Seattle protesters refuse to let city workers into 'CHOP' zone to remove toilets, concrete barriers
Claudia Cowan reports from the scene of the standoff in Seattle.
City crews arrived in Seattle early Friday morning to remove barriers in the downtown "Capitol Hill Organized Protest" zone (CHOP) but were met with resistance from protesters, who laid in the streets in front of vehicles and on top of makeshift structures.
SEATTLE CHOP ZONE PROMPTS LAWSUIT FROM BUSINESSES, RESIDENTS: REPORTS
Protesters lie down and sit in the street after workers and heavy equipment from the Seattle Department of Transportation arrived at the CHOP (Capitol Hill Occupied Protest) zone in Seattle, Friday, June 26, 2020, with the intention of removing barricades that had been set up in the area. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
"City workers were met with significant resistance by protesters, who grew increasingly agitated and aggressive," a spokesperson for Mayor Jenny Durkan's office told Fox News.
Workers from Seattle's Department of Transportation (SDOT) arrived around 6 a.m. local time with trucks and heavy construction machinery and were staged around the edges of the protest area. They ended up leaving the site at 8 a.m. without removing the barriers.
City workers intended to remove barriers blocking roadways and clean up Cal Anderson Park, which has been inhabited for weeks by protesters in tents, the mayor's spokesperson told Fox News.
Seattle Department of Transportation workers talk with protest organizers near the Seattle Police Department East Precinct building after SDOT arrived at the CHOP (Capitol Hill Occupied Protest) zone in Seattle, Friday, June 26, 2020, with the intention of removing barricades that had been set up in the area. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Efforts also include offering social services to protesters to "encourage those living overnight in Cal Anderson to begin leaving the area or, if experiencing homelessness, to take an offer for shelter," the spokesperson said.
The city intends to encourage protesters to leave the area, Durkan announced on Monday, following several shootings that broke out in the zone.
Protesters were apparently holding out on allowing barriers to be removed Friday -- which would signal a small step towards compromise with the city -- because "we require that our demands are met," David Lewis, one of the CHOP organizers said, King5 reported.
Protesters designated a six-block radius of downtown Seattle a "cop free" zone, and police from the East Precinct that fell were forced to retreat from the area weeks ago, as demonstrators marched against police brutality and racial injustice following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Floyd died in police custody after a police officer kneeled on his neck for over eight minutes, and his death has sparked a national outcry for an overhaul of police practices.
The city said they will give organizers 72 hours to confer with demonstrators before the barriers are moved and talks with community organizers and city services are ongoing.
"Safety is the City’s first priority, and planning is ongoing for how to safely transition the Capitol Hill area," the mayor's spokesperson told Fox News.
A sign on a barricade reads "United we stand divided we fall," as a truck and other heavy equipment from the Seattle Department of Transportation is staged at the CHOP (Capitol Hill Occupied Protest) zone in Seattle, Friday, June 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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Demonstraters are calling on Durkan to defund the police. Durkan was initially largely supportive of the protests and their takeover of the area, but following the violence that erupted in recent days, she has said police will be allowed to return to their precinct in the coming weeks, although she has not specified an exact date.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
