Plywood comes down as Seattle Police begins process of removing East Precinct wall and barriers — UPDATE — Mayor’s office: Wall expected down ‘in coming weeks’

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https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2021/01/plywood-comes-down-as-seattle-police-begins-process-of-removing-east-precinct-wall-and-barriers/

 

 

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The reopening to the public of Capitol Hill’s East Precinct will apparently come piece by piece. This week, plywood is being removed from the Seattle Police Department’s precinct headquarters at 12th and Pine, the first time Seattle daylight has touched the glass since the summer days of CHOP and the Capitol Hill protest zone. The large cement wall and fencing barricading the facility and closing it off from the public remain.

A department spokesperson tells CHS the removal of the plywood “is part of a process underway” to fully reopen the precinct “when safe to do so.” Work is also underway to repair the glass and strengthen the windows.

There is no schedule for removing the wall.

CHS reported here in August as the Seattle Department of Transportation installed concrete “eco-blocks” and a wire fence along Pine and 12th Ave, blocking sidewalks and crosswalks and obstructing bike lanes. The Seattle Police Department said the barrier was necessary amid ongoing protest and arson threats after reclaiming the building following the CHOP sweep.

In early December, Mayor Jenny Durkan said she was responding to demands from community groups and neighborhood businesses with “urgent” initiatives to reopen Cal Anderson Park and remove the East Precinct barriers.

Just before Christmas, Cal Anderson was swept of encampments and activists in an action that included 24 arrests. The park was officially reopened to public use only a few days later for the first time since CHOP.

Durkan’s office has not yet responded to CHS’s inquiry about the status of its efforts to reopen the East Precinct and remove the wall and fencing. UPDATE 1/15/2021 11:00 AM: The mayor’s office is echoing SPD’s message about the removal — it’s the start. “Taking down the plywood on the East Precinct was the first step to removing the eco-blocks outside the precinct,” a spokesperson said. “We expect the eco-blocks to be removed in the coming weeks.”

(Image: Alex Garland)

The East Precinct wall, meanwhile, has become a flashpoint unto itself in the ongoing nightly skirmishes between anti-police protesters and SPD with a string of arrests over recent weeks for people allegedly chalking and tagging the wall.

In addition to antagonizing activists, the wall is an eyesore and doesn’t exactly send a welcoming message to the surrounding neighborhood. Central Seattle Greenways has also documented the wall’s dangers for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. For those entering the barrier every day, the wall and fence also likely adds to the sense that the East Precinct is a building under siege. It might have felt that way to some during the height of protest crowds. On a sunny January day, that siege mentality seems a little ridiculous.

UPDATE 1/15/2021 9:15 AM: Seattle Police responded after a small group was reported tagging the precinct wall Thursday night and made two arrests, Activists on social media said some of the people committing the vandalism were using chalk. Live stream video of the incident showed a large response from SPD’s Community Response Group filling E Pine with police vehicles and officers as the standoff escalated. SPD reports two people were arrested and booked for investigation of assault on an officer.

Busted (Image: SPD)

UPDATE x2: SPD says the demonstrators also broke one of the recently uncovered and replaced windows:

Officers arrested two people during a protest outside the East Precinct Thursday evening.

A group of approximately 30 people gathered inside Cal Anderson Park just after 7 PM. The group spent an hour and a half in the park burning flags and drawing on the fountain with chalk. The group took their protest to the East Precinct at 8:30 PM where they used chalk to draw on the wall outside of the East Precinct. A few individuals from the group threw items at the building cracking a recently replaced window.

The group eventually left but not before officers arrested two people for investigation of assault on an officer.