Olympia Police plan to respond to two demonstrations on Saturday to prevent a repeat of the Sept. 4 clashes that left one person with a gunshot wound.
The city expects to see a right-wing Proud Boys group participate in a noon rally against vaccine mandates at the Capitol Campus and a 2 p.m. gathering outside City Hall, according to a news release.
The city's release comes after the City Council heard multiple complaints from residents Tuesday about the lack of law enforcement response on Sept. 4. That day, the city saw violent clashes between Proud Boys and black clad anti-fascists, or Antifa.
"We share the community's shock and anger at the violence that happened here on Sept. 4," the release says. "None of us want this type of behavior in our community. We are taking the lessons learned from that weekend to inform our practices and processes for this weekend in an effort to ensure an effective strategy to address any safety issues."
Video from the Intercity Transit Center on Sept. 4 showed a member of the Antifa group firing a handgun five times toward a pursuing group of Proud Boys.
At least one shot injured a man's ankle. Portland-area media identified this man as Tusitala "Tiny" Toese, a regular Proud Boys organizer from the Portland area. He was taken to Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia following the shooting.
Olympia police also are investigating reports of other assaults from that day. In one case, a woman said she was chased and assaulted by Proud Boys, The Olympian previously reported.
The city believes the 2 p.m. Saturday gathering will be in response to the Sept. 4 shooting. Olympia police are actively preparing for this event.
"OPD is bringing on extra staff and actively making preparations for managing any potential conflict that might arise during these demonstrations," the news release says. "OPD is also working with our regional law enforcement partners in our planning."
Police have attempted to contact each of the groups expected to arrive Saturday to ask them to avoid the city, per the release.
"While we cannot prevent people from groups like these from coming to our city, OPD will do everything they can to address as quickly as possible any illegal acts and violent behaviors that may happen and to try to keep opposing groups separated from each other," the release says.
The city says it has a duty to balance the constitutional rights of people to peacefully gather with the need to protect the community. OPD says it will follow its "Guiding Principles for Demonstrations and Crowd Control," guidelines the department created in the aftermath of the over 70 demonstrations it responded to in 2020.
Following the Sept. 4 clashes, outgoing Police Chief Aaron Jelcick previously told The Olympian his department planned for the event but did not expect so many people to show up.
He said officers would take a more "aggressive approach to law violations" this Saturday.
"We're going to plan for the worst and hope for the best as far as that goes," Jelcick previously said. "We will have more staff on them than we had the previous day, and we intend to prevent as much as possible for these two groups to come together."
Anyone with information on the Sept. 4 shooting or other assaults that day is encouraged to call dispatch at 360-704-2740 or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477. Police also are gathering information on the Saturday, Sept. 18 events.
