SEATTLE ON TRIAL: Mayor, police chief had secret meetings with CHAZ ‘leader’ days before black teen Antonio Mays Jr shot to death

Rashyla Levitt, identified as a key "leader" in the CHAZ/CHOP occupation, took the stand on Tuesday to describe off-site meetings with city leaders, including former Democrat Mayor Jenny Durkan, retired Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best, and Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins. These discussions, held days after the zone's first homicide, aimed to set up safe areas two blocks outside the autonomous zone where emergency responders could provide medical aid to protesters without entering the zone.

Levitt recounted calling 911 after Mays was shot on June 29, 2020, and being instructed by dispatch to transport the critically wounded teen to a designated casualty area at 14th and Union streets. However, upon arrival, Seattle Fire medics fled the scene, leaving Mays, who sustained gunshot wounds to the head, jaw, chest, and extremities, without immediate care.

Furthermore, Levitt testified that navigating the city's installed barricades made transporting Mays challenging, as vehicles could not easily enter or exit the zone. She described running into another group of emergency responders staged at a separate zone, where she had to plead for help, but by then, it was too late. Mays had stopped breathing shortly after being placed in the care of medics, a feat that took more than 25 minutes.

The testimony aligns with expert testimony previously presented in the trial. EMS professional Robyn McKinley, who conducted an independent review of the Seattle Fire Department's response, accused medics of "abandoning" their duties by fleeing the zone once Mays arrived, citing "perceived danger." A system error had mislabeled the casualty area as a "scene of violence," contributing to the confusion. McKinley emphasized that this breach of protocol was unprecedented: "Since I've been an EMT, I've never seen anybody abandoned in that fashion." She concluded, "The system failed this young man."

A medical expert reinforced this, testifying that Mays would likely have survived his gunshot wounds—sustained to the head, jaw, chest, and extremities—if not for the delays caused by barricades and medics' departure. The expert clarified that Mays did not die from a brain injury but from obstructed airways, describing his death as "catastrophically painful" after over 25 minutes without aid. Mays had a pulse and was breathing when protesters first reached the casualty zone.

Seattle Police Homicide Detective Alan Cruise added that officers were explicitly ordered not to enter CHAZ/CHOP after the shooting, with directives coming from Assistant Chief Thomas Mahaffey on behalf of city officials. Officers were not allowed to enter the zone until five hours later, allowing protesters to tamper with evidence, such as collecting shell casings. Fire Captain Josh Pearson explained that medics fled due to the vehicle's "reckless" approach and received threats, exacerbated by the lack of police escort.

The lawsuit stems from the chaotic events of the 2020 "Summer of Love," as dubbed by then-Mayor Durkan, following nationwide protests over George Floyd's death. On June 8, 2020, Seattle Police abandoned their East Precinct amid escalating riots, allowing Antifa and Black Lives Matter activists to seize a six-block area in Capitol Hill, renaming it CHAZ (later CHOP). The city not only tolerated the occupation but actively supported it by providing concrete barricades, portable toilets, and other resources, ceding control.

Over 24 days, the zone descended into violence, with multiple shootings, including the fatal attack on Mays and his 14-year-old friend, Robert West, who survived a gunshot wound to the head. Around 3 am on June 29, armed "CHOP security" fired dozens of rounds at their vehicle, which the city said was stolen.

The family of Antonio Mays Jr., a black teen from California, filed the wrongful death suit in 2021, alleging the city's policies—such as prohibiting police and medics from entering and installing barricades—created an environment of lawlessness that led to his preventable death. No arrests have been made in the shooting, and the zone was cleared two days later due to the mounting fatalities.

Attorney Evan Oshan, representing the Mays family, argues that these decisions violated emergency protocols and constituted negligence. The trial could hold the city liable for millions if the jury finds it created the dangers that killed Mays. City officials argue that the unknown shooters bear sole responsibility for Mays' death.