Case filed by mother of man shot during protests dismissed

SEATTLE — A federal judge has dismissed a civil-rights lawsuit filed by the mother of a 19-year-old Seattle man fatally shot during last year’s Capitol Hill Organized Protest.

U.S. District Judge John Coughenour said Donnitta Sinclair, mother of Horace Anderson, could not show that the decision by city officials to vacate the precinct during unrest after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police created circumstances that led to Anderson’s shooting, the Seattle Times reported.

Coughenour cited law that states “members of the public have no constitutional right to sue (city officials) who fail to protect them against harm inflicted by a third party,” unless they can prove action by the city created a danger would not have otherwise existed.

Sinclair’s lawsuit alleged the city’s decision to abandon the precinct and surrounding area, invited “lawlessness and … a foreseeable danger” that led to Anderson’s death.

The city said it could not have foreseen that Anderson would run into a rival, Marcel Long, on Capitol Hill early on June 20, 2020. Long was arrested in July and faces murder charges.

Sinclair’s lawyer, Mark Lindquist, said he expects to appeal.

Dan Nolte, a spokesman for the Seattle City Attorney’s Office, declined to comment because Anderson’s father and estate have filed similar claims that remain pending.