Studio 2.8, Westlake Park Seattle, September 29, 2019, Seattle Police Political Rally and March Preparation
This gallery of Studio 2.8 photography photographs was produced on Sunday September 29, 2019 at downtown Seattle's Westlake Park, where a group of Seattle Republicans organized and held a political rally and march that day. A group of Seattle area anarcho-communists counter-protested the event, including participants in the Seattle area anarcho-communist domestic terror cell network known as the "Antifa Black Bloc" (sic).
In this gallery of Studio 2.8 photographs, groups of Seattle Police Department crowd control trained officers assembled in advance of the event, in preparation for hours of public safety protection tasks. For years, the Seattle Police Department has instituted specialized techniques, training, and frequent off-site practice sessions, to develop effective crowd control techniques that enable political rally and protest event attendees to exercise their constitutionally protected free speech rights, while at the same time minimizing the potential for unlawful conduct, that sometimes includes various types of violence.
The Seattle Police Department crowd control platoon includes multiple types of officer squads. Some of the officers are officers whose regular patrol duty is bicycle officer duty. One of the crowd control tasks assigned to Seattle Police bicycle officer teams is the formation of moving bicycle barrier cordons that enable to implement effective crowd barriers that require a minimum number of officers. Their "walls" of bicycles communicate clear barriers between opposing political groups who might otherwise become over inflamed and potentially violent. The are other officers who normally operate in motor vehicles, who are setup perform additional tasks that include specific interventions, and squads that work arrests that require "cover officers" and a designated arrest team member that is assigned to later draft the arrest incident report.
In this gallery of Studio 2.8 photography photographs, it is also apparent that the assigned Seattle Police Department officers arrive at these events and prepare the area for them many hours in advance. At some of these political rally and protest events, the Seattle Police Department even sweeps the event location with bomb sniffing canine officers.
