SEATTLE — Washington State Patrol is apologizing for the words of a trooper caught on camera at a Seattle protest this week.
In the video, recorded Tuesday evening a short distance away from the protesters in Capitol Hill, a WSP trooper in riot gear tells gathered team members, “Don’t kill them, but hit them hard.”
Krystal Marx, deputy mayor of Burien and executive director of Seattle Pride, was at her office nearby when she heard the discussion outside the window.
She says she heard the “hit them hard” comment several times before she was able to start recording. The video has been viewed more than a million times on Twitter.
She is especially troubled by the words as many peaceful protests following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis have proceeded across Seattle and the U.S.
Some acts of looting and vandalism have occurred, and groups have sometimes clashed with law enforcement. More than 80 arrests were recorded over the weekend, and 14,000 complaints were filed against Seattle Police.
“It was concerning for me to hear 'hit them hard,'" Marx said. “Are you baiting them into violence? Is there a concern I don’t know about? It was just really confusing to hear.”
WSP called it a "poor choice of words" by a team leader preparing for a "push" maneuver – when troopers "actively push aggressive, non-compliant, and threatening protestors away from a designated area."
“The bottom line is the language that was used was inappropriate, and did not reflect the professional precision we’re known for, and must have to be effective in our jobs,” said Chris Loftis, communications director for WSP.
WSP believes the team’s actions following the comments were appropriate. These are not shown on Marx’s video.
WSP also asked for “grace and understanding as our troopers are serving in tense situations of danger and difficulty,” and offered “condolences and humility in regard to the tragic and wholly unnecessary death of Mr. Floyd.“
But amid protests of police brutality, the trooper’s words stood out to Marx. She said she wants to believe the words can have a meaning she doesn’t understand but is still troubled by them.
“That was the words used at the protests, where the protests have been violence against Black and Brown people,” she said. “That’s the problem. And I don’t think it sends the right message to the rest of the unit, who maybe many of them want to be peaceful in that police unit, but when you say ‘hit them hard,’ how else are we supposed to take that when we hear it, other than ‘hit them?’ Not ‘push them back safely.’”
KING 5 asked what action is being taken to educate troopers on the language and policies, and prevent similar exchanges in the future.
“Certainly there’s going to be a full command-level review of the situation,” Loftis said. “This is not something that’s going to be swept under the rug or dismissed as just a moment in time. If there are lessons to be learned, they will be learned. If there are actions to be taken, they will be taken.”
Inslee called for a full investigation as well in a Wednesday press conference.
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Krystal hopes WSP will also take community direction about how to improve.
“My concern is more, does the apology mean that you’ll no longer use violent, charged language when you’re in a rules of engagement brief, or will you continue to do that, but you’re just sorry you were overheard?” she said.