Viral Videos Of Police At Seattle Protest Prompt Investigation

SEATTLE, WA — The Office of Police Accountability is investigating after two videos were shared widely online, showing Seattle police officers grabbing counterprotesters during a downtown pro-Trump march Saturday afternoon.

The first video, posted by @spekulation on Twitter Sunday night, was re-tweeted nearly 52,000 times by Tuesday evening. The clip shows an officer tripping over a bicycle before grabbing a protester. A second protester gets involved, pulling the first person by their backpack, and is taken to the ground by several officers.

A second clip posted in the thread shows a bicycle officer push past a person walking on the sidewalk before a second officer pulls the person from behind and pushes them up against a building.

The Seattle Times reports the Office of Police Accountability launched a preliminary investigation after the clips surfaced. In an e-mail to Patch, OPA Director Andrew Myerberg confirmed his office received the first complaint Sunday evening, and said the matter was likely to be subject to a full investigation. Myerberg said the OPA will review all available videos, including those from officers' body-worn cameras, and interview those involved to determine whether SPD policies were violated.

Seattle's Community Police Commission said it would discuss Saturday's events at its next meeting on Dec. 18.

A police department spokesman told the Times the videos did not capture the full scope of the events or show the circumstances leading up to the altercations. Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best acknowledged the investigation in a tweet Tuesday afternoon.