Passerby Says Police Harassed Young Muslims Offering Hugs at Pike Place Market

A police officer at Pike Place Market confronts two Muslim youth offering hugs, according to a Slog tip. Slog tipper Sarah

Yesterday (February 22), at around 4:40 pm, two young men were, according to a witness, seen standing at Pike Place Market with a sign that read:



"I'm a Muslim. People Label Me A Terrorist. If You trust Me, Give Me a Hug."

The SPD asked for ID, got in their faces, threatened to mail a ticket. Another woman and I intervened—explaining the first amendment (public sidewalk), etc. The cop finally started to step back...

They were "men of color" who had blindfoldeded themselves and had outstretched their arms, the witness said. Apparently, some people did trust them and gave them hugs. The SPD and market security, however, did not trust this kind of behavior and harassed the young men, the witness told me in an e-mail:We have identified the cop alleged to have "threatened" the peaceful Muslims yesterday as Officer Tom Christenson.

This is the officer who in August sided with the Westlake Mall security officer's seemingly brash decision to pepper spray and arrest a young black male, Raymond Wilford, who many witnesses thought was not in the wrong. "Let him do his job!," Officer Christenson barked at the protesters, as they tried to explain to him and the security officer what had actually transpired and why he had detained the "wrong guy." Many believed the trouble was started by a shirtless middle-aged white man who taunted demonstrators at a pro-Palestinian rally.

As of now, we are waiting to learn from the tipper how Christenson's confrontation with the Muslims at Pike Place Market ended.

UPDATE: Sarah, the Slog tipper, tells us "the cop and security ended up crossing the street, watching for a while and then left. I left too so I don't know what happened from that point on."

Asked for comment, SPD spokesperson Sean Whitcomb said, "If someone felt that our officer behaved inappropriately towards these young men, we would encourage them to file a complaint."