Durkan promises to meet with Seattle protest organizers: 'The plan has to come from communty voices'

Source: Seattle Times

After four consecutive days of protests in Seattle, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan promised a crowd of thousands of demonstrators Tuesday afternoon that she would meet with their organizers the following day to start creating a plan for addressing police accountability and racial justice.

The impromptu meeting was a key moment after days of tension, and the first indication of a tangible step, beyond voicing sympathy, that Durkan and her administration were willing to take to address protesters’ calls for action. Still, there were limits to what she agreed to.

When asked if she could promise that there would be “no gas” from police as protesters continued their marches for a fifth night, Durkan demurred, saying she wasn’t going to “make a promise I can’t keep.”

The city indicated it doesn’t expect the protests over the death of George Floyd, a Black man killed by a white police officer in Minnesota, to subside soon: Officials announced Tuesday that Seattle’s overnight curfew would continue through Saturday morning, between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. each night. Thousands were back out on the streets, marching in downtown and in Capitol Hill at Cal Anderson Park.

Read more: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/durkan-promises-to-meet-with-seattle-protest-organizers-the-plan-has-to-come-from-communty-voices/