The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office is seeking more information on at least a dozen cases of people arrested during protests in Seattle over the weekend.
Seattle police say Saturday's protest turned into a riot, with people injured and destruction of property. Some people in the crowd vandalized businesses and set fires, according to the Seattle Police Blotter.
At least 47 people were arrested.
A video edited and released by Seattle police shows officers struck with a piece of wood and explosives. SPD said rocks and bottles were hurled too, and 59 officers were hurt. Injuries included burns, bruises and cuts. One officer had to be hospitalized
Someone threw an explosive, causing structural damage at the department's East Precinct.
Police used pepper spray, blast balls, and sponge rounds on the crowd.
Seattle's chapter of the National Lawyers Guild criticized the police department's response, stating in a news release that, "in addition to SPD’s haphazard and arbitrary deployment of force, officers specifically targeted the Seattle NLG’s legal observers, all while concealing their badge numbers."
SPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the allegations being made by Seattle's National Lawyers Guild.
A majority of the 47 arrests appeared to be misdemeanor cases that were referred to the Seattle City Attorney's office. The King County Prosecuting Attorney's office would handle any felony cases.
"We know that there's a very distinct difference and we see it between people who are protesting non-violently and people who take advantage of the protest to cause other crimes," said Casey McNerthney, a spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.
McNerthney said first court appearances for those arrested were anticipated for Monday afternoon, but it did not happen because the Prosecuting Attorney's Office is seeking additional details from Seattle police before going before a judge.
"The arson that you saw in those trailers, the damage to Starbucks, the property destruction, those weren't cases that were referred to us yet. We expect they will be," McNerthney said.