San Fransicko by Michael Shellenberger

Author:Michael Shellenberger [Shellenberger, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harper
Published: 2021-10-12T00:00:00+00:00

After the two young men were killed in Seattle’s Capitol Hill occupation protest, Chief Best developed a plan to take it back from its anarchist occupiers. Her team tried to enlist support from neighboring police departments. “But only one agency, [neighboring city] Bellevue, sent people,” she said. “I’m not kidding you. All of the other jurisdictions were like, ‘Forget it. We are not going into Seattle. Every time we go there our people get complaints, and they’re not supported.’” Best told her officers, “Nobody else is coming, so we’re going to have to use our own people to do it. That means getting detectives and patrol officers. That’s how it’s going to have to be.”

There were about three hundred police officers and some agents from the FBI when she took the podium to instruct Seattle’s officers how to clear CHOP. “We need to clear out the Capitol Hill Organized Protest,” Best said. “It has become untenable, dangerous, and lawless. Do not look behind you because no one is coming. No matter what happens today we absolutely have to finish the mission. It’s up to us.

“If one of those people in one of those tents decides to come out shooting and something happens, I will call Force Investigations, but we’re going to keep going. Any officer gets shot, we’ll get you to the hospital, but we keep going. Somebody barricades themselves in a facility and we got to call the hostage negotiators, we’ll do it, but we keep going. This day doesn’t end until we clear that area out. There is no other option. We need to get it done.”

She surveyed the room. “The whole world is watching,” she said. “We need to get it done. And everybody in here needs to have that sense of fortitude that you’re going to stick with it, because this day can get to be very long.”

“You’re going to get us killed!” shouted an officer from the back of the room.

“If you don’t want to go,” said Best, “then take off the uniform and go home. I only need people who are going to get the job done.”

“It was quite nerve-racking for me,” she said. “But as far as I know, nobody left. It felt like my whole life was leading up to that moment. I felt like I was standing by myself on an island. Nobody is listening to me in the city, and nobody’s coming to help us.”

Best observed the police operation from the fire station one block away. She thought, “If this lasts until night, then we’re going to have to make sure we get really bright lights in places so the people can see and continue clearing it out.” But just an hour into the operation, a commander radioed Best to say, “We’re headed west toward the park to clear the park out.”

“‘What?’” she thought. “In my mind it was going to be at least eight hours, but within probably two hours it was done. No shots fired. No significant injuries. We were able to clear out the area.

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