Could a Man Holding a Baby Pose a Threat to Police? When a White Seattle Cop Shot Shaun Fuhr in the Head It was Obvious He Didn't