Seattle City Attorney may toss select cases against peaceful demonstrators
SEATTLE – There’s been a shift of attitude inside Seattle’s halls of justice. Demonstrations across the city, rallying for law and justice reform, may have inspired the city’s prosecutor to reconsider prosecution of peaceful protesters.
Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes said his office may toss select misdemeanor cases, but only for those who agree to attend a diversion program that has seen success elsewhere.
Since the end of May when protests in Seattle began, dozens of misdemeanor cases were forwarded by police to Holmes’ office.
“This is an opportunity and we can’t waste it,” said Holmes during an interview with Q13 News.
Holmes released a statement Wednesday morning that concluded with support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Charges have been filed in 6 misdemeanor cases connected to the protests. The alleged crimes range from low-level assaults against officers, property damage, obstruction and theft.
However, Holmes declined to charge a single protester in another instance.
A report submitted to the prosecutor’s office written by SPD alleged the protester violated the law when they ignored orders to disburse.
The report’s narrative said the protester not only ignored officers advancing on his position, but remained when other protesters retreated. Police arrested the subject and accused them of obstruction.
Holmes said the alleged offender in that case should not face prosecution, and instead see their charges dropped.
“Instead of announcing a broad rule of everyone walks, that’s not what the statement says,” Holmes said. “It’s very clear we’re going to consider each case.”
Dozens of cases await a charging decision. Holmes ensures his office will instill discretion for which incidents are to be adjudicated or not.
Seattle Police responded to Holmes’ statement with the following:
"The last three weeks saw peaceful demonstrations by tens of thousands disrupted by criminals intent on causing harm. The cases involving the arrests of those were sent to the proper authorities for charging decisions either local federal or state. In any case SPD trusts authorities will act commensurate with their professional discretion and responsibilities."
“Historically, policing and incarcerating is the way to go,” said Sean Goode.
According to the Associated Press, defendants range in age from 18 to 48 years old, with the majority being men in their 20s.
Not all cases will qualify for dismissal or a referral to "CHOOSE 180," a restorative justice program that has partnered with the city attorney since 2017 to divert 18 to 24-year-olds out of the criminal justice system.
Goode already works with prosecutors and defendants in a diversion program. The program approaches justice in a restorative sense, he said, and those who complete it enjoy a reduced recidivism rate of 90%.
"We’re not holding you accountable for what you did but we are going to hold you accountable to who you can be,” said Goode. “We’re going to give you the support you need to become that very thing.”
But Holmes’ crime fighting record, among others within King County, has faced criticism before. In recent months a privately commissioned report highlighting repeat offenders who cycle in and out of the criminal justice system left business owners and downtown residents frustrated.
Several initiatives were later announced to address some of the issues revealed in the report.
Holmes says the thousands marching Seattle streets for reform and accountability galvanizes his belief that he has a responsibility to be the change his city is calling for.
“It’s not lost on me that you have a protest about police brutality and an arrest made by police,” said Holmes.
Nearly 40 cases have been or are in process of review by prosecutors who continue investigating the circumstances surrounding each incident.
