Posts
May
Day mayhem in Seattle: Police mace and fire flash bang grenades at
protesters
RT,
A
man is detained during May Day demonstrations in Seattle, Washington
May 1, 2013. (Reuters / Matt Mills McKnight)
A
police officer and demonstrator clash during May Day demonstrations
in Seattle, Washington May 1, 2013. (Reuters / Matt Mills McKnight)
PHOTO:
Explosion from police munition. Wild scene in downtown Seattle.
#Seamayday.
#wamayday
pic.twitter.com/qdwxW4EIMc
A
demonstrator has milk put in his eyes to help stop the stinging of
pepper spray during May Day demonstrations in Seattle, Washington May
1, 2013. (Reuters / Matt Mills McKnight)
A
demonstrator walks through flash bang smoke during May Day
demonstrations in Seattle, Washington May 1, 2013. (Reuters / Matt
Mills McKnight)
Police
and demonstrators clash during May Day demonstrations in Seattle,
Washington May 1, 2013. (Reuters / Matt Mills McKnight)
Violent
clashes marked the final hours of May Day protests in Seattle, as
police officers fired pepper spray and launched ‘flash bang’
grenades into crowds, leading to two local reporters being
pepper-sprayed and 17 arrests
RT,
2
May, 2013
A
serene daytime immigration reform protest took place on Wednesday
daytime, during which hordes of people, ranging between ‘hundreds’
and ‘thousands’ took to the streets. Demonstrators waved banners
stating “we are America,”
and “there are no illegal humans,”
according to local newspaper the Seattle Times.
The
evening later saw a rise in anti-capitalism Labor Day protests,
involving reported numbers ranging from ‘dozens’ to ‘hundreds.’
They were accompanied by police as the later demonstrators lacked a
permit to march. As night fell, rocks and bottles were thrown by
anarchic individuals wearing bandanas, lobbing rocks and bottles at
officers, overturning bins, and leaving the streets scattered with
debris.
The
protests were indiscriminately suppressed by police.
Police
originally reported 18 arrests, but later reduced this number to 17.
The first 13 arrests, made at approximately 9pm local time included
two ‘juveniles,’ amid accusations that some anarchists had
hijacked an otherwise-mild protest.
Numerous
protesters and observers complained about the way crowds were treated
by the police. “They don’t have any manners. They don’t
say please or give you time to get out of the way,”
Olivia One Feather, an observer from Covington, told local news
station King5.com. She added that she was pepper-sprayed when she
tried to record the actions of officers.
At
least two local reporters received faces full of pepper spray from
the police officers while documenting the event. A photographer named
Erica C. Barnett said that a “full canister” was used on her as
she attempted to take a photograph of Seattle Police knocking a woman
to the floor.
Barnett
later sent a text to a fellow reporter stating that she “literally
did nothing to provoke that cop” adding that “he had to advance
on me to get in range to hit me in the eyes and mouth,” according
to their local news website, Seattle Met.
Photojournalist
Joshua Trujillo also alleged that he’d been sprayed by the police.
Awesome.
I was just pepper sprayed.
3:11
после полудня - 2 мая 2013 из: Seattle, WA,
United States
17
РЕТВИТОВ 2
ИЗБРАННЫХ
Initially
more spectators than participants turned up for the rally, and at
first it seemed to be more of a party, according to an Eyewitness
News reporter. However, the situation escalated amid reports that
police were clashing with some individuals throwing various items,
including bottles, at police officers.
Seattle
Police Department (SPD) reported that eight officers had been
injured, mostly suffering from minor injuries such as scrapes and
bruises.
The
SPD tweeted updates throughout, confirming the usage of pepper spray
against protesters, who they reported to be throwing water bottles,
using silly string and posting photographs of blocks of asphalt they
alleged protesters threw.
3:39
после полудня - 2 мая 2013 из: Seattle, WA,
United States
266
РЕТВИТОВ 34
ИЗБРАННЫХ
The
flash bang grenades used by the police against protesters emit a loud
noise and a burst of light. The Seattle Police Department described
them as “blast
balls,”
tweeting that the explosive is a “small
firework-like device which gives off a loud bang, a flash & a
modest dose of pepper.”
The
unrest marks the second year in a row that violence has erupted on
during Labor Day protests on the streets of Seattle, after a shop
window was smashed to pieces by a demonstrator in 2012.
Participants
and supporters have aired disappointment on social media that the
point of the earlier protests would be subsumed by news of the
clashes.
“This
is the only opportunity that poor people, that working people have to
voice their opinion,”
Juan Bocanegra, organizer of the Workers’ Rights March, told
regional channel, Komo News, on Monday.
However,
there were fears even then that the goals of protesters would be lost
amid some anarchist activity and brutal police retaliation.
“If
there's people that want to disrupt that opportunity from poor and
working people, then their goals and their objectives are totally
misplaced,”
said Bocanegra.
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