Seattle police officer tells Black Lives Matter protester he's resigning: 'You guys won'
On Sunday, people threw bottles, rocks and fireworks toward Seattle police officers
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Seattle police officer was seen on video telling an apparent Black Lives Matter protester that he was resigning from the department, and saying: “You guys won.”
The footage, which was shared on Twitter on Saturday morning and quickly went viral, shows the uniformed officer pulling his police car up to the protester capturing the moment on cellphone video and asking, “You having a good day today?” to which the person replies, “Not really. You’re around.”
The officer responds by telling the man not to worry, because he’d be leaving the department, video shows.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}PORTLAND PROTEST TURNS VIOLENT, BRUTAL ASSAULT CAUGHT ON VIDEO
“You guys won,” he says. “Two months, baby, I’m out.
WARNING: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC LANGUAGE
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I am leaving this department," he continues. "You guys won.”
The protester then asks the officer how he feels about the decision. The officer responds: “I’m feeling great." The protester asks if he can interview him about his decision.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}When the officer says no, the man asks, “So, what, you’re just tired of, police brutality? Or are you tired of what’s going on right …”
The officer’s response is hard to hear, but prompts the man to say, “Oh, us.”
As the officer rolls up the window and tries to drive away, the protester can be heard shouting that the cop said he was resigning.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}July 20, 2020: Police officers look on at protesters in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
“He said he’s tired of us. He said he’s going to resign because of Black Lives Matter,” he yells. “Not because he’s tired of the police.”
“Hey, f--- you and f--- SPOG,” he adds, referring to Seattle Police Officers Guild.
The Seattle Police Department did not respond to multiple requests seeking information and confirmation of the officer’s resignation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Just Sunday night, 18 people were arrested after a protest descended into a riot not far from SPOG offices, where people threw bottles, rocks and even fireworks toward police officers, injuring three.
Earlier this month, Seattle’s first Black police chief, Carmen Best, resigned in protest of calls for the police department budget to be slashed.
Best announced her retirement last Monday night, just hours after the City Council voted to cut her annual $285,000 salary by $10,000, as well as the salaries of her command staff, and to trim as many as 100 officers from a force of 1,400 through layoffs and attrition.
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She said Tuesday that she was OK with her pay cut, but not with having to lay off young officers, many of them minorities hired in part to improve the department’s diversity.
“That, for me — I’m done. Can’t do it,” she said at a news conference.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She added: “It really is about the overarching lack of respect for the officers.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.