In lawsuit brought by Black Lives Matter, city tries to negotiate temporary restraining order it can live with

There was a flurry of activity yesterday and today between the lawyers for Black Lives Matter and the Seattle City Attorney’s office over the lawsuit filed earlier this week, which alleged that SPD’s response to the last several days of protests violated the protesters’ constitutional rights. Yesterday the plaintiffs filed a motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) prohibiting the city from using “less lethal” crowd control weapons, including tear gas, on protestors. Today the city notified the court that it intends to oppose that motion, at the same time revealing that the two sides have been negotiating the terms …

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ACLU files class-action lawsuit against Seattle and WSDOT for homeless sweeps

Today a class-action lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court by the ACLU on behalf of Seattle’s homeless, against the City of Seattle and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). The suit charges that the city and WSDOT’s “sweeps” of homeless encampments violate the constitutional rights of the encampments’ residents by seizing and destroying the property of people who are living outside without adequate and effective notice, an opportunity to be heard, or a meaningful way to reclaim any property that was not destroyed.

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