SPD Resources Sapped during Unpermitted March Downtown

Cpl. Teresa Fuller

Friday, September 20, 2019 at 4:39 p.m.

The Spokane Police Department had to creatively redeploy resources Friday as a protest that started at Riverfront Park turned into a march to City Hall. The unplanned and unpermitted march exhausted SPD’s manpower all over the city. Because of this, lower priority calls went unanswered while officers worked to ensure the safety of vehicular and pedestrian traffic impacted by the impromptu event.

Just before noon today, September 20, 2019, a protest at Riverfront Park spontaneously turned into an unplanned march of around 1,000 people to City Hall. Protesters began by crossing Spokane Falls Boulevard, disrupting traffic downtown. There were originally officers assigned to the protest, but the unexpected trek through the streets of downtown required a reallocation of most of the officers assigned to the Downtown Precinct as well as the south side of the city.

The Spokane Police Department Special Events Office would like to remind the public how important it is to acquire permits for these type of events. Luckily no other high priority calls or serious incidents occurred while officers were dealing with this issue, but the acquisition of such permits allows both SPD and the City the time to plan and distribute the necessary resources to ensure the safety of everyone involved in such an event as well as the rest of the citizens who may call upon our assistance for other things.