Anger over the death of George Floyd six days earlier still simmered here and across the nation Sunday, and by day's end protests had spread to downtown Bellevue, which had never faced the threat of large-scale civil disobedience.
Looting occurred at the Bellevue Square and Macy's and Nordstrom, and protesters also visited the Shops at the Bravern, the Bellevue Connection, the Hyatt and Lincoln Square South, the Downtown Bellevue Network reported. (The Connection was formerly the Galleria.)
Bellevue Mayor Lynne Robinson signed a civil emergency order late Sunday night and as part of that order set a curfew until 5:30 a.m. Monday.
Sunday dawned peaceably in Seattle as people from around the Puget Sound region came to downtown to start cleaning up from Saturday's riot that resulted in damage to at least 29 businesses. The Downtown Seattle Association (DSA) said the peaceful protest Saturday afternoon was “hijacked by people a block away who were intent on destruction.”
On Saturday, Gov. Jay Inslee, at the request of Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, activated up to 200 unarmed members of the Washington National Guard. On Sunday, Inslee said the Guard would also help clean up damage in Seattle and later deployed troops to Bellevue.
Durkan reissued a 5 p.m. curfew Sunday though no arrests seemed to be occurring as peaceful marches continued into the evening. Durkan had said the curfew would be strictly enforced.
"I want to say to those individuals (who rioted): Do not come back to Seattle downtown, Capitol Hill, Chinatown/International District or anywhere else. We will arrest you," she said.
Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best said her department made dozens of arrests for assault, obstruction, burglary and failure to disperse. Multiple police and private vehicles were torched, she said.
Seattle authorities said they were initially focused Saturday on protecting people who had gathered to peacefully protest the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Floyd died when a police officer used his knee to pin down Floyd's neck. It was the latest in a long list of African Americans dying in police custody.
Durkan and Best decried institutional racism and said Seattle has effectively managed huge political demonstrations previously. The city wasn't ready this time.
"I think the No. 1 thing that was different is that you had thousands of people coming not to protest, but to riot," said Durkan, who added the original purpose for the police presence was to ensure people's right to exercise their First Amendment rights.
"It obviously degenerated very quickly, and we had to use tools like the curfew that we had hoped not to use," she said.
On Sunday morning the cleanup commenced with volunteers coming to downtown. DSA spokesman James Sido said it was "quite inspiring."
There were kids with their parents scrubbing graffiti off windows. An elderly man came over on his own from Whidbey Island to sweep up.
DSA has begun to compile a list of businesses that were damaged. It had 29 confirmed properties and three unconfirmed. Sido said DSA will work with the city's Office of Economic Development to put together a more complete list.
On Monday, DSA said 61 businesses and properties sustained some damage during the Friday and Saturday riots in the retail core as well as in Capitol Hill and the Chinatown-International District. The list may grow as reports come in from property managers and owners, DSA said.
At Monorail Espresso, Sido said the owner on Saturday tried to guard the property, which was damaged. Also hit was the under construction Rainier Square tower, and the recently relocated North Face flagship at Pike Street and Sixth Avenue.
The North Face opened in August after leaving its longtime location at First Avenue and Spring Street. The store moved because it wanted more space and better foot traffic, a store associate told the Business Journal earlier this year.
Greg Johnson, president of Wright Runstad & Co., developer of Rainier Square, said there was some "superficial damage" — a couple of broken but still-intact windows. Some sections of construction fencing was toppled over, but there was no internal damage.
The site is under 24-hour surveillance so the project team quickly responded to restore the fencing, Johnson said.
"There will be an increased physical presence on site tonight and continued coordination with security personnel at neighboring properties," he said.
In downtown the bulk of the damage and looting appeared to be from Second to Seventh avenues and Pike and Pine streets, DSA said. Beyond that, the Fifth and Madison Amazon Go store and the Polyclinic on First Hill were among other properties that sustained damage.
"I would remind people that it was not just the downtown core but one of the most cherished areas of our city, the Chinatown international District, that took the brunt of (illegal) activities Friday evening and early yesterday," Durkan said.
DSA said that among other downtown businesses that were damaged were Ben Bridge Jewelers, Nordstrom, Old Navy, Pacific Place, Eileen Fisher and Game Works.
"It’s shameful that some individuals have exploited the tragic killing of George Floyd by resorting to violence and destruction, putting the lives of others at risk, including first responders and those who came downtown to peacefully gather," DSA said in a statement Saturday. "These are cowardly acts that have no place in our city."
