[FoxNews] The city of Seattle and protesters occupying the "Capitol Hill Organized Protest" have reached an agreement that will remove temporary roadblocks and replace them with concrete barriers, Fox News has been told.
The Seattle Department of Transportation is installing concrete barriers in the middle of Pine Street, running East and West, which will split the road for both pedestrian and vehicle traffic. This will allow for emergency service vehicles to pass through the area.
The agreement will reduce the area protesters previously called Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or CHAZ, from about six or seven city blocks to just three. This is the first time in weeks traffic will be able to pass by the shuttered East Police Precinct.
Fox News has confirmed the agreement to replace the wooden barrier set in place by the protesters with concrete barriers with Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins, the Seattle Department of Transportation and Seattle Public Utilities. The Seattle Police Department is not overseeing the concrete barrier being put in place.
The development comes after the Seattle City Council on Monday voted unanimously to ban police from using chokeholds, and crowd-control devices like tear gas and pepper spray.
A federal judge on Friday issued a temporary order banning Seattle police from using tear gas, pepper spray, and foam-tipped projectiles against protesters. The court found that the department had used less-lethal weapons “disproportionately and without provocation,” stifling free speech. |