'A really rough night.' Protesters say police used excessive force on Labor Day

People protesting for civil rights in Seattle’s International District on Monday night say police officers used excessive force in at least two instances, resulting in a head fracture, according to a witness.

Twenty-two people were arrested over the course of Monday evening’s protests — for “arson, assault, obstructing and failure to disperse,” according to the police.

The police account of the evening said people participating in the demonstrations threw rocks, bottles, and explosives at them.

But two witnesses who spoke to KUOW said the protests were largely peaceful, and that they felt threatened by police throughout the evening. They also said that they’ve been attending the protests for months and believe the police have escalated their tactics. Both protesters also mentioned occasions on Monday night when police outnumbered protesters.

Video of one incident shows a crowd of pedestrians moving away from police when an officer pushes one of them hard enough that she falls backward.

The incident took place at 14th and Jackson, at the corner of the Pho Bac restaurant. Police were trying to impound a car belonging to one of the protesters.

Two witnesses told KUOW the car was part of a car brigade that leads and follows marches every day to protect the group from vehicle assaults. The police did not say why they were impounding the protester’s car.

KUOW is not publishing the witness’s name because she said she worried about retaliation by the police or right-wing groups.

She told KUOW that the car’s owner wanted to retrieve personal items, including their ID and wallet, but the police wouldn’t let them.

It’s not clear what happened next, except that the police told a crowd of pedestrians to get back. In the video, the crowd appears to comply.

Then, the witness said, “the biggest police officer in the group came and shoved this woman so hard on the asphalt she, like, bounced off the ground.”

The Seattle Police Department said in a statement that this incident occurred during a traffic stop, and that any use of force “will be reviewed in accordance with ... department policy.” This is the department’s response for any officer accused of violence.

In a separate incident during Monday’s protests, a woman well-known in the Seattle movement was injured outside the West Precinct and was taken to Harborview for a head wound.

KUOW spoke with a witness of this event and is not publishing her name because she also said she is worried about retaliation by the police or right-wing groups.

The witness said she and two to three other protesters went to the West Precinct to see about their friends who had been arrested and taken there. She said that when they arrived, seven police officers came out to meet them.

One of the protesters started to ask about her partner who’d been arrested, “and then they [the police] just ran at her, and she ran, and they attacked her, basically,” the witness said. “They slammed her into the building, and there was just a lot of blood.”

The witness believes that the police were trying to arrest the protester for obstructing traffic earlier in the evening, and that is not inconsistent with the police account. They refer to the injured protester as “the suspect, who had been at the earlier scene at 14th Avenue South and South Jackson.”

The police said in their statement to KUOW that “the suspect ... ran from officers and fell, striking her head. At no time did officers make any physical contact with her prior to her injury.”

When told the police account, the witness said, “I’m ashamed that they ... can’t take any accountability for their actions. I’m starting to get really tired of it.”

“A lot of us are trying not to be aggressive and violent back, but they’re continually pushing us to this ledge,” she added. “We don’t want to go there.”

Instead of being arrested, the injured protester was taken to Harborview. The witness said she had a fracture and needed 26 stitches.

“It was, like, a really rough night,” the witness said.