At least 3 arrested as Bellingham Police clear homeless Camp 210 at City Hall
Bellingham Police and Public Works crews with the assistance of other law enforcement agencies cleared the homeless Camp 210 encampment outside City Hall and the Bellingham Public Library Thursday, Jan. 28.
A Bellingham Police tweet at 9 a.m announced the efforts to remove the campers and asked residents to avoid the area.
“Thank you for avoiding the area while our officers and others assist encampment residents gather their belongings, obtain transportation and seek safe shelter,” the tweet said.
A Bellingham Occupied Protest Mutual Aid Facebook page post said road access to the camp was blocked and excavators were in use.
The city’s action came more than 24 hours before the 4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29, deadline the city issued to encampment residents and their advocates on Tuesday, Jan. 26.
Bellingham Police issued the following statement at 11:44 a.m.: “Bellingham Police Officers responded to City Hall this morning to secure the encampment on the lawn.
“There have been significant, ongoing safety concerns in and around the encampment for the past several weeks, including a fortified structure containing unknown items outside the front doors. All those at the encampment were given notice and the opportunity to collect or store their property and leave the lawn.
“Police have worked this morning to secure the scene, provide a safe setting for camp residents to move and a safe working environment for Public Works to begin moving people from the area. They also are assisting campers in gathering their belongings, obtaining transportation, and finding safe shelter and other services.
“While many residing at the encampment are leaving the area willingly and peacefully, several protestors have assaulted officers who are maintaining a safety line. This is a complex and rapidly evolving situation, please be patient and we will provide information as we are able. More encampment information at cob.org/encampment.”
As of 1:30 p.m. Thursday, the Whatcom County Jail log showed three arrests by the Bellingham Police Department at 10:20 a.m., 11:01 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on suspicion of assault, reckless endangerment, obstructing a police officer and failure to disperse.
Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu has ordered the downtown county building closed through Friday in response to Thursday’s events. Closed buildings, according to a release, include the County Courthouse on Grand Avenue, Public Safety Building Administrative Offices on Prospect Avenue, Civic Center Building on Commercial Street, Public Defender’s Building on Central Avenue and Health Offices on Girard Street.
“The county administration determined that these events may create a hazard for county employees working in downtown county buildings. All county departments will strive to continue providing services remotely,” the county’s release read.
Judge David Grant issued an emergency order closing Whatcom County District Court and its Probation Offices, located in the Whatcom County Courthouse at 311 Grand Ave. near City Hall, for the day as of 8:30 a.m. Thursday.
“This court finds that a civil disturbance presently occurring in areas outside and adjacent to the courthouse poses a threat to the safety and welfare of litigants, counsel, employees, and members of the public seeking access to the court,” Grant wrote in his order.
Where are they moving?
Volunteers helped move campers, their belongings and other pieces of Camp 210 to the lower parking lot of Frank Geri Softball Fields, off Puget Street.
“They are relocating into the parking lot,” Nicole Oliver, director of the Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department, said to The Bellingham Herald. “At this moment, we’re not going to do anything.”
Oliver, who was on site for a couple of hours on Thursday, said she asked people to stay on the pavement and off the fields.
Public trails around the encampment have been closed, and signs have been posted to let neighbors know. Oliver said she didn’t want people to walk through an active encampment.
The site is across the way from Swift Haven, the tiny homes community and temporary winter shelter for the homeless operated by HomesNOW! in collaboration with the city of Bellingham and Whatcom County.
Doug Gustafson, chairman of HomesNOW!, said Swift Haven was full but HomesNOW! could operate another village with 25 additional tiny homes if the city provides it with land.
Thursday’s scene
Shortly before 11 a.m., approximately 65-80 protesters and campers were packing belongings into vehicles.
Protesters were holding a line, using wooden pallets to separate themselves from police, and were heard chanting, “We want Seth,” “Who do you protect? Who do you serve?” and “We protect people, you protect property.”
