Seattle reaches deal with 'CHOP' to remove temporary roadblocks, replace with concrete barriers
The city of
Seattle and protesters occupying the “Capitol Hill Organized Protest” have reached an agreement that will remove temporary roadblocks and replace them with concrete barriers, Fox News has been told.
The Seattle Department of Transportation is installing concrete barriers in the middle of Pine Street, running East and West, which will split the road for both pedestrian and vehicle traffic. This will allow for emergency service vehicles to pass through the area.
The agreement will reduce the area protesters previously called Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or CHAZ, from about six or seven city blocks to just three. This is the first time in weeks traffic will be able to pass by the shuttered East Police Precinct.
Fox News has confirmed the agreement to replace the wooden barrier set in place by the protesters with concrete barriers with Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins, the Seattle Department of Transportation and Seattle Public Utilities. The Seattle Police Department is not overseeing the concrete barrier being put in place.
The development comes after the Seattle City Council on Monday voted unanimously to ban police from using chokeholds, and crowd-control devices like tear gas and pepper spray.
On Monday, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, who has repeatedly clashed with President Trump over her handling of the CHOP, tweeted: “Seattle won't lose sight of what we need: allowing our community to exercise their first amendment rights, demilitarizing our police force, rethinking who responds to 9-1-1 calls, and investing more to create meaningful change for our black and brown communities.”
Durkan has yet to publicly address the agreement between the city of Seattle and the CHOP.
Seattle reaches deal with 'CHOP' to remove temporary roadblocks, replace with concrete barriers