Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, the city's first Asian-American mayor, has come under fire from protesters following his proposal for a $17 million increase in the city's police budget for 2024.
The proposed budget would raise the Seattle police budget to $391 million, a move that has sparked discontent among certain groups in the city.
On Sunday afternoon, a group of protesters marched to Harrell's residence, expressing their dissatisfaction with his budget proposal. The protest, dubbed "Justice for Jaahnavi," was in honor of a 23-year-old college student who tragically lost her life after being hit by a police car in January, as reported by Fox News.
One of the speakers at the protest was quoted saying, "What better way to spend our Sunday than marching a bunch of amazing people up to Mayor Bruce Harrell's house and delivering him a birthday present?" This statement was seemingly a nod to Harrell's upcoming birthday.
The protest was organized by Seattle South Asians 4 Black Lives and South Asians Resisting Imperialism, according to KING-TV. The protesters chanted phrases such as "No justice, no peace" and "say her name," in reference to Jaahnavi. Despite the presence of police officers at the event, there was no reported engagement between the officers and the protesters.
In response to the backlash, Harrell has maintained that "safety without accountability and community trust" is unattainable. He expressed his disappointment over recent incidents where officers have disrespected or dehumanized community members, stating that these actions have severely damaged the trust between the police and the community.
Meanwhile, crime rates in Seattle continue to surge. Fox News reports that the city's homicide count for this year has already surpassed last year's total, and car thefts have hit a 15-year high in 2022.
Harrell, addressing these crime rates, stated, "With homicides up and when SPD is recovering more guns than any previous time in our history ... we know we can't be complacent." His budget proposal includes a $1.8 million allocation for a crime prevention initiative involving automatic license plate readers, gunshot detection systems, and surveillance cameras. However, the effectiveness of such systems has been questioned in other cities, such as Chicago.
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