3:21 PM: We are in the 900 block of SW Spokane, where protesters have just arrived.
Police have stopped eastbound traffic. They are still heading west on Spokane, as Guardian One and tv choppers hover. So far, no conflicts that we have seen. No word how long eastbound traffic will remain stopped.
(Photo by Torin Record-Sand; substituted for cameraphone pic that was originally here)
3:44 PM: Traffic still stopped. Police appear to have made at least one arrest. Reinforcements have just arrived. (added) Some scuffling was visible from our vantage point (photos later from our crew elsewhere in the crowd) – watch the left side:
4:09 PM: Sorry for the lag – we have a photographer on the scene and your editor here got stuck one truck back from the front lines while dropping him off. Adding images shortly. He says traffic has resumed westbound across the low bridge – but it’s advisable to completely avoid the area till this is clear some hours from now (after 6 pm).
4:27 PM: Metro is rerouting some West Seattle (etc.) buses via the 1st Avenue South Bridge: 21, 22, 56, 118 & 119. Also keep in mind that we’re now an hour away from the Seahawks game, further complicating the traffic picture.
4:43 PM: The low bridge may technically be open to traffic but still worth avoiding. As of right now, one of the bridge cams is focused on the protest scene. You can see all our traffic cams here.
5:43 PM: From WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli, a recent overview of the scene where most of this unfolded through the mid- to late-afternoon:
Via Twitter, SPD confirms “multiple arrests.” They also say they have “contacted” the driver involved in the hit-run incident noted in comments below this story.
6:52 PM: A closer look, from earlier. A group of West Seattle activists gathered at the Chelan Café to walk to join the protesters who marched from Westlake:
And as the marchers arrived around quarter past three:
For the 6 pm rally, demonstrators moved to Terminal 5, according to our partners at the Seattle Times, who also report that the arrests so far have numbered more than a dozen.
ADDED 10:54 PM: More images from tonight and this afternoon. First – Christopher Boffoli was there as more demonstrators were arrested tonight:
According to SPD Blotter, “Eleven adult subjects were arrested for various violations including Failure to Disperse and Assaulting an Officer.” Some if not all of them were processed at the Southwest Precinct here in West Seattle, according to SWP Operations Lt. Pierre Davis, with whom we spoke while he visited tonight’s Pigeon Point Neighborhood Council meeting to talk about the recent increase in burglaries. As the evening events wound down, Christopher got these scenes on video:
Here’s how Occupy Seattle’s website chronicled the afternoon/evening.
(WSB photo by Torin Record-Sand)
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