6th Seattle Police Officer Also Attended D.C. Protest

SEATTLE — The Seattle Police Department confirms that a sixth SPD officer attended the tumultuous Jan. 6 protest in Washington D.C. Like the other five officers, the sixth is now under investigation to see if they participated in the deadly riot which grew from the pro-Trump protest and invaded nation's Capitol.

Notably, despite SPD's investigation, the officer has not been placed on leave. Of the six officers now being investigated for their involvement in the protest, only two are not on active duty. Those first two officers were reported by a fellow SPD officer who saw photos of them at the protest posted on social media, and alerted their superior.

The next three officers all reported to their superiors that they had attended the riot. Their attendance was first released to the public on Jan. 20. Like those three, this latest, sixth officer also voluntarily reported their involvement. SPD says that's enough to keep the officer on duty, despite the officer self-reporting significantly later than the others — Saturday will mark exactly one month since the riot.

Back on Jan. 20, Andrew Myerberg, director of Seattle's Office of Police Accountability, said that, despite growing calls for all the involved officers to be fired, those officers had a right to attend a political rally, as long as they didn't break any laws.

"If they violate the law for sure, there will be consequences, but simply going to a rally and exercising their beliefs, even if it's not what people in this group or what I may agree with, they have a sacrosanct first amendment right to do so," Myerberg said.

In their post announcing the sixth officer's attendance and subsequent investigation, the police department reiterated much of Myerberg's statement:

"While participating in a political event on their own time, out of uniform, violates no policy or law, and the Department fully supports all lawful expressions of First Amendment freedom of speech, OPA is investigating to determine whether the officers engaged in any illegal activities or violated any department policies."

Interim Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz has promised to terminate any officer found to have taken part in the riot or storming the Capitol.