Protesters file lawsuit, alleging Seattle, state didn't act to protect them
https://komonews.com/news/local/protesters-file-lawsuit-alleging-seattle-state-officials-didnt-act-to-protect-them
SEATTLE — At least 10 protesters on Friday filed a civil lawsuit in King County, accusing Seattle and Washington state officials from failing to provide adequate protection for them from out of control drivers or out of control police officers while they were demonstrating.
Speaking under overcast skies at Jimi Hendrix Park and echoing the allegations contained in the civil lawsuit, several dozen people announced the lawsuit while going into detail how they were targeted by Seattle police during the protests that flared in the city last summer following the death of George Floyd by four Minneapolis police officers
The 100-page lawsuit includes the family of Summer Taylor, who was killed in the overnight hours of July 4 while protesting police brutality on a closed stretch of Interstate 5 when a white Jaguar sped around parked cars on the freeway, strike Taylor and another protester.
According to the filing, Daniel Gregory, who was hurt during a June protest in Capitol Hill, is also a plaintiff in the court action.
"City and State governmental entities operating in Seattle are not above the law," the plaintiffs state in the lawsuit. "Their solemn duties include protecting and serving The People. Even when The People are critical of or peacefully disobedient towards those in power or who have law enforcement authority over them, governments are not allowed to react out of irritation or anger. Governments are not allowed to indiscriminately lash out against The People invoking their Constitutional rights to assemble and protest, even if in disharmony with other laws. Governments are not allowed to create or contribute to situations imperiling The People protesting."