After a tumultuous weekend of several Seattle police using excessive force on both peaceful protesters and looters, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan sought to bring healing to the city by signing an executive order pledging an extra $20 million to the Seattle Police Department.
“I know not everyone is in as privileged a place as I am – not everyone can give this much of your tax dollars to an institution that continues to have no real accountability,” said Durkan at a City Hall press conference. “But I can, and I just think it’s so important in times like these to really show up and take action to support who you really believe in and care about – or at least who you’re too afraid to speak out against.”
Durkan said she had a very emotional conversation last night with a police officer who was yelled at by several people this weekend for putting his knee on someone’s neck as he arrested them.
“This poor officer had to hear all these people yelling at him for some reason,” Durkan said. “He felt so threatened kneeling there with only his own lethal weapons and an entire armed battalion on-hand. His nerves are so rattled by the experience I almost wish people had been able to see under his covered badge number to report him so I could give him some paid administrative leave.”
One police officer reported on the trauma of deliberately ramming their bike into a protester, forcing him to drag the man to the ground for not having enough eyes on the back of his head to get out of the officer’s way. Another brave officer even needed to mace a 9-year-old girl to return to safety.
“’Jesus Christ that guy maced a 9-year-old!’ they all say, but they never ask, ‘How did it make him feel to be vulnerable in front of a little girl for even a split-fucking-second?’” said SPD Officer Jared Campbell. “But Durkan gets it. And she’s taking action not just with this massive donation, but with the way she gave protesters a less than 10-minute curfew warning while instantly cutting off all nearby public transportation options. It’s the kind of leadership we need to continue proving everyone’s point: We are big fans of excessive force. And we’ve got an entire legal and judicial system of people like Mayor Jenny to make sure we continue enjoying it.”
The Needling followed up with the city to see if Durkan would also be funding any other law-enforcement reform efforts or community engagement with the African-American community to smooth over tensions, but could not be reached from the mystery location of her multi-million-dollar mansion.
