t seems this sub thread should be renamed Law and Disorder
Holly Matkin21 hours ago
Seattle, WA – A federal judge has ordered the City of Seattle to fork over nearly $82,000 to pay for attorney fees Black Lives Matter (BLM) racked up while pursuing contempt violations against the Seattle Police Department’s (SPD) use of less-lethal munitions against rioters.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Jones issued an order last summer temporarily barring the SPD from using tear gas, pepper spray, foam-tipped projectiles, or any other less-lethal weapons against “peaceful protesters,” The Seattle Times reported.
“On some occasions the SPD has in fact used less-lethal weapons disproportionately and without provocation,” Jones ruled at the time of the temporary restraining order.
The federal judge said that instead of using less-lethal weapons against entire mobs of demonstrators, police should have made sure they only used them against those in the crowd who were looting or vandalizing property, The Seattle Times reported.
“SPD’s use of less-lethal, crowd control weapons have surely chilled speech,” Jones added, noting that some peaceful protesters probably stayed away from the demonstrations to avoid being subjected to tear gas and other crowd-control tools being deployed at the riot.
In December, Jones ruled that out of the 122 allegations of “unnecessary force” BLM cited, four instances violated the injunction he’d implemented, The Seattle Times reported.
Jones determined the remaining 118 cases pursued by BLM either involved an appropriate use of force by police, or lacked enough evidence to make a finding for either side.
Holly Matkin21 hours ago
Seattle, WA – A federal judge has ordered the City of Seattle to fork over nearly $82,000 to pay for attorney fees Black Lives Matter (BLM) racked up while pursuing contempt violations against the Seattle Police Department’s (SPD) use of less-lethal munitions against rioters.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Jones issued an order last summer temporarily barring the SPD from using tear gas, pepper spray, foam-tipped projectiles, or any other less-lethal weapons against “peaceful protesters,” The Seattle Times reported.
“On some occasions the SPD has in fact used less-lethal weapons disproportionately and without provocation,” Jones ruled at the time of the temporary restraining order.
The federal judge said that instead of using less-lethal weapons against entire mobs of demonstrators, police should have made sure they only used them against those in the crowd who were looting or vandalizing property, The Seattle Times reported.
“SPD’s use of less-lethal, crowd control weapons have surely chilled speech,” Jones added, noting that some peaceful protesters probably stayed away from the demonstrations to avoid being subjected to tear gas and other crowd-control tools being deployed at the riot.
In December, Jones ruled that out of the 122 allegations of “unnecessary force” BLM cited, four instances violated the injunction he’d implemented, The Seattle Times reported.
Jones determined the remaining 118 cases pursued by BLM either involved an appropriate use of force by police, or lacked enough evidence to make a finding for either side.
