The police chief says he is prepared to “fire them immediately”.
At least two Seattle police officers have been put on leave and are being investigated for their alleged involvement in the United States Capitol protests.
The Seattle Police Department issued a statement on Friday night saying it was informed on Friday of police involvement in the Jan. 6 siege and is now taking appropriate action.
“The Department fully supports all legal expressions of First Amendment freedom of speech, but the violent crowd and events that took place at the United States Capitol were illegal and resulted in the death of another police officer,” said Chief Adrian Diaz in the statement, referring to Brian Sicknick, who died from injuries sustained during the attack.
Diaz said the case is now being considered by the Office of Police Accountability.
“The OPA will investigate whether any SPD policies have been violated and whether any potential illegal activity needs to be referred for criminal investigation,” he said. “If any SPD officer is directly involved in the US Capitol insurrection, I will dismiss him immediately. While the OPA investigates, these officers have been placed on administrative leave.”
This appears to be the first report by out-of-state police officers involved in the violent pro-Trump protests.
The FBI is currently working to identify those involved and has already made several arrests.
In a statement late on Friday, the FBI Assistant Director in charge, Steven M. D’Antuono, said in a press call: “Just because you left the DC region, you can still expect a knock on the door if we find out that part of the criminal activity within Capitol. Conclusion – the FBI is sparing no resources in this investigation. “