by KING 5 News
KING5.com
Posted on November 2, 2011 at 3:10 PM
Updated
Thursday, Nov 3 at 12:49 PM
SEATTLE -- Bottles were thrown, more pepper spray was deployed and police put on riot gear Wednesday night as Seattle police and Occupy Seattle protesters clashed outside the downtown Sheraton Hotel.
This comes on the heels of arrests made at a Chase bank branch in Capitol Hill and the CEO of JP Morgan Chase speaking at a UW Business school celebration at the downtown Sheraton Hotel.
Arrests made at Chase branch in Capitol Hill
Earlier this afternoon, Seattle police arrested three men and two women and deployed pepper spray at one point as Occupy Seattle protesters mobilized at the Chase bank branch on the corner of Broadway and East Thomas Street.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene as some protesters scuffled with police as police made the arrests.
According to Seattle police, the protesters locked themselves together and prevented customers from accessing the bank teller counters. The protesters refused to unlock themselves and leave the bank.
Another man was arrested for obstructing officers while they were trying to remove protesters from the bank.
At least 10 officers were physically assaulted and two suffered minor injuries while police tried to remove the arrested individuals from the scene. At one point, one officer was even struck in the chest by an empty beer bottle but was not injured.
Dimon personifies everything Occupy Seattle is against
Protesters say Dimon personifies everything they're against, but his staffers say under his leadership, Chase has done a lot for the community.
"We could talk all day about whether CEO compensation is too high in general, and probably it is, but if someone deserves a high level of compensation, a lot of people on Wall Street say he is one guy who would," said Vice President of Wedbush Securities Scott Smallman.
In December 2008--under Dimon's leadership--Chase took over Washington Mutual--known for its consumer friendly appeal and free checking. Chase laid off 4000 employees and bailed out on its lease with the Seattle Art Museum, leaving SAM scrambling for a new tenant.
And as for the Family Fourth Fireworks celebrations over Lake Union, Chase eventually walked away as the main sponsor.
During a visit to Seattle in 2009, Dimon told reporters there were more urgent problems.
"There are a lot of great things we do. If you want to focus on fireworks go ahead," said Dimon.
Since then Chase has been making its mark as the third largest philanthropist in the state behind Microsoft and Boeing.
The bank says it gave over $10 million in Washington state last year alone and is opening 15 new branches here this year, hiring 700 workers.
Last January, Chase donated $4 million to enterprise Cascadia, a non-profit lender, expected to produce about 2000 jobs for local businesses.
But those efforts don't impress Susan Wilkinson, a protester who is closing her accounts at Chase.
"That's like me saying with my income that i bought a candy bar last week for a homeless person, doesn't that make me a hero, that's a small drop in the bucket compared to the billions that they make on our backs," said Wilkinson.
UW had Dimon planned more than a year ago
UW say they invited CEO Jamie Dimon to speak at this event more than a year ago, before any of the occupy protests began.
The suspects had locked themselves together and prevented customers from accessing the bank teller counters. The suspects refused to unlock themselves and leave the premises after several verbal warnings to do so from officers.
An adult male suspect who obstructed officers while they were trying to remove the suspects from the scene was arrested for obstructing a public officer. He was interviewed and released from the precinct.
The five suspects arrested inside the bank were transported to the East Precinct for processing and subsequently booked into the King County Jail for Criminal Trespassing.
At least 10 officers (nine officers and one sergeant) were physically assaulted while facilitating the removal of the arrested suspects from the scene. Pepper spray was deployed to provide cover for the officers under attack and to disperse the assailants.
At least two officers sustained minor injuries but did not require medical transportation. One officer was struck in the chest by an empty beer bottle but was not injured.
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