protesting in Seattle it's a tool people in the city have used for decades to call for justice not only protest not only speech but even Civil Disobedience direct action have always been a tool for the masses while ham Naser and others called for a ceasefire in Gaza today at West Lake Park downtown about 50 Seattle protesters who took to the streets in 2020 are getting a 10 million payout by the city in a settlement agreement some of those 2020 protests were peaceful while others became violent
plaintiffs in the lawsuit say police used violent tactics that caused them to suffer broken bones concussions emotional damage and even a heart attack NASA thinks settlements like this with police are aimed at squashing free speech I think it is an attempt by the city to try a new approach uh to um silencing our protesters activist Larry goset who led civil rights protest starting in the 1960s and went on to be a long serving King County council member says he thinks the settlement is notable I
hope it leads to better relations between the police and the public in general although he's hopeful he says police relations with the community and specifically the black community still need to be improved it's about time there's some accountability as it relates to police treatment of citizens exercising their right to protest what they perceive to be injustices while the city is not directly taking accountability for wrongdoing GSA thinks the settlement is one step in the right direction of
upholding the right to safely protest the uh police need to uh be more self-critical objective about the relations with uh polit particularly political protesters that uh exercise their first amendment rights to peacefully assemble and March in the streets of Seattle the ACLU sent a statement saying they think the city and police department must change his policies to protect freedom of speech and the safety of protesters rather than using force on those who criticize them I asked the police dep
artment if they were planning to change any of their policies on how they handle protests and police never got back
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