SEATTLE, Wash. – The Washington State Patrol issued an apology after a video of a trooper surfaced during the Seattle protests Tuesday night.
In the video posted on social media, the trooper tells his team “don’t kill them, but hit them hard” in relation to clearing protesters in the streets of Seattle’s Capitol Hill.
A WSP spokesperson told the Seattle Times, the officer was attempting to “motivate, reassure, and prepare his team for a difficult task” but they apologize for the “poor choice of words”
The video circulating Twitter has over 1 million views and has received a mix of backlash and praise from online users.