by Gray Trammel
Using noisemakers and megaphones, 17 protesters gathered outside a prosecutors’ conference at Pier 67’s Edgewater Hotel on Sept. 25, to call for police accountability. Organized by the Seattle Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (SAARPR), this noise demonstration comes as Seattle Police continue to use brutal violence against civilians and ignore accountability questions relating to the late 2025 murders of Christian Hadley Nelson, Jack Palelei, and others.
The protest focused on racial discrimination against People of Color and marginalized communities, as King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion and King County Superior Court Judge Nelson K.H. Lee provided remarks at the National Asian Pacific Islander Prosecutors Association conference. As attendees entered and exited the hotel, protesters could be heard chanting, “What do we want to see? Police accountability!” through a megaphone. Others carried signs that said, “Say his name Keenan Pearson,” “Justice 4 Leon Davis,” and “Killer cops off our streets.”
“In 2013, we lost our 30-year-old son, Leonard, to an officer-involved shooting. He was unarmed and holding his four-year-old son in his arms,” Annaleesa Thomas said. “We sued in civil court. Three officers were found punitively liable for the unnecessary death of our son. None of these officers were ever held accountable for their actions.”
Thomas said the three officers were not retrained, and later received promotions within their department.
“They got away with murder,” she said.
Another highlighted how the SAARPR has spent almost one year demanding answers for Nelson and Palelei. They said Seattle police shot 29-year-old Nelson 13 times, even after he had fallen to the ground. The protester also brought attention to Palelei, where police officers pursued him in SUVs, driving onto a sidewalk while shouting commands at him.
“Shouting is not a form of deescalation,” the protester said.
SAARPR member, Marcella Soto, said community members have a “duty,” to speak up and demand justice and accountability. The Seattle Police Department (SPD) exited its federal consent decree last year, which was in place since 2012 due to officers’ use of excessive force and racist policing, but the severe lack in de-escalation training shows the department is far from reformed.
Most recently, officers responded to a domestic violence report in Beacon Hill on Sept. 18. A woman was “barricaded,” according to SPD, and one officer shot her. Released body camera footage shows a neglect in de-escalation tactics, which included pointing guns at the woman and numerous officers shouting commands.
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