“What bothers me most about the City of Seattle is the failure to accept responsibility,” said attorney Evan Oshan, representing the Mays Estate.
A King County jury has found the City of Seattle negligent and liable for the 2020 death of 16-year-old Antonio Mays Jr., who was fatally shot in the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), also known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP). The verdict, delivered three-plus weeks after a month-long trial at the King County Courthouse presided over by Judge O'Donnell, stems from a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the Mays Estate accusing the city of negligence in its handling of the zone, which protesters occupied for three weeks amid nationwide unrest following George Floyd's death.
The jury's ruling holds the city accountable for creating a "state-created danger" by abandoning the Seattle Police East Precinct, installing barricades that fortified the zone, and prohibiting police and emergency responders from entering the area, which plaintiffs argued enabled unchecked violence and delayed life-saving aid to Mays Jr. Jurors were required to determine whether the City was negligent in its response to the incident, and if so, whether such negligence contributed to Mays' death.
The 12-person jury awarded the family roughly $30 million in damages. Jurors found the City "negligent" and that its negligence was a "proximate cause of the death of Antonio Mays Jr."
In closing arguments, attorney Evan Oshan, representing the Mays family, slammed the City of Seattle for refusing to take responsibility for its role in aiding the creation of the autonomous zone. He urged jurors to find the city liable to ensure deterrence, and said the city's action at trial was "offensive," citing opposing counsel's outlandish attempts at painting Mays Jr. as a violent criminal without any sufficient evidence presented at trial. "What bothers me most about this and the City of Seattle is the failure to accept responsibility," said Oshan.
The lawsuit and autonomous zone
CHAZ was established in June 2020, when Black Lives Matter and Antifa activists took control of a six-block radius in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood and declared it an autonomous zone free of police presence. City officials, including then-Democrat Mayor Jenny Durkan, ordered police to abandon the East Precinct and began installing concrete barricades for demonstrators, effectively ceding control to anarchists. While city officials promoted the event as a peaceful "summer of love" festival campaigning for racial justice, it swiftly devolved into anarchy, with numerous homicides and armed militant protesters manning the barricades.
Antonio Mays Jr., a black teenager from California with no criminal record, traveled to Seattle, inspired by city officials' depictions of the zone as a place for positive change. On June 29, 2020, around 3 am, Mays Jr. and his 14-year-old friend Robert West were in a stolen Jeep Cherokee when they were ambushed by self-appointed "CHOP security" forces, who fired approximately 100 rounds at them due to their false belief that the black teens were "white supremacists" infiltrating the zone. Mays Jr. sustained at least eight gunshot wounds to the head, jaw, chest, and extremities, while West survived a gunshot wound to the head but has been left permanently disabled. Additionally, the City attempted to argue that Mays Jr. had been committing a felony at the time he was killed because he had been riding in a stolen Jeep at the time, but Judge O'Donnell ruled that this could not be argued, citing insufficient evidence.
Protesters attempted to transport Mays Jr. out of the zone for medical help, but city-installed barricades impeded their path, and Seattle Fire Department medics fled a "designated casualty zone," citing safety concerns. Mays Jr. endured over 25 minutes of agony before receiving professional care due to delayed intervention, ultimately dying from an obstructed airway rather than the wounds themselves, according to medical expert testimony. The killing remains unsolved, with no charges filed in over five years.
The Mays family filed the wrongful death suit in 2023, seeking answers and compensation after police updates ceased. Attorney Evan Oshan, representing the estate, argued that the city's policies directly contributed to the teen's "preventable death," stating in opening arguments that "the City of Seattle abandoned Antonio Mays Jr." The City defended itself by claiming immunity from the potential possibility that Mays Jr. was committing a felony at the time he was killed, alleging he may have stolen the Jeep. However, police reports revealed that he was never listed as a suspect and a witness testified that the Jeep was a "pass-around" car used by CHAZ security.
Testimonies that shaped the verdict
The trial featured compelling testimonies highlighting failures in the city's emergency response and oversight of the zone. Seattle Police Detective Alan Cruise testified that he received explicit orders from former SPD Assistant Chief Thomas Mahaffey—relayed from city officials—not to enter the zone for nearly five hours after the shooting, despite confirmation of the incident. This order allowed protesters to tamper with the crime scene, including collecting shell casings, hampering the investigation.
Medical expert Santa Bartholomew testified that Mays Jr. would likely have survived his injuries if medical aid had been provided sooner. The expert emphasized that the fatal event was airway obstruction, not the brain injury, and that prompt intervention to clear his airway could have preserved his life. Delays were blamed on city barricades obstructing transport and medics fleeing the city-created "designated casualty zone" when Mays Jr. arrived via vehicle driven by protesters, leaving the teen without care for over 25 minutes despite him initially having a pulse and breathing.
Bartholomew's testimony was backed by two additional medical experts who told the Court that Mays Jr. would have likely survived if he had received treatment in a timely fashion.
EMS expert Robyn McKinley described the Seattle Fire Department's response as a "system failure" where medics "abandoned" their duty. Upon protesters arriving at the designated casualty point with Mays Jr.—who was alive and unarmed—medics drove away without contact, assuming a firearm threat, though none was found. This violated guidelines, as they failed to notify dispatch, request police backup, or treat the patient, worsening the delay, she said.
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Former CHOP leader Rashyla Levitt, a prominent figure in the occupation, revealed that she participated in secret off-site meetings with city officials, including Mayor Durkan, Police Chief Carmen Best, and Fire Chief Harold Scoggins, days after the zone's first homicide. Discussions centered on establishing casualty collection points outside the zone for emergency treatment without entry. Levitt called 911 after the shooting and was directed to transport Mays Jr. to one such point, but medics fled upon arrival due to perceived dangers and dispatch errors, labeling the area a "scene of violence."
Antonio Mays Sr., the victim's father, broke down in tears, describing ongoing nightmares, sleepless nights, and having to live a "double lifestyle" to protect his other children from his grief. As a single father, he shared a deep bond with his son, who, from age 7, was his sole partner in their BBQ sauce business, Scratch, which moved them out of homelessness. They built it together to give Antonio Jr. a head start. He recounted discovering a note from his son announcing his departure for Seattle, where Antonio Jr. expressed pride and desire to advocate for justice at a protest he believed was a peaceful "summer of love" festival, only for him to be caught in the violence.
The verdict comes amid a string of settlements related to CHAZ, including payouts to businesses and residents affected by the occupation. The City has not yet commented on the ruling.
