'10-minute' flash riot targets Seattle police over shooting

A group of about 30 "anarchists" dressed in black and wearing masks allegedly caused mayhem in Seattle Saturday night at the site of an unjustified police shooting.

Police said the protesters attacked them with fireworks, flares and fire extinguishers.

The riot, which was said to have lasted all of 10 minutes, began at about 9 pm Saturday at the intersection of Boren Avenue and Howell Street, the Seattle Post Intelligencer reported.

A fire extinguisher was discharged at the officer's car as he drove through the intersection, police said.

Other officers responding to the disturbance claimed they found a group of about 30 protesters.

Demonstrators put up caution tape in the intersection and painted "Fucking Pigs" on the street and a nearby building, according to police.

Three members of the group that were arrested by the Seattle Police Department on rioting charges were released on their own recognizance Sunday morning.

The melee took place at the intersection where Seattle police Officer Ian Birk fatally shot John T. Williams, a Native American woodcarver, last August.

Dashcam footage of the incident showed that Birk gave Williams only seven seconds to put down a knife before shooting him. Birk claimed Williams lunged at him but photos showed that Williams' carving knife was in the closed position.

A Raw Story report revealed the dashcam video late last year.

While the Firearms Review Board ruled that the shooting was unjustified, prosecutors recently said that criminal charges would not be filed.