SEATTLE — There are few physical reminders of activists’ occupation of an anti-police “autonomous zone” here two years ago, but a backlash of rising crime and police resignations has spread far beyond the boundaries of the Capitol Hill neighborhood where the infamous protest took place.
The takeover known as the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest or CHOP lasted a month and became a symbol of a social justice movement that spun out of control. The city has yet to fully recover.
The Seattle Police Department said violent crime soared 20% last year to a 14-year high. Property crime was up 9%.