SEATTLE — The City of Seattle is settling a lawsuit filed by Capitol Hill businesses more than two years after the businesses claimed the city was complicit in allowing property damage during the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest.
The Seattle City Attorney's Office filed a notice of settlement on Wednesday. The notice did not give any details on the settlement but gave both parties until March 10 to finalize the settlement agreement.
The city and the plaintiffs' attorney told KING 5 they wouldn't be providing additional comment until after the formal settlement agreement is finalized.
More than a dozen businesses, property owners and residents sued the city of Seattle in June 2020 for damages. The lawsuit said the city's policies "effectively authorized the actions of the CHOP participants."
The businesses in the suit said they wanted to hold the city accountable for its part in allowing violence, including deadly shootings, assaults, noise pollution, and property damage.
The protests and creation of CHOP followed the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
In October, an Office of Inspector General report identified critical errors by the city and Seattle Police Department leading up to and during CHOP. The report found some of their decisions "eroded public trust" and led to "poor policing outcomes."
The city has faced several other lawsuits related to CHOP, including from the family of Horace Lorenzo Anderson, who was shot and killed in the protest zone.
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