Seattle Police Watchdog Opens 3 Probes Into Capitol Hill Protest

SEATTLE, WA — Seattle's police oversight office will investigate at least three allegations of officer misconduct resulting from Monday night protests on Capitol Hill. Hours of largely peaceful rallies and marches in Seattle culminated in pepper spray and tear gas deployed on protesters near the police department's east precinct. Around 9 p.m., Seattle Police declared the protest a "riot," claiming protesters had thrown objects at officers.

Two videos shared online showed police taking an umbrella from a protester, shortly before several officers hit the crowd with pepper spray and began throwing tear gas and flashbang devices.

In Cal Anderson Park, video broadcast live on MSNBC showed a reporter hit with a projectile, and a video posted on Facebook appeared to show a homeless man sleeping in the park hit by a police device. Drone video posted on Twitter showed a large amount of smoke permeating through the neighborhood.

The Office of Police Accountability, a citizen-led watchdog, said it launched investigations into three specific incidents. OPA Director Andrew Myerberg told Patch a probe into the pepper spray and flashbangs used at the police barricade was self-initiated by his office.

On Monday, the OPA said at least 12,000 complaints alleging police misconduct at protests were filed via phone, email and an online web portal, since Friday night. By Tuesday afternoon, that number reached 14,000. It was not immediately clear how many additional filings were related to Monday night's events.

Myerberg said the vast majority of complaints received over the weekend referenced a video showing a young girl after bystanders said she was hit by police pepper spray. The investigation into that incident will be fast-tracked, according to the OPA, and completed within 60 days. All investigations must be completed within 180 days.