Crime & Safety
SPD Responds To Video Showing Cops Breaking Window
A video posted online appears to show several officers breaking windows during the weekend protests, but SPD says it's misleading.
SEATTLE, WA — A video has been widely-circulated online showing several Seattle Police officers breaking the window of a downtown business amid the protests and marches Saturday night, but SPD says the video doesn't tell the whole story.
The video was first posted around 12:45 pm Sunday, and in the short time since has been shared over 124,700 times on twitter. The footage shows three officers at the Target on 2nd and Pine. One of the officers can be seen clearly attacking a glass pane.
WHY IS SEATTLE POLICE DESTROYING PROPERTY PLEASE EMAIL TO SPD pic.twitter.com/VYUdt4CwRV
— madison (@macaronimadi) May 31, 2020
After a number of questions, complaints and outrage online, Seattle Police responded to the video Monday evening. In a tweet, the department claims that the officers were actually responding to an active burglary inside the Target. They say the officers were breaking the glass, but only so they could enter safely through an already broken glass window, and then try to arrest the three burglars inside.
We've received a number of questions about this video. It shows officers responding to a *burglary* at the 2nd/Pike Target @ ~1:30 AM on 5/31. Officers had to chip away at the already broken glass windows to safely make entry and arrest the three burglars inside. https://t.co/CpPTvM8Dhf
— Seattle Police Dept. (@SeattlePD) June 2, 2020
After the weekend's protest Seattle's Office of Police Accountability was flooded with over 12,000 complaints alleging police misconduct at the demonstrations. Reports of the officers breaking Target window was the tenth most frequently cited compliant, under reports of officers pepper spraying a young girl and punching several people on the ground as they were being arrested. The OPA has not commented on the video since SPD has tried to clarify what it shows, but OPA complaint investigations often take up to six months to complete and must involve full interviews with complainants and everyone else involved.
Related stories:
12,000 Complaints Allege Police Misconduct At Seattle Protests
King County Cities Renew Curfews, Prepare For More Demonstrations
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