No discipline for cop who pushed two women to the ground from behind at June ICE protest
The Office of Police Accountability found that the officer used "non-reportable" force to "guide" protesters back, but video shows a forceful push in at least one of these cases.
Seattle police Officer Daniel Christensen will face no discipline for pushing two women down at an ICE protest outside the federal building last June, according to a recently released report. The Office of Police Accountability found that Christensen used only “de minimis” force, but video evidence contradicts this in at least one instance.
Christensen was among about a hundred officers ordered to disperse an anti-ICE rally on June 11, 2025, after a few protesters set a dumpster on fire at the intersection of 2nd and Marion. Following an initial push by Seattle police, most of the rallygoers dispersed, leaving behind around 150.
The OPA cites the incident commander, who paints a picture of a chaotic scene, where officers were being “attacked” by “commercial grade fireworks, rocks, and bottles.” But DivestSPD members were on the ground that day, and it was relatively mild.
As the report notes, two mortar shell fireworks were thrown. However, for the most part, the members of the crowd were passively standing around and yelling at the police.
On the way down the hill, Christensen, equipped with a wooden baton, encountered some protesters seated near the garage entrance to the 999 Building. He ordered them to move. They complied but “displayed hesitation,” so he ordered them again. The woman, identified as CM#1, started walking away and stepped up onto a concrete ledge.
Christensen joined her on the ledge. As he moved past, he pushed her with his baton from behind, causing her to fall flat on her stomach. She berated him and kept moving.
Later, Chriseansen and other officers formed a line along 2nd and Marion, not far from where the first woman was pushed down. They began to push protesters and ordered them to move back. Most protesters moved back, but another woman carrying a Palestine flag stayed put. She “shouted and swore” at Christensen, who continued yelling “Move back!” and pushing her.
Another officer pushed her from the side, and she spun all the way around. Christensen then planted his feet, bent his elbows and pushed her into the remnants of a barricade. She tripped and fell.
In the report, the OPA presents the woman as engaging in ongoing aggression towards the officers. It reads as if she were facing toward them when she was pushed, when the video shows her facing away.
CM#2 did not fully comply, as she slowly moved backward while displaying her flag toward the officers. An officer beside NE#1 pushed CM#2. NE#1 then pushed CM#2 with his baton, causing her to stumble over protest debris and fall.
The OPA found that both of these pushes were “de minimis” force, which is to say not worth reporting. However, the standard for force reporting and use is whether it’s “reasonably likely to cause injury.” One could argue that even a light push on a concrete ledge or in the presence of obviously visible debris is likely to—and did—cause someone to fall.
Arguing that Christensen’s force was “lawful and proper,” the OPA found that the second push was “low-level” and “achieved the intended effect” of getting her to move. But, the typical force behind a “Move back!” baton push is a half-extension. Christensen planted his feet and fully extended his arms.
Similarly, the OPA argued that the first push outside the garage “did not appear sufficiently forceful to indicate that he intended for her to fall” and that “seemingly lost her balance due to the height difference between the ground and the concrete ledge.”
Intent is irrelevant. An officer can be careless in using force and negligent of their surroundings, creating potential for injury. The bottom line is that he pushed two women from behind, causing them to fall in the span of only about 30 minutes. Fortunately, no one was hurt — this time.