Free Republic

Seattle police chief says no part of city is 'cop-free' after business owner's complaint “There is no cop-free zone in the city of Seattle,” Best said. “I think that the picture has been painted in many areas that shows the city is under siege. That is not the case.” Best was referring to the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP), previously called the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), a six-block area near downtown Seattle that includes a police precinct that was abandoned amid escalating tensions with George Floyd protesters. John McDermott, who owns an auto shop just outside of the CHOP,...

An auto-shop owner on the edge of Seattle’s cop-free CHAZ says police refused to help as an angry mob stormed his property — forcing his son to pull a gun to protect them, according to video and reports. John McDermott told KIRO 7 News that he initially tried to detain a protester Sunday night who stole cash and set a fire in his Car Tender business on the edge of the so-called “Capital Hill Autonomous Zone.” His son, Mason McDermott, helped tackle the suspect who “tried to cut me with a box cutter,” he told the station, showing large slits...