After CHOP Spirals into Violence, Seattle Pushes Forward with Plan to Defund Police

A bold societal experiment took place in Seattle over the course of the last few weeks, and the results don’t seem to have hit home yet for some.

A six block section of downtown Seattle, deep within the Capital Hill district was abandoned by police during nights of heavy protests and light rioting.  As the authorities stepped away, the protesters stepped in, creating what was originally known as the “Capital Hill Autonomous Zone” or CHAZ.  After some confusion with the media believing that these demonstrators were trying to secede from the nation, the group changed the name of their protest to CHOP, or “Capital Hill Occupied Protest”.

With no police allowed, the area soon grew dangerous, and the Seattle authorities moved to shut down the experiment after several people were shot and killed.

Yet still they look to defund the police. 

A veto-proof majority of the Seattle City Council backed a proposal Thursday to defund the Seattle Police Department by 50% — including a proposal to remove 911 dispatchers from police control and to “imagine life beyond policing.”

The Seattle Times reported:

A majority of Seattle City Council members now say they agree with a high-level proposal by advocates to defund the Police Department by 50% and reallocate the dollars to other community needs.

…

That means seven of nine council members are on board with the idea, though they have yet to say exactly how they intend to make the cuts; six votes are needed to pass budget-related legislation and to override a mayoral veto. [Mayor Jenny] Durkan has not backed a 50% reduction.

Decriminalize Seattle and King County Equity Now are new coalitions that have emerged during the recent Black Lives Matter protests and that count a number of community organizations led by Black people as endorsers.

Apparently, there were no lessons learned in the CHOP.