Father of man killed in Seattle’s CHOP sues the city for $3BILLION
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The father of a teenager shot dead in Seattle within a ‘autonomous’ protest zone that formed inside the city is seeking $3 billion in damages from the state and local government, accusing them of permitting ‘a state of lawlessness’.
Horace Lorenzo Anderson, 19, was shot and killed in the early hours of June 20 within the Capitol Hill protest zone known as CHOP, Capitol Hill Organized Protest.
Marcel Levon Long has been charged with his murder, but has not been arrested.
Long was allegedly seen on surveillance video approaching Anderson and pulling out a gun. He is then seen then chasing Anderson, who ran away, and appears to shoot him.
Ambulances were unable to reach Anderson as Seattle police said they could not clear the area. Anderson was brought to the hospital by volunteer medics.
Horace Lorenzo Anderson Jr was shot and killed inside Seattle’s ‘protest zone’ on June 20
Anderson, pictured as a baby with his father, could not be reached by ambulances
Horace Lorenzo Anderson Sr filed his case this week against three local authorities
His father, Horace Lorenzo Anderson Sr, filed a suit this week against the city of Seattle, King County and the state of Washington.
The claim states the three governments are to blame for creating a ‘hazardous, and lawless situation’ that resulted in Anderson’s killing.
‘This case warrants punitive or exemplary damages in order to punish the City of Seattle, County of King, the State of Washington and their agents for their outrageous conduct that allowed lawlessness to reign,’ said Evan M. Oshan, Anderson’s attorney, in a statement obtained by The Center Square.
‘Such failure to protect citizens must not be allowed to happen again.’
Marcel Long has been charged with Anderson’s murder and is being sought by police
The court documents state that Anderson ‘laid bleeding to death in the Seattle streets with no one to respond.’
‘With no assistance or rescue from Seattle first responders, Lorenzo died in agony from his wounds,’ they claim.
They accuse city officials of allowing ‘politically charged armed, anarchist protesters to infiltrate, takeover, and govern a part of downtown Seattle.’
They say the local and regional authorities ‘did not intervene and stop this state of lawlessness.’
Anderson’s father told The New York Post: ‘Everyone was walking around with guns. It’s like the wild wild west.’
The CHOP sprung up in early June, and was eventually cleared out on July 1
Construction crews were pictured on July 1 cleaning up the mess from the area
He said he was shocked the authorities had ceded control of the area.
‘You figure the police come in and they shut it down and clean up the area.
‘I never knew that people could come in and take over a whole city. That means there is no safety. The police aren’t doing their job.’
He said he would not ‘be quiet’ about the loss of his son, who was born extremely premature and had life-long learning difficulties.
He had celebrated completing his high school diploma – something his family said was a huge achievement – shortly before he was shot.
‘Every morning I wake up and I miss him and I’m crying,’he told the paper.
‘Just today I’m just driving down the street crying thinking about it going to the dentist.’
Shortly after his son’s murder, he told Fox News that he had been left in the dark about the circumstances.
‘They need to come talk to me and somebody needs to come tell me something, because I still don’t know nothing,’ he told Sean Hannity on July 1.
‘Somebody needs to come to my house, and knock on my door and tell me something. I don’t know nothing. All I know is my son got killed up there.’
Anderson’s mother, Donnitta Sinclair Martin, filed a wrongful death suit against the city of Seattle on July 20.
The city has 60 days to respond to the claim before a federal lawsuit can be filed.
A second teenager, Summer Taylor, 16, was shot and killed inside the CHOP on June 29.
On July 1 the protest site was cleared by police.
A spokesperson with the King County Office of Risk Management Services declined to comment on this week’s filing, since claim is ‘currently under review’.
The governor’s office has not responded to requests for comment.
Melissa Mixon, from Seattle’s Department of Finance and Administrative Services, told the Post that the city was ‘not able to comment on pending claims or litigation.’
‘Our primary goal with any claim is to be thorough and fair with how we review and adjust the claim.’
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