20 Month Prison Sentence For Fire Outside SPD East Precinct

SEATTLE — A 20-year-old man has been sentenced to 20 months behind bars for setting a fire outside the Seattle Police Department's East Precinct last fall.

According to prosecutors, on August 24, 2020, then 19-year-old Desmond David-Pitts set a trash fire outside the East Precinct building during a mass protest in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. Other records filed in the case show that David-Pitts had arrived in Seattle from Alaska just three days before the incident.

Surveillance video of the incident reportedly shows David-Pitts piling trash near a sally-port door outside the police precinct, and repeatedly lighting the debris on fire.

The court filings say several other people were also caught on video attempting to block the nearby exit, but officers were able to get through the door and quickly extinguished the flames.

“A handful of people bent on destruction, by committing arson and threatening the safety of our community, also drowned out the important message of those who peacefully protest injustice,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman in a statement. “This defendant joined with others to put Seattle Police Officers at risk. It is wholly appropriate that he spend time in prison as a consequence of his criminal acts.”

Court documents say David-Pitts was identified and arrested within an hour of the incident, largely because of his "distinctive pink camouflage trousers".

David-Pitts was ultimately charged with conspiracy to commit arson. Monday, he was sentenced in the U.S. District Court in Seattle to 20 months in prison. He has also agreed to pay restitution to the Seattle Police Department for any damages to the East Precinct, the Department of Justice said.