SEATTLE, WA – On Friday, Washington State patrol pulled a Black Lives Matter militant out of a vehicle for illegally blocking traffic on the NB-15 freeway. BLM-Antifa terrorists shut down highway 99 during their “Seattle Morning March.”
They mistakenly went to other parts of Washington, including freeways, and did the same.
BLACK LIVES MATTER illegally blocking traffic and protesting on NB-I5 Freeway.
Moments later they get arrested by @wastatepatrol and cry victim. #seattleriots #seattleprotests pic.twitter.com/iEz8QlP1iP
— Katie Daviscourt🇺🇸 (@KatieDaviscourt) September 4, 2020
It was a clear day out in Washington, and drivers on NB-15 or SB I-5 Ship Canal were at a standstill.
BLM and Antifa protestors had marched on the freeway. They danced jubilantly to the rhythm of a tambourine and trumpet. A man with blue pants and a black shirt shimmied every now and then as he banged his white drum.
An African-American man who wore a black shirt that was pro-black lives matter seemed to be the leader as she raised her voice in a chant with the trumpet and the drummer.
Here is the moment right before this: https://t.co/bmDVxUPmtV pic.twitter.com/66khxzkT4E
— nathalie graham (@gramsofgnats) September 4, 2020
The Seattle State Patrol pulled up in numbers.
@wastatepatrol troopers are actively working to take care of the SB I-5 Ship Canal protest where vehicles blocked the freeway. More information to come.
— Trooper Rick Johnson (@wspd2pio) September 4, 2020
@wastatepatrol troopers are actively working to take care of the SB I-5 Ship Canal protest where vehicles blocked the freeway. More information to come.
— Trooper Rick Johnson (@wspd2pio) September 4, 2020
More state patrol cars have rolled up even though there are already 8 present. When asked why, officer says “because we’ve got to take care of it.” pic.twitter.com/RJEcTubtTo
— nathalie graham (@gramsofgnats) September 4, 2020
One patrolman spotted a car. He wears a bullet proof vest and points a gloved finger at a motorist.
— nathalie graham (@gramsofgnats) September 4, 2020
JUST IN: Washington State Patrol arrests every single criminal BLM driver for illegally protesting on the NB- I5 freeway.
Great work, @wastatepatrol! #seattleriots #seattleprotests pic.twitter.com/oxj18MW9MK
— Katie Daviscourt🇺🇸 (@KatieDaviscourt) September 4, 2020
There are two cops. One says:
“All you passengers are able to get out and leave.”
Off camera a woman with a slight accent says:
“No, no, no – you can arrest me!”
The driver asks the officer:
“Why am I under arrest?”
The officer responds:
“I just told you why you’re under arrest.”
The offers ask him to step outside of the vehicle, but the African-American man in the video asked:
“What traffic am I obstructing?”
The officers once again instruct him to get out of the vehicle. The driver remains still. The officer steps away from the open door.
The officers reach in and grab the African-American driver who wears a red mask dangling from his ear. The passengers suddenly protest. The female with the accent can be heard pleading on behalf of the driver.
“Stop! Please stop!”
A young policeman with brown hair and glasses starts to pull the driver out of the seat. His gloved hands are over the man’s wrist.
More plead to stop, but they are becoming more aggressive. The driver leans back, resisting arrest. The passengers are seen for the first time.
There are two officers pulling at the driver. The driver is yanked out of his car.
One girl can be heard:
“Stop hurting him!”
It takes four policemen to steady him and ensure he won’t escape.
The passengers get out of the car. The girl with the green pants gets into one officer’s face. The officer tries to block her from helping the driver. He tells her to get back, but she persists.
Another passenger gets to the driver, but she is pulled away by one of the police so she would not interfere.
That’s when the girl calls the African-American officer hurled a racist insult to him over and over:
“You’re a f****** house n*****!”
Police continued to order them back, and to stay away. The girl fights back screaming at him. She claims they have the right to be there on the freeway to protest.
