The Seattle police are taking steps to re-take the Capital Hill Autonomous Zone, while the police chief made clear it was not his decision to pull out.
“We were asked to do an operational plan in case we needed to leave,” Police Chief Carmen Best said Thursday. “The decision was made. We’re still evaluating about how that change came about, but it didn’t come from me... You should know, leaving the precinct was not my decision.” Speaking to police officers, Best said: “You fought for days to protect it. I asked you to stand on that line. Day in and day out, to be pelted with projectiles, to be screamed at, threatened and in some cases hurt. Then to have a change of course nearly two weeks in, it seems like an insult to you and our community.”
Mayor Jenny Durkan, who likely made the decision to move the police out, said Thursday that the Police Department was mapping out a plan to return to the precinct. Several officers are back in the building now appraising the situation.
