‘This is the last resort’: New lawsuits filed over City of Seattle’s handling of 2020 CHOP protest zone
In 2020, CHOP, a protest zone, took over part of Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. A new lawsuit claiming lawlessness ensued.
SEATTLE — Three years ago, CHOP, a protest zone, occupied part of Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. A new lawsuit claiming lawlessness ensued.
CHOP began on June 8, 2020, and the area was not cleared until almost a month later, on July 1. During that time, two teenagers were killed.
Antonio Mays Junior was just 16 years old when he was shot to death.
“My son lost his life here. I lost my son,” said Antonio Mays Senior of California.
It happened on June 29, 2020. His son was at CHOP, Capitol Hill’s Organized Protest Area. Nine days ago, 19-year-old Lorenzo Anderson Jr. was shot dead in the same area.
“I waited patiently for two years to try to give them a chance to do their job, run their investigation,” Mays Sr. “I feel pretty confident that they’ll be able to get some information with all the photos and videos I’ve seen.”
Police have released video from the night of the shooting. Nearly three years later, there have been no arrests.
“They stopped taking my calls. They didn’t call me back,” Mays Jr. speak.
“This is basically a last resort, the reason we’re taking legal action is because basically, from what we can see, there’s been no investigation,” said attorney Evan Oshan. of the police about the murder of young Antonio Mays Junior.
Oshan filed complaints with the state, King County and the city of Seattle.
“The city needs to step up and they need to start taking responsibility,” said Oshan.
That’s what a business on Capitol Hill wants, too. Molly Moon’s, an ice cream parlor, filed a complaint in federal court this week saying other legal and constitutional rights “were overridden by the decision to waive and close entire neighborhoods of City.” Seattle Street.”
The charges allege that the area was left unchecked by police and that fire and emergency medical services were not being monitored.
That affected Mays Jr., according to Oshan.
“After he was shot, Seattle paramedics went the other way,” Oshan said. They didn’t try to help him.
“I need court dates with these people,” Mays Sr. speak.
A spokesperson for the City of Seattle Attorneys said they could not comment on complaints filed this week.
