I wrote the following piece with the goal of publishing before protesters worked to stop the Polar Pioneer from departing Seattle. This morning the Coast Guard and other agencies worked to detain and/or arrest kayaktivists in the path of the Polar Pioneer. What role did city law-enforcement agencies and city officials play in supporting the Coast Guard? I commend the protesters for their stand and I'm saddened to see the full weight of government put behind drilling in the Arctic. This must change.
Tuesday the Coast Guard, King County, the Port of Seattle, Customs, Bainbridge Police Department and the Seattle Police Department are participating in a “joint maritime law enforcement training exercise” off the pier at Des Moines WA.
That impressive commitment of resources appears to be in response to plans of "kayaktivists" to protest and disrupt the journey of the Polar Pioneer, Shell’s drilling rig, on its journey from Seattle to the Arctic. The inclusion of King County’s water taxi in the exercise, whose normal commuter route passes near to the site of the expected protests, seems to confirm the intent of this maritime law enforcement flotilla.
The Coast Guard, Customs and Port involvement is clear enough. The Federal government has approved Arctic Oil drilling, the Coast Guard is committed to maritime navigation, and the Port is so far unyielding in its support of Shell.
But what about SPD?
The city is on record opposing Shell's presence here, and opposing drilling in the Arctic. Why would we argue against Arctic drilling from one city office yet commit SPD harbor patrol boats to clear protestors from another? Why are we having press conferences against Shell while committing city resources to benefit Shell's mission?
It’s worth taking a look at how Seattle has responded to other federal policies it found deeply offensive. One example is our civic resistance to the failed Federal war on drugs. Seattle long ago voted to make marijuana possession the lowest priority for law enforcement and supported state medical marijuana laws. So when the federal government wanted to crack down on medical marijuana dispensaries, Seattle refused to participate in the raids. We knew about them, and recognized that the federal government had the legal authority to conduct them despite state law. But given the clear views of the public, and our desire to see those federal laws changed, we stood aside and let the feds enforce their own laws without our help. SPD would not do it for them.
Or let’s take a look at immigration law. Right now the federal government, through Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE), wants to screen the immigration status of everyone arrested, even for minor offenses. Seattle opposes this heavy-handed policy. It devastates families, separating parents and children, and discourages witnesses and crime victims from contacting the police. In comparison, SPD never checks for immigration status, and we have asked King County, which runs our jail, not to participate either. Our city attorney has appropriately reduced many charges so that minor violations can escape the notice of ICE. We can’t change the federal law directly, but we can refuse to use our resources to facilitate laws we find deeply offensive to our values.
Our city’s political leaders need to be consistent in regard to the passage of the Polar Pioneer through our waters. A District Attorney in Massachusetts, Sam Sutter, confronted a similar question when asked to prosecute activists who used a lobster boat to block a ship carrying coal to a power plant. He declined to prosecute stating: “Climate change is one of the gravest crises our planet has ever faced. In my humble opinion, the political leadership on this issue has been sorely lacking.”
There is a role for SPD in this protest, to help preserve public safety in the face of the Port’s divisive actions in bringing Shell to Seattle. SPD should NOT engage in any attempt to clear protestors. Shell has made special deals to secure the support of the Feds and the Port, but Seattle supports the protestors and our police should too. Arctic drilling is the true threat to our public safety and health.
I call upon our elected leaders to tell SPD to stand down.
The protestors should know they will be free from city prosecution. Let the Feds enforce their own misguided policy of Arctic Oil exploitation without our complicity. We have taken similar steps to express our disdain for the war on drugs. We have acted accordingly to protect contributing members of our communities from heartless federal immigration policies. Now it’s time to make a principled stand to help turn the tide against global warming.
Seattle knows how to lead and it’s time to do it again.
– John Roderick