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IN TEST RUN FOR DEFUNDING POLICE, SEATTLE’S ‘POLICE-FREE’ ZONE LASTS 23 DAYS. It was called CHAZ, for “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone,” or CHOP, for “Capitol Hill Organized Protest,” but whatever its name, its distinguishing characteristic was that it was “police free.”
The so-called protest began June 8, when a mob took over Seattle’s East Precinct police headquarters. They proclaimed it a “police-free” area, and credulous journalists repeated their claims. “Protesters set about creating a peaceful — and safe — police-free neighborhood,” Vox wrote on June 16.
Anyone could have seen that it was a recipe for anarchy. Yet Seattle’s mayor, Jenny Durkan, not only sat back and watched it all happen — ordering police to let the demonstrators take over the East Precinct — she even proclaimed that the establishment of CHAZ/CHOP might lead to a “summer of love.”
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Has there ever been a more egregiously stupid comment from a major city leader? Short answer: No.
Amazingly enough, it turned out the summer of love was short-lived. “On June 20, 2020, the first incidents of firearms violence with multiple victims occurred,” said a timeline on the mayor’s website. “One teenager was shot and killed, and another individual was shot and critically injured.”
“On June 21, 2020, another teenager was shot,” the timeline continued. “The city deployed Black-led organizations and trusted community partners to help de-escalate violence occurring in and around the site.”
Believe it or not, that didn’t work. “On June 22, 2020, a second incident involving firearms violence injured two additional individuals,” the timeline said.
All the while, protesters kept police out of CHAZ/CHOP. And with no police to protect them, emergency medical crews did not want to venture into the violence-plagued zone. There were reports of “street medics” taking over a Rancho Bravo Taco restaurant to treat the wounded. Question: If you were wounded and in danger of death, would you rather be treated at a hospital with advanced life-saving equipment, or a Rancho Bravo Taco restaurant?
Things got worse. “On June 23, 2020, a man in his 30s was shot and transported to Harborview Medical Center,” the timeline said. On June 26, 2020, city transportation crews tried to re-open parts of CHAZ/CHOP, but the “unarmed employees were met with hostility and weapons,” according to the timeline. That same day, Durkan “strongly urged” demonstrators to leave, saying the situation had become too dangerous. No one was surprised when the demonstrators ignored her.
“On June 29, 2020, a juvenile was shot and killed, and another juvenile was critically injured in this area,” the mayor’s timeline continued. On June 30, 2020, having apparently given up on her dream of a “summer of love,” Durkan signed an executive order to re-open CHAZ/CHOP. On July 1, 2020, police re-entered the area and re-occupied the East Precinct.
CHAZ/CHOP was a bold experiment in enacting the kind of anti-police rhetoric that has been a theme of the Black Lives Matter protests of the last several weeks. It was terrible that people died, but Seattle’s experience allowed the nation to see what happens if protesters are allowed to actually do what they advocate. It was a disaster. Do Americans need any more evidence that the talk of “defunding the police” is crazy?
NO NEWSLETTER TOMORROW. I’ll be back on Monday, July 6th!
