Occupy Seattle targets Chase CEO speech
Published 9:42 pm Wednesday, November 2, 2011
SEATTLE — Several hundred Occupy Seattle demonstrators protested in the rain Wednesday night outside a hotel where JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon was invited to speak. A protest spokeswoman said Seattle police used pepper spray on demonstrators.
Police earlier arrested six protesters at a Chase Bank branch for criminal trespass and obstructing. Police spokesman Jeff Kappel said police used pepper spray on that earlier crowd when at least 10 officers were physically assaulted while putting the arrested protesters in a paddy wagon. Kappel said at least two officers suffered minor injuries.
Police did not immediately return a call seeking confirmation of additional pepper spray at the protest outside the Seattle Sheraton.
An Occupy Seattle spokeswoman who identified herself only as Aliana said she did not know what provoked officers to use pepper spray Wednesday night. KING-TV reported bottles were thrown.
Occupy Seattle demonstrators say Dimon is an example of an overpaid executive responsible for foreclosures and questionable corporate behavior. A local Chase spokeswoman did not return a call for comment on the protest.
