Seattle Police Officers Guild: 'CHOP' protesters still holding city hostage
Seattle Police Officers Guild President Mike Solan calls on more leadership to handle the armed protesters.
The residents and business owners surrounding Seattle's Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) "police-free" zone are effectively being held "hostage" by a "criminal element" that controls the six-block area and beyond, Seattle Police Officers Guild President Michael Solan reported Saturday
In an interview on "Cavuto LIVE" with host Neil Cavuto, Solan said that the protests have gone "way too far" and that Seattleites -- dozens of whom are now suing the city -- have "every right to be angry."
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"As well as the reasonable majority of Seattle citizens [who] are being held hostage by a criminal element that still controls six blocks of...Seattle-owned land, as well as privately-owned land," he noted.
The numerous Seattle businesses – including an auto repair shop, a tattoo parlor, and a property management company – alleged city officials were complicit in allowing an “occupied protest” that has made them feel unsafe in their neighborhood.
Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best talks with activists near a plywood-covered and closed Seattle police precinct Tuesday, June 9, 2020, in Seattle. (AP)
On Monday, Democratic leadership announced their intention to put an end to CHOP after two recent shootings -- one of which was deadly. However, Solan said the effort to do so was met with resistance and the problem is far from over.
"There were some city entities, as far as heads, that went into the area yesterday to try to remove some of the boundary areas -- as far as blockades -- and they were met with resistance. Armed people flocked into the area and prevented those city entities, those agencies to get the job done," he told Cavuto. "So no, this has not been solved. It's deeply troubling still."
Solan reiterated that the Pacific Northwest metropolis's "fundamental lack of leadership" has been damning for his department, citing the ban of chemical munitions.
"And, as I mentioned on your show last time as well, the West Precinct downtown -- which houses the 911 communication center -- has been probed and effaced the last five nights. Last night they were successful in breaching windows right outside the precinct," he added. "And so, here we are, we’re fighting for control of our police facilities so we can protect the majority of the public."
"But, as you and I are both aware, this is a small group that [is] holding the entire city of Seattle, the majority of its citizens hostage. And autonomous zones like CHOP impose the will of the few onto the majority. It’s actually democracy in reverse," Solan continued further. "And now, as we predicted last time, this has metastasized across the entire nation."
Protesters in Washington D.C. were cleared out Monday evening after attempting to set up their own autonomous zone near the White House.
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"And so, when are we going to get leadership to help solve the problem?" asked Solan. "And, we want to come to the table and be stakeholders in this, for our piece…but what's sadly happening is that there’s a socialist movement that has now infected City Hall politics. That…has got everybody in our city held captive by this ideology."
"It's [an] extremely, extremely difficult situation that we need to get a hold of immediately," he concluded.