Posted on 12/18/2025 3:14:15 AM PST by Morgana
An emergency medical services (EMS) expert testified Tuesday in the ongoing wrongful death lawsuit Mays v. City of Seattle, saying that Seattle Fire Department (SFD) medics failed to follow protocol and "abandoned their position as paramedics" during the response to the 2020 shooting of 16-year-old Antonio Mays Jr. in the deadly Capitol Hill Occupied Protest, also known as "CHAZ" or "CHOP." This follows last week's testimony from Seattle Police Detective Alan Cruise, stating that officers were prohibited from entering the zone after the shooting under directives given by the City.
Robyn McKinley, a veteran EMS professional who conducted an independent investigation into Seattle Fire's response, told the Court that medics from Medic One fled a designated casualty collection area outside the zone when protesters arrived with the wounded teenager in a vehicle. McKinley described how dispatchers instructed CHAZ/CHOP protesters to transport Mays, shot by armed individuals acting as "security" within the zone, to a rendezvous point at 14th and Union streets. Dispatch provided details about the incoming vehicle, including its make, model, color, flashing lights, and confirmation that the occupants were unarmed.
Despite this information, medics reportedly believed someone in the vehicle was in possession of a firearm and drove away without making contact with the patient. McKinley testified that Mays was still alive and breathing at that moment, with a detectable pulse. Scrambling to save the teen's life, protesters stumbled upon a separate Seattle Fire engine and transferred Mays for treatment. By that time, it was too late to save him.
"The system failed this young man," McKinley said, noting that a system error had mislabeled the casualty area as a "scene of violence," complicating the response. She added, "With this particular incident, the ball was dropped," and emphasized that she had never seen EMTs "abandon in that fashion" during her career.
Seattle Fire Captain Josh Pearson, a supervisor at the time, defended his team's decision to depart the "chaotic" scene. He said that the car transporting Mays was moving "recklessly" toward Medic One, and that medics assumed, incorrectly, that a man riding on top of the vehicle was brandishing a gun.
Due to the documented violence surrounding the autonomous zone, McKinley testified that she did, in fact, believe the medics had a "perceived fear" at the time the vehicle encountered them. However, the expert told the Court that the medics failed to contact dispatch to notify them that they were "abandoning" the patient, a violation of standard operating guidelines (SOG) of scenes of violence response. Additionally, McKinley said that emergency responders did not report their alleged observation of a firearm, nor did they request police assistance. It has since been determined that the subject did not have a firearm on his body.
McKinley's testimony follows last week's revelation from Seattle Police Department (SPD) homicide detective Alan Cruise, who stated he received direct orders from Assistant Chief Thomas—originating from city officials—not to enter the CHAZ/CHOP zone after the shooting. The prohibition lasted nearly five hours, preventing police from securing the crime scene and resulting in protesters and/or potential suspects tampering with the evidence. His testimony bolstered the plaintiffs' argument that the city's abandonment of the Seattle Police East Precinct and prohibition on officers entering the zone created a "state-created danger," delaying critical medical care and police investigation—leading to Antonio's death and rendering the city liable for negligence.
The fatal shooting occurred around 3 am on June 29, 2020, when protesters operating as "CHAZ/CHOP security" unleashed a barrage of gunfire on Mays and his 14-year-old friend, Robert West, while they were driving a vehicle through the zone. The Antifa-BLM autonomous zone was established following the death of George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis police custody. Anti-police activists occupied a six-block radius in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, leading city officials to abandon the SPD east precinct and implement policies restricting police and emergency responder entry without special approval.
Mays, a black teenager from California, endured more than 25 minutes of "agonizing pain" before succumbing to his injuries, said Attorney Evan Oshan, representing the Mays family. No arrests have been made in the killing. Courtroom audio played for the jury captured frantic protesters seeking aid after Medic One departed, which included the sound of Mays' labored breathing in his final moments. The trial continues, with the city defending its handling of the unprecedented protest zone.
It is not unusual for EMT people to have been attacked during their work, and they do not go into areas where rioters are present without heavily armed security. Even then, they do not go into areas with active armed conflict.
There is no reason to expect that they should.
Not such a very “autonomous zone” when someone else has to provide medical services...
Allow a War Zone, get a War Zone!
“The system failed this young man,” , no the system failed all around. The government allowed this insurrection and chose to not stop it.
My guess is they will throw the case or settle it because it is someone else’s money because the government has no obligation to protect any individual.
Anything to cost Seattle on this is a good thing. They allowed, encouraged CHOP. They deserve any fallout from that political decision.
CHOP was not part of the city, state, or country.
They aren’t suing the Medics, they are suing the City.
I hope Seattle goes bankrupt over this.
protesters operating as “CHAZ/CHOP security” unleashed a barrage of gunfire on Mays and his 14-year-old friend, Robert West
= = =
Maybe these protesters were to blame for Mays’ death? Hmmmm?
I am not so happy with that prospect.
I detest the ghetto lottery players and their lawyers much more than the municipal government in Seattle. And I really do not want to set the EMT people directed to work under new rules of engagement where they are subjected to hostile fire.
They just fishing for money.
The Emergency personal (who by the way do not ware bullet proof vests) are in no way required to step up and get shot.
If there were no police to secure the area then they were more then justified in leaving.
Five of six black on black on blacks wearing black hoodies jumping out of a car screeching to a stop in front of the EMT’s.
Hell yeah I would have NOPED out too.
It is clear to me by this video/audio, that there were bullet casings all over the ground. If that is not proof of the danger the cops and Fire/rescue personnel were about to enter, what is?
https://x.com/KatieDaviscourt/status/1999283964109029836
100%
Without a doubt. The EMT’s have as their first duty, to go home to family.
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