Seattle ditched its curfew several days early, officials said it was only making things worse

• Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan ended the city's curfew several days early after meeting with community leaders.
• Durkan said Seattle's police chief, Carmen Best, thought ending the curfew was acceptable.
• Washington Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib was relieved to see the curfew end, saying it "escalated" the situation.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan ended the city's curfew several days early amid the country's uproar and protests after the killing of George Floyd, according to an NBC News report.

The curfew was initially put in place from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. this week until Saturday. But after speaking with community leaders and consulting with Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best, Durkan decided to end the curfew Wednesday.

"Chief Best believes we can balance public safety and ensure peaceful protests can continue without a curfew," Durkan tweeted. "For those peacefully demonstrating tonight, please know you can continue to demonstrate. We want you to continue making your voice heard."

Washington Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib commented on the decision reversal saying, "Preemptive curfews were only making things worse."

"The preemptive use of curfews has escalated this situation, endangered the public, and is almost certainly unconstitutional," he added.

Community leaders called for other criminal justice reforms in a meeting with Durkan, including a request to end the use of tear gas, flashbang devices, and blast balls. Durkan did not shift position on those issues but agreed to end the curfew.

Information and updates about the curfew were sent to residents' phones using Alert Seattle, according to a report by Westside Seattle.

Other cities including Los Angeles, Louisville, and Washington D.C. also lifted their recent curfews. But some, such as New York City, told residents to remain inside from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. through Sunday evening.