Another
Seattle riot, there are two
famous riots in Seattle revolving around
Mardi Gras. The first was in
1979. 120 people were injured, and the police were accused of
police brutality, the whole thing wound up being one big
PR debacle, much like other riots that had been occuring in the
the 70's
The 2001 riot has mostly gotten coverage because it has fallen in sequence with a recent series of riots here. Basically, in Pioneer Square, some people got a little too drunk, and proceeded to harass their fellows and ultimately assault some of the hapless females in the crowd. 60 police officers stepped in with their riot gear, their recent experience in dealing with riots showed. Things went down no-nonsense style, 12 people were arrested and a crowd of 500, all in a stupor tried to fend them off with beer bottles, to no avail.
Most of the victims were a little upset when the Seattle Earthquake hit the next day, stripping them of all but the skimpiest of news coverage.