The Seattle Police Department released videos taken at a riot on Sunday showing the crowd fighting with officers and throwing commercial-grade fireworks. SPD said six officers were injured.
SPD said one of the officers who was wounded has been released from the hospital but has not been able to return to duty. SPD added 18 individuals were arrested during the night:
The anti-police union march began in the International District around 7:00 PM. There were approximately 100 individuals accompanied by vehicles following behind. The group moved toward the Seattle Police Officer Guild building in the 2900 block of 4th Avenue South. Shortly after 10:00 PM, someone in the crowd set off a large explosive and attempted to break out a police vehicle window. The incident commander issued an order to disperse to the crowd at that time. Individuals in the crowd began throwing rocks and bottles at officers. Multiple explosives were thrown toward officers.
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Seattle Fire Department responded to treat the injured officers. The incident commander declared the incident a riot. Officers used OC spray and blast balls to the stop the assault on officers. The crowd moved northbound, eventually dispersing.
Officers received burn and impact wounds from the thrown projectiles and fireworks. The video shows officers warning each other when a firework lands nearby and can be heard reacting in pain after the fireworks go off.
All of this occurred after the Seattle City Council voted to start cutting some funding for SPD. Chief Carmen Best resigned in protest of the cuts, saying the cuts to her command staff felt personal and vindictive. The cuts in funding are not the 50 percent extreme activists have called for.
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