Through the Static

By Hannah Saunders

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is holding its sentinel event review (SER) from November 4-6, which will consist of six Seattle Police representatives and six community representatives, to pinpoint factors that led to the violent outbursts of SPD during the Christian-fascist May 24 “Haircuts for Kids” event in Cal Anderson Park on May 24. SPD officers arrested dozens of protesters, and a person who was walking through the park to get their haircut, and used extreme use of force, including pepper spraying the crowd, when no physical threats were present. 

“The May 24th events occurred over the course of six hours, resulting in multiple uses of force and 23 arrests of counterdemonstraters. SPD’s tactics generated significant community concern given the broad implications for the protection of free speech and of vulnerable communities in Seattle,” according to the OIG. 

The SER will assess SPD’s crowd management measures, like officer interactions and use of force, and it will examine the City’s authorization of a permit for the event to take place in Cal Anderson Park, which rests in the heart of the city’s Queer neighborhood. OIG obtained data from social media, like Twitter and Instagram; print and video media, including newspapers and broadcast; SPD bodyworn video cameras; and documents from the City of Seattle, like press releases and the event’s permit. 

OIG also reviewed SPD’s arrest and use of force reports; incident action plans; event debriefs and after-action reports; policy manuals; and complaints about the department. OIG began collecting data on June 3, which includes over 75 hours worth of body worn video footage. 

Professor Clifford Stott is a leading world expert in crowd psychology, and collaborated with OIG to review the permitting process and events from that day. 

“Professor Stott identified various aspects of SPD’s pre-event planning and real-time decision-making contributing to the escalation of Police, event attendees, and counterdemonstraters to inform the panel’s review,” according to OIG. 

The Community Police Commission also worked with OIG to engage in outreach with communities impacted and to identify possible panelists for the SER, and received written accounts. The commission also worked with the police department to pick panelists that represent each rank. 

Professor John Hollway will facilitate the panel discussion, which will meet three times: for building a foundation of education to understand the events and processes, to review a timeline of events, and to identify factors that led to the extreme use of force and create concrete recommendations. 

Following the SER, OIG will publish a final report that encompasses recommendations from panelists for improving SPD’s response to protests. 

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