SEATTLE (AP) - Seattle police have arrested nine demonstrators who tried to block construction activity at the site of a new $210 million juvenile justice complex.
Police say three demonstrators entered the construction site in Seattle’s Central Area Friday morning and chained themselves together. Others blocked the entrance. After several hours, officers ordered the protesters to leave and arrested those who didn’t leave.
Friday’s protest was part of ongoing opposition to the new King County youth jail and court complex.
Organizers with the No New Youth Jail Coalition want King County Executive Dow Constantine to halt construction and to put more resources toward providing social services for young people rather than locking them up.
Last fall, Constantine issued an executive order calling for a plan to bring juvenile detention under the oversight and direction of the city and county public health agency.
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