A group of about 30 protesters interrupted a groundbreaking ceremony for the city of Lacey's new $60 million police station Monday afternoon, according to Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders, who attended it and wrote about the protest on Facebook.
The Olympian reached out to Lacey police Tuesday morning, but a spokesman for the department referred a reporter to city spokeswoman Donna Feliciano.
Feliciano confirmed that there was a protest, that an excavator was damaged and that Lacey police are investigating.
Sanders posted video which shows the protesters calling for the city to spend the money in other ways, such as for housing, but not on police. "No cops, no prison, total abolition," they can be heard chanting.
The "very small group of protesters, wearing all black with masks, showed up and expressed their opinions about the new facilities, as protected under the First Amendment (of the Constitution)," Sanders' post reads.
"The protest didn't last long and we all went about our day," he writes.
However, he said that just as he began discussing with other law enforcement how peaceful the protest appeared to be, "a number of them facilitated smashing out the window of an excavator and began throwing city of Lacey signs around the lot," his post reads.
Sanders said that Lacey police are "conducting a criminal investigation."
Lacey City Council member Lenny Greenstein was among many who responded to Sanders' post.
"I fully support people's 1st Amendment right to protest, until they do property damage," he writes. "That is criminal and should have consequences. Hopefully, the investigation will find the perpetrators, so charges can be filed."
The police station is being built between Lacey City Hall and Interstate 5.
