Pierce County cops prepared but not expecting local violence after U.S. Capitol breach
None of the violence and chaos that overtook the U.S. Capitol Wednesday has trickled into Pierce County, but local law enforcement agencies say they will be ready if it does.
“The Police Department is aware and closely monitoring the situation,” said Tacoma police spokeswoman Wendy Haddow. “We do not expect our day-to-day operations to be affected.”
There were roughly 60 sworn officers working in Tacoma on Wednesday, and more can be called in if necessary.
Police have an operations plan in place for emergencies and disasters, but they don’t expect to need it in this case.
Officials at the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department also said they are keeping an eye on what is unfolding in Washington D.C. after a mob breached the Capitol building but don’t anticipate problems locally.
“There are no reports of large gatherings so we’re going about business as usual,” sheriff’s Sgt. Darren Moss said. “If other agencies ask for assistance, we’d be willing to provide it.”
Both law enforcement agencies spent a lot of time last year monitoring peaceful protests, marches and demonstrations across the county.
In fact, the county’s Emergency Operations Center briefly shifted its focus in June from the coronavirus pandemic to monitoring 21 Black Lives Matter protests.
Most demonstrations in Pierce County have been peaceful, though one march ended with a few people breaking out windows in four downtown Tacoma businesses and stealing merchandise from another two stores.
This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 2:20 PM.
