West Precinct Captain Steve Strand violated the Seattle Police Department’s crowd management policy by driving into a small climate protest outside Amazon headquarters, kicking down boxes and opening traffic, according to a disciplinary report released Friday.
Last July, climate activists protested outside Amazon headquarters in downtown Seattle, calling attention to the company’s rising delivery emissions. Demonstrators blocked off 6th Avenue, stacked imitation delivery boxes, and stenciled “AMAZON: WRONG WAY ON CLIMATE” in white on the street.
Strand got out of his unmarked car. He began knocking down boxes and ripping down banners. The demonstration’s police liaison approached him, saying, “Let’s talk about this for a minute.” Strand replied, “No, we can’t.” The liaison asked, “Well, why not?” and Strand said, “The street’s being opened.”
Officers began removing the traffic cones. Strand drove his unmarked car into the center of the demonstration and announced via his intercom that the road was open for traffic and anyone remaining in the street would be arrested. He arrested one of the police liaisons for obstruction without Mirandizing him but released him later.
An officer told parking enforcement, “Start sending traffic. The Captain wants it open.” In his interview, Strand told the Office of Police Accountability that he only intended to protect the protesters from “immediate danger,” but OPA argued that “the execution of his plan would have, in fact, placed them in “immediate danger.”
The OPA found that Strand violated the crowd management policy the department adopted in 2023. The same year, a federal judge ruled that crowd management was one of the few remaining stumbling blocks preventing SPD’s full exit from the consent decree.
According to the report, Strand failed to properly use the steps outlined in the crowd management policy, which classifies demonstrations on a five-step continuum from small events to riots. Though it was small and peaceful, the Amazon demo was categorized as “Phase 4 (Isolated Unlawful Behavior)” because demonstrators were blocking the street without permission and painting it.
However, the OPA pointed out that Strand escalated things by kicking over protest props, tearing down banners, and opening the road to traffic without attempting to resolve the situation through other means outlined in the policy. Instead of attempting “to use organizers and monitors to gain voluntary compliance,” Strand arrested one of the two police liaisons.
Additionally, Strand was given training referrals for violating the arrestee’s Miranda rights and unprofessional behavior. Though, with 30-plus years on the job and a captain’s rank, it’s hard to imagine someone with more training at the department. Strand made $261,098 last year.
The photo of Strand kicking boxes would be more effective if you remove the blue disk obscuring his face. Keep the faces of the protesters obscured, of course, but let us see the face of a public official misbehaving in a public place.
Keep up the good work, I appreciate everything you comrades are doing!