Judge Tosses Lawsuit From Family Of Man Killed In Seattle Autonomous Zone

Seattle, WA – A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit by the mother of a 19-year-old special needs man who was killed in the cop-free autonomous zone known as the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP).

The lawsuit claimed that the city had created a dangerous situation by allowing the autonomous zone to exist, and that first responders had failed to help Horace Lorenzo Anderson after he was shot, KOMO reported.

The incident occurred in the area of 10th Avenue and East Pine Street at around 2:30 a.m. on June 20, 2020, according to Seattle Police Department.

East Precinct officers responded to a report of shots fired at Cal Anderson Park.

Once officers arrived, they were met by a “violent” mob who prevented officers from accessing the victims, according to police.

The officers later learned that the shooting victims have been transported to the hospital by CHOP community “medics.”

There are no qualifications required to declare yourself a medic in the CHOP.

When police arrived at Harborview Medical Center, they discovered a 19-year-old male shooting victim was deceased, according to police.

A second male shooting victim was in critical condition.

The suspect or suspects escaped after the shooting.

Police said that the time that there was no description of the shooter(s) and people in the CHOP were not cooperating with authorities.

Raz Simone, who has stood out as a leader in the CHOP, posted a video to Facebook after the incident that falsely characterized what happened when police and medics tried to respond to the scene to help Anderson.

“Medics refused to help even after my people in the CHOP begged. They let a man bleed out for 30 minutes till he died. [F–k] politics. [F–k] your corrupt system,” Simone captioned with the video.

But Simone made his video as officers were actively being blocked by the people in the CHOP.

The Seattle Fire Department said that medics and officers arrived to enter the CHOP within eight minutes, but medics were prevented from responding due to the hostile mob.

“Early this morning, that violence was raw and real where one of our community members lost their life and police are still not allowed into that area and were prevented to providing that police service to the area to locate victors and/or render aid. [It’s] very troubling what’s going on,” Seattle Police Officers Guild Michael Solan told FOX News at the time.

“It can’t stand in America, and this is a direct result of city leadership, elected officials failing the reasonable community of Seattle to enforce the rule of law. And, this just isn’t the area occupied in a six-block zone where police are still forbidden and still don’t have their East precinct. This is now impacting our entire city,” Solan said.

Anderson’s mother, Donnitta Sinclair, claimed in her lawsuit that the cop-free autonomous zone “invited lawlessness and created foreseeable danger,” KING reported.

Sinclair’s complaint alleged police and firefighters “failed to assist because of botched communication” and claimed the city violated her son’s 14th Amendment rights and was negligent.

On Nov. 1, U.S. District Judge John Coughenour ruled Anderson’s family hadn’t proved that the city had done anything to lead to his death, KING reported.

Coughenour said none of the first responders’ actions were specific to Anderson, nor did they show “deliberate indifference” for his welfare.

Sinclair’s attorney said she planned to appeal the judge’s ruling, KING reported.

“First, I’m confident we will prevail on appeal because this decision undermines government accountability and public safety,” Mark Lindquist, an attorney with the Herrmann Law Group, said. “Secondly, Donnitta [Sinclair] still has state claims in addition to this federal claim. We will continue to pursue justice and accountability. Today’s decision was a small skirmish in a bigger battle.”