SEATTLE — Seattle Parks and Recreation has hired private security to patrol Cal Anderson Park in Capitol Hill overnight.
Cal Anderson Park has been closed to the public since the end of June after protesters took over several blocks near the park during the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP).
The armed security guards patrolled the park for the first time Tuesday night, and the city plans to reevaluate the need for the guards on a nightly basis, according to Seattle Parks spokesperson Rachel Schulkin.
Although the guards are armed, Schulkin said they would call 911 if a dangerous situation occurred.
The department hired four guards from Jaguar Security for 10 hours from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. The cost is $85 per hour per guard, which means the city spent $3,400 for one night of security, according to Schulkin.
The hiring of armed security followed a larger scale clean-up of Cal Anderson Park on Tuesday. Although the park has been closed for two months, Schulkin said the park has been vandalized throughout the closure, and groups of people have set up tents within the park.
During Tuesday’s clean-up, Seattle police were on site to keep crowds out, and the city’s Navigation Team connected homeless who were living in the park with resources.
Seattle Parks and Recreation plans to mitigate damages in Cal Anderson over the next week and said department staff would be onsite daily to remind people the park is closed.