The cop fires back:
“No, you’re not. You’re illegally on the freeway.”
The girl continues:
“I legally have the right to protest…did you know that? Yes I do. Seattle Municipal Code 12A…”
The Washington State Trooper drops the bomb on her.
“This isn’t Seattle.”
She continues to argue with him, and he smiles, knowing he’s got her, before waving her away.
“You’ll learn. This is the freeway. Different rules, different regulations.”
A member of the press comes up to try to talk to the officer. The police officer requests that she come back at a different time.
HAPPENING NOW: BLM Morning March protesting on NB 1-5 Freeway.
In an ultimate power move, Washington State Patrol @wastatepatrol barricaded in their vehicles and arrested every single driver. #seattleprotests pic.twitter.com/2uyd9FEjlx
— Katie Daviscourt🇺🇸 (@KatieDaviscourt) September 4, 2020
In the end the police took every single driver that had blocked traffic and impounded their vehicles in a a power move.
It’s a good thing the Seattle area has the State Patrol, as Seattle PD has just disbanded their DUI unit. Here’s our original report on that.
Seattle Police are trying to cut the costs of overtime and increase police response times to 911 calls and are said to be adding 100 police officers on the patrol unit to accommodate this.
But this comes at a hefty price – because these 100 officers are coming from the SPD’s DUI task force, and the entire task force is getting eliminated in the coming weeks as a result.
Seattle police DUI unit set to be slashed after 50 years https://t.co/hgn5HwVoy0
— KING 5 News (@KING5Seattle) September 5, 2020
Drunk driving deaths are often cited as one of the most preventable crimes, and the SPD’s 50-year history of having a police squad dedicated to handling DUI stops have helped keep them at the forefront in ensuring Seattle’s roads are safe.
Yet in the coming weeks, the DUI squad will be placed on patrol and the sect within the police force will be no more.
The new interim police Chief Adrian Diaz was said to have sent an email to members of the DUI squad on September 3rd confirming that the unit is getting disbanded to serve the interest of reducing 911 response times and cutting overtime costs.
Officer Eric Michl has been a part of the DUI squad for 20 years, and noted the receipt of the news as being a “sad day” due to him believing “in the mission” of what the DUI squad aims to combat.
Officer Michl helped explain what makes the DUI squad so pivotal in cases involving suspected impaired drivers:
“Where we get the edge is our experience. We do it so often and we’re trained to pick up on things that would suggest a person is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, which is my specialty.”
When commenting on the importance of having experienced officers trained in DUI stops, Officer Michl pointed out that whenever these arrests are made then potential lives were saved:
“Whenever we get somebody stopped who is impaired, we have potentially saved the community from experiencing a great tragedy.”
What’s most worrisome with the revelation of the DUI squad facing an impending kibosh is that DUI-related deaths are on an upward trend within Washington.
According to the report on impaired driver involved fatalities from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, DUI deaths have been going up since 2011. In 2011, there were 215 deaths caused by impaired drivers, whereas the latest data available being 2016 shows that there were 278 deaths that year.
Courtney Popp serves as a member of Washington’s Mothers Against Drunk Driving board and was once a prosecutor that specialized in DUI cases. She states that she hopes that the SPD can understand the “value” of the DUI squad with regard to safeguarding the community:
“I would hope that the police department can see the value of a DUI squad in our city and there [could be] a way we can hold onto that.”
Popp explained that when a case comes from the investigative hands of the DUI squad that a prosecutor has a much higher chance of landing a conviction in their efforts:
“You know that when you get a DUI case from a member of the DUI squad you can expect a high level of excellence and attention to detail, which is critical in these cases in court.”
As for Officer Michl, he’s not exactly laying any blame on police hierarchy, considering the highly politicized times for police and the constant clamoring about police budgets:
“I don’t envy the position of the command staff. But I think everybody recognizes there’s going to be a consequence.”
All in all, this seems like another casualty that has transpired when police in Seattle are seemingly being asked to do more with less when seeing the numerous attacks on the budget for said police department.
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