Seattle: “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” Has a Warlord, Police Try to Reclaim Precinct
Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best gave a video address to officers in the Seattle police department Thursday in which she explained that the mayor had overruled police in allowing the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” to be established, and that police were now receiving reports of an ongoing protection racket.
In the video, Best explains that she fought with the city to keep the precinct open and operational, but the city had “other plans for the building” and ultimately “relented to severe public pressure.”
“I’m angry about how this all came about, I understand that my comments in this message may be leaked to the public, but I’m not concerned about that. I stand by what I’m saying,” Best states.
“We have heard that there are armed people ‘patrolling’ the streets near 12th and Pine,” Best continues. “Of course this is very concerning, especially because we don’t know who these people are. We’ve also received reports that these armed people may be demanding payment from business owners in exchange for some of that protection. We’ve also heard that they may be demanding to see identification from people that live in the area.”
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