Olympia police made multiple arrests and used munitions to disperse a crowd that was breaking windows and throwing rocks at officers at the Washington State Patrol headquarters Friday night, the department says.
Over 100 people gathered and filled the grassy area near Heritage Park Fountain earlier in the evening, some carrying "Black Lives Matter" and "defund the police" signs. Most were wearing all black, and at least one person was carrying a shield, according to an Olympian reporter on the scene. About 8:30 p.m., a few speakers addressed the presence of federal agents in Portland, as well as police violence generally.
About 9:15 p.m., a group of about 100 people who had been at the fountain began marching. At the start, chants included "F--- the feds, we don't need them. All we want is total freedom."
Fliers advertising an event at the fountain Friday evening called on "parents and caregivers" to "stand against the repression of the BLM movement and stand in solidarity against the invasion of cities by the police state."
However, Olympia police Lt. Paul Lower referred to the group that left the park as a "mob" as soon as it took to the streets, a word which he has told The Olympian he uses when a group of people is "bent on destroying property" rapidly, as its sole purpose.
They headed south on Capitol Way, Olympia Police Lt. Paul Lower told The Olympian, to the Helen Sommers Building that sits between Union Avenue Southeast and 11th Avenue Southeast. The building houses State Patrol and several other state offices and features a mostly glass facade at ground level.
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Upon arriving at the building, Lower said the group began breaking windows and throwing "baseball-sized" rocks at officers who were providing traffic control on foot and bicycle. At that point, the police considered the event a "riot" and a riot response team quickly arrived, he said.
Officers gave the group orders to disperse, Lower said, and continued to give such orders "throughout the remainder of the affair." Police used several types of crowd-control munitions to attempt to move or break up the group, according to Lower, including smoke canisters; flash bangs; stinger balls, which make loud noises while emitting rubber pellets; and pepper balls, which are small plastic pellets with pepper spray powder in them that officers shoot out of air rifles.
A total count of munitions used was not available Saturday morning, and The Olympian is waiting for final confirmation on whether officers deployed tear gas.
In total, people broke 10 windows at the Helen Sommers Building, Washington State Patrol Sgt. Darren Wright told The Olympian. Wright said rocks were used to break the windows and confirmed several had been completely broken out. Troopers were stationed outside the building until the windows could be boarded up and secured, Wright said, but they did not engage with anyone in the group.
The Department of Enterprise Service's initial estimate is that it will cost a minimum of $50,000 for repairs, according to DES spokesperson Linda Kent.
As the group continued walking in the area, Lower said, officers reported people in the group throwing road flares, throwing more rocks at officers, and shining laser-type devices into officers' eyes. Olympia police estimate more than 200 rocks were thrown at officers throughout, along with other projectiles. One officer reported a minor injury to his wrist from a "large rock," Lower said.
At one point, a Shelton man was seen spray painting a downtown building and separated from the group, Lower said. Officers arrested him on suspicion of malicious mischief.
Eventually, the crowd made its way downtown again and numbers dwindled, Lower said, splitting up into small groups that ducked into alleyways while members changed their clothing. Police contacted a group and arrested seven people on suspicion of failure to disperse and riot, he said, and booked them into Olympia's jail.
The eight men and women arrested range from age 19 to 30, five are from Olympia, one is from Yelm, and one is from Tacoma, Lower said, though police are unsure of the identity of one person.
The Olympian is in touch with the state Department of Enterprise Services to determine whether there is video surveillance footage of Friday's events at the Helen Sommers Building.
If you were at the protests Friday night and would like to share your experience, send an email to news@theolympian.com.
Olympia reporter Brandon Block contributed to this report. This story may be updated.
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