‘I think our mayor and governor need to get their act together, they need to come up with a plan—because this is beyond a protest…’
(Claire Russel, Liberty Headlines) A Seattle business owner right outside of the city’s “autonomous zone” said he called the police department 19 times when protesters attempted to loot and burn his shop to the ground, but no one responded to his calls.
John McDermott, owner of Car Tender auto shop near Seattle’s Capitol Hill, said looters smashed a window and broke into his shop on Sunday night and tried to start a fire on the front counter using hand sanitizer.
“I don’t know what to expect next,” he told local news outlet KIRO. “If you can’t call the police department, you can’t call the fire department to respond, what do you have?”
McDermott and his son were able to extinguish the fire and chase the suspect down, but Seattle authorities told McDermott that “they weren’t gonna send somebody” after he reported the incident.
“Nobody shows up when literally our lives are on the line,” McDermott’s son, Mason, told KIRO.
“I think our mayor and governor need to get their act together, they need to come up with a plan—because this is beyond a protest,” he said.
McDermott said that because officers did not aid him, he was forced to let the burglars go.
Without police on scene, protesters broke down McDermott’s fence and demanded the release of the would-be arsonist, whom McDermott had apprehended.
“It was either that, or they were coming over and it was going to turn into mayhem beyond mayhem,” he said.
The Seattle Police Department has insisted that it remains in control of the situation, despite the fact that protesters have kicked officers out of the East Precinct station that the CHAZ encompasses.
Police Chief Carmen Best disputed the McDermott’s story, according to Police One.
Best said police “did not see any signs of smoke or fire [and] did not see a disturbance,” so they chose to “observe the location from a distance.”
However, “we did respond to the incident last night and documented the incident on a report,” a police spokesperson told KIRO.
“The case number is #2020-188030,” they said. “Due to limited staffing, we are unable to provide you with a redacted copy of the narrative.”
A huge mob just attacked “Small Tender” business demanding a release of man who went into the business and started a fire, the business is located inside the 6 blocks of #CHAZ a ‘no-cop zone’. Reporting on the ground in #Seattle pic.twitter.com/GeTRheQXFo
— Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) June 15, 2020