At 1 PM on Saturday, September 25, in Seattle's Central District, a fleet of police cars rushed to block off a portion of East Union Street after a reported disturbance. Neighbors watched as officers set up cones around a black SUV parked in the intersection of 15th Avenue and East Union. The driver, an unidentified Black woman with purple hair, was seen walking between her vehicle and at least six police SUVs while holding up a small paper sign that read "Black Love Matters."

As more neighbors came out to watch the scene, police raised their guns at the woman. Her chants were unintelligible to bystanders, but as two police officers in full SWAT gear pointed their weapons, the woman lowered her sign to raise her hands in the air.

An officer blocking off 15th Avenue to the north of the intersection warned people to stay on the sidewalk. When questioned, he refused to explain what police were doing at the scene. The woman continued to attempt a conversation with officers for the next half hour.

From the street, witnesses could see that the woman appeared to be under extreme stress due to the aggression of the officers. Her voice began to sound shaky, and the strain of holding her arms over her head seemed to be causing her fatigue as sweat started to soak her shirt.

By 1:45 PM, she was surrounded by seven officers, with more standing at a distance blocking off a section of East Union Street. The officers lowered their weapons but continued to address the woman in aggressive tones. At one point, her pleas could be heard above the noise of sirens as she asked if the officers' aggression was because of her race.

In response, the officers laughed with each other and rolled their eyes. She received no verbal answer.

The officer blocking 15th Avenue walked back toward the searched SUV. Every door of the car was wide open, including the tailgate. Officers had already searched it. The officer approaching the SUV took a moment to look in the back seat. He emerged a second later, holding out a gun. Onlookers said he seemed to flash it to them as if presenting it. At this time, police scanners reported that "a weapon had been found" in her possession.

"You may want to leave the premises," one of the officers said as the woman walked north on 15th Avenue. "We have found a weapon on her. She seems volatile and might shoot. You should leave just to be safe." At this time, the woman in question still had her hands raised above her head and three guns were pointed at her.

At 1:50 PM, she allowed officers to cuff her. She calmly placed her hands behind her back; seven officers rushed her, surrounding her as they tightened the cuffs. An officer pushed her into the back of one of the police SUVs. Within minutes, the scene was cleared.

Once the woman was gone, officers allowed a civilian on the scene to enter her car and drive it away. Witnesses remained until the street was clear. However, the situation was anything but clear.

"I saw two cops walk up to the already searched car and then pick up a gun and act as if they had found it within the car although the car had already been searched," witness to the scene, Ranjan Pradeep, told me. "It clearly looked like they had planted evidence in the car. Another cop later came up to us and told us she was dangerous and that she had a gun. At this point, 12 cops were surrounding her, and she had her hands up. Based on what I saw, the gun belonged to the cops."

Another onlooker, Brian Adams, questioned how the authorities resolved the scene: "If they had found weapons in that car, wouldn't it be impounded?"

No report has been issued by the Seattle Police Department regarding Saturday's event, even though the incident required multiple police cars at the scene. Officers have also declined when asked for comment.

With so many eyewitnesses filming the scene, officers took the woman away without physical violence. However, it is not known how the encounter could have gone had cameras not been filming the police.

The strange nature of the encounter has left the public with questions about the woman's arrest. With no released statement about why police arrested her, speculation remains that she was a victim of police racial profiling. Because several witnesses say they saw an officer plant a weapon in her car, community members are now calling for the SPD to be held accountable.