. Groups remained vigilant, with warnings given by people speaking on a sound system set up outside the East Precinct.
Rain started falling at midnight. The violent threat had not materialized on the ground, though the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club showed up ready to defend, armed with guns and marshmallows.
Sage burned on all corners of the new neighborhood—at the improvised barriers, in the crowds, and on stage with the Marshall Law Band. It was a welcome fragrance after a weekend of tear gas. People paid their respects at the vigil for George Floyd and engaged in the hard work of imagining a police-free community.
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