SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
Father of 16-year-old killed at CHOP sues Seattle: ‘There needs to be accountability’
Jul 22, 2022, 11:17 AM
City crews dismantle the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) area outside of the Seattle Police Department's vacated East Precinct (Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
The city of Seattle was notified earlier this week the family of a 16-year-old — shot and killed during the CHOP protest in June 2020 — is opening up a lawsuit.
Antonio Mays Jr. died after being shot in the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP).
“This is just another lawsuit in a series and another reminder of what a colossal screw-up CHOP was for the city,” Mark Lindquist, former district attorney and attorney of record in a previous CHOP lawsuit, told The Dori Monson Show on Thursday.
“It’s kind of staggering that not even one person, at least that we know of yet, stood up and said, ‘We have to put an end to this. We can’t allow this no-cop zone, violence is foreseeable.’”
Evan Oshan, attorney for Antonio Mays Sr., Mays Jr.’s father, is claiming the city neglected to give emergency services to protesters in CHOP.
“He was here to participate in something bigger than him. Something that was going to change things to make the world a better place. And he was greeted by this insane situation up on Capitol Hill,” Oshan said.
Mays’ father said his son called it “the summer of love.”
The city remains legally vulnerable, Lindquist said, on two points — creating a dangerous situation and negligence in delivering medical services.
“There needs to be accountability for what the city allowed here. People were injured, people even died,” Lindquist expressed.
More lawsuits have emerged against the city of Seattle, including from business owners and families of people who were injured during CHOP.
Listen to the Dori Monson Show weekday afternoons from noon – 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.
