Cal Anderson Park Update: Open for me, but not for thee.
By: Nick Lozier
Tags: Seattle, Police, Police Brutality, Antifa, Homelessness

Demonstrate Seattle!

Cal Anderson Park Update: Open for me, but not for thee.

A van spraypainted with Black Lives Matter symbols is parked on street. Behind, residents use the closed playfield to walk their dogs and enjoy time outside. Seattle, WA / Nick Lozier.

After failing to stop the sweep of a homeless encampment in Cal Anderson Park on Friday, local activists and antifascists decided to test the park’s supposed “closed” status and challenged the double-standard city officials have perpetuated in relation to the park Sunday afternoon.

Wearing all black, a few dozen citizens joined the upper-class tech bro crowd on Bobby Morris Playfield for an afternoon game of soccer. Within an hour of their arrival and sparse outdoor time in a public park, the “black bloc” crew was met by more than 30 Seattle police officers demanding they leave the park, again citing its closed status.

The show of force and intimidation quickly turned violent, as police officers sent two individuals to the hospital and arrested seven for erroneous assault and trespassing charges. Mace and batons were some of the tactics deployed by the officers to disrupt the very scary soccer game.

Minutes after SPD left the scene, the park continued to be used by wealthy neighborhood residents. Yuppies easily passed by the commotion and even used other areas of the park during the conflict. All were, of course, unharmed and unbothered by the civil rights abuses happening mere feet away.

The latest incident in Cal Anderson is disturbing for two reasons. First of all, the fact that SPD felt the need to “close” the park to a certain group at all and not to others shows their obvious biases and complete lack of professionalism and impartialness on the job.

Now, a little about me. I’m from the deep south. I’ve had a lot of interactions with police down in Georgia, some good, but mostly bad. But never in my life have I been cussed at, shoved, threatened, and attacked for doing nothing more than standing on the sidewalk. That is the norm in Capitol Hill when SPD arrives.

I am not violent. I am not “antifa”. I am a resident of this neighborhood. And I am pissed off that my new home is subjected to taxpayer-funded domestic terrorism on a daily basis. For something as simple as playing soccer.

The only identifier that this diverse group of soccer players shared was the black clothes they chose to wear. Is it now a crime to wear black in Seattle? Should that clothing decision open you up to the possibility of assault or hospitalization?

For what feels like the tenth or so time this week, a substantial police presence was called to the park again, and I just wanna make this clear, to shut down a soccer game. Their presence resulted in injuries and arrests. When made aware of the multiple injuries on the scene caused by police interaction, dozens of Seattle’s “finest” stood by and did nothing, not even basic first aid.

The incredible number of squad cars SPD parked on the nearby streets actually obstructed an ambulance from reaching the scene in a timely manner. As the cops would tell it, the obstruction, and the entire incident, was, of course, the fault of the citizens who dared to play soccer at 2:30 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon in a “closed” park.

If you live in Capitol Hill, there is simply no hiding it or pretending you do not see it any longer. When it comes to those who object to their budget or their tactics, a police officer's job starts and ends with brutalization in Seattle. Everyone else must either clean up their mess or be subjected to further violence.

City officials have maintained that the park is “closed” since the dissolution of CHOP/CHAZ back in June. Since then, the status is openly ignored by residents like myself who use the playfield for a litany of activities.

Most egregiously, back in August, a pastor openly flaunted social distancing and mask guidelines in the state by hosting a religious concert in Cal Anderson. When responding to public outrage, SPD claimed they did not have the resources to shut down the superspreader event that attracted hundreds of maskless out-of-towners to spread disease in the name of Christ.

Soccer games in all black however, don’t you dare try it.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Nick Lozier.