An outraged father is suing the city of Seattle after his 16-year-old son was fatally shot in the Capitol Hill Organized Protest zone, or ‘CHOP,’ in May 2020.
Antonio Mays, Sr. claimed that, while Seattle was not the only city faced with destructive protests following the death of George Floyd, the city distinctively did not send resources to quell the mayhem, resulting in the murder of his son, Antonio Mays, Jr., he told Fox News on Thursday. (RELATED: 3 People Shot At ‘Celebrity’ Pool Party In Swanky Hotel Mansion)
Father sues Seattle over son’s 2020 death inside ‘CHOP’ protest zone: It was not a ‘summer of love’ https://t.co/6qFu7enNRq
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“There were several protests. There were several police precincts being bombarded. And everywhere else where they had mayhem and destruction taking place, they were taking steps to get ahold of it,” he told “America’s Newsroom” host Sandra Smith. “This one city is the only city that didn’t do that.”
Former President Donald Trump offered to send in the National Guard, but the protection was denied, Mays’ attorney, Evan Oshan, said on the show. Oshan also alleged city officials allowed a “warlord” to create a loosely held police force.
“There were assault rifles actually being handed out to this make-shift police force,” he told Fox News. “I call them CHOP cops.”
This is not the first time Seattle has been sued over failing to protect its citizens in CHOP, previously called the Capital Hill Autonomy Zone (CHAZ). Horace Anderson, also represented by Oshan, filed a $3 billion lawsuit after his 19-year-old son, Horace Lorenzo Anderson, was fatally shot. The lawsuit ended in a $500k settlement, according to the Seattle Times.
“The way that they were pitching it was ‘The Summer of Love’ … It clearly was not,” Mays, Sr. said.