Members of the Bellingham Police Department and Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office were seen in body armor. Police and spotters were seen on the roof of the Whatcom County Courthouse and the second floor of City Hall, and the sheriff’s office’s armored vehicle was parked in front of the courthouse. Some U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers also arrived on scene.
“None of this would have happened if you’d treat people like human beings,” one protester said.
Bellingham Public Works crews and bulldozers worked behind the law enforcement. There were also large green trash dumpsters.
Protesters were heard shouting, “Show me what community looks like, this is what community looks like. Every city, every town, burn the precinct to the ground.”
Many people walked around and videotaped law enforcement, while some people helped others clean up and some volunteers rented moving trucks to help move campers’ belongings.
But approximately 80 people continued to hold the line in protest.
Bellingham City Council member Michael Lilliquist and Whatcom County Council member Tyler Byrd were spotted on scene, and protesters asked Lilliquist to stop the efforts to remove the campers.
Lorelei Bowers, a volunteer chaplain who has been offering spiritual consultation to residents at the downtown encampment, told The Herald, “They need shelter in the form of motels so they can think about what to do next. I’ve been assisting campers to relocate. It’s a blessing to work alongside every single spoke of this wheel.”
At approximately noon, police, with the help of volunteers, began clearing the east side of City Hall.
Shortly after noon, BOP Mutal Aid’s Instagram page had live video of one man being taken into custody by Bellingham Police.
At approximately 12:15 p.m., a man approached and said the city was destroying their home, then rolled underneath the middle of a city dump truck that was backing up. The man popped up on the other side of the truck and was tackled by an officer in green tactical gear, pinned and placed in plastic handcuffs. One officer was seen with his knee on the man’s neck, as the man yelled that his handcuffs were too tight.
Protesters began yelling at the officer to remove the knee off the man’s neck, and the man was taken up the street to Grand Avenue and arrested.
City Hall was spray painted with “You sweep we strike” and “Kill cops.”
By 1:30 p.m., most of the tents on the City Hall and public library lawns were down, and a number of volunteers were helping people load their belongings onto trucks.
Protesters also attempted to block and slap cell phones out of the hands of Herald staff members on scene attempting to document Thursday’s events.
Friday deadline
The city told residents and advocates at the downtown tent encampment outside City Hall and the public library on Tuesday that they had until 4 p.m. Friday to remove their belongings.
It wasn’t immediately known why the city started clearing the camp a day early.
“This follows our intentions, stated repeatedly during the past month, that this illegal encampment must end in January,” the city’s statement read in an earlier story in The Herald. “Please help us encourage campers to find shelter elsewhere. Space is available at the Base Camp shelter and at its overflow facility.”
In an online City Council meeting Monday, Jan. 25, Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood condemned the “awful” and “deplorable” conditions at the protest site at City Hall, 210 Lottie St.
Fleetwood also decried the “heinous crimes” reported last weekend at the protest site, including a hatchet attack that seriously injured a man, and the demonstrators who breached City Hall, forcing employees to leave.
“There were increasingly dangerous conditions that were escalating,” Fleetwood said. “There were those who were well-intentioned and there were those who were clearly intent on provocation.”
The city provided notice on Jan. 19 that people camping within 25 feet of City Hall would have to remove their belongings by Friday, Jan. 22. In response, multiple people showed up to protest and protect the encampment. Protesters created a human barrier and later broke into City Hall, prompting city workers to leave, in order to stop city officials from attempting to remove the encampment that day.
Later that Friday, a confrontation between two groups of people at the encampment left two people injured in a hatchet attack, according to Bellingham police.
—Kie Relyea, Julie Shirley and David Rasbach contributed to this story.
This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 9:11 AM with the headline "At least 3 arrested as Bellingham Police clear homeless Camp 210 at City Hall."
CORRECTION: >Tyler Byrd serves on The Whatcom County Council. This information was corrected Jan. 29, 2021.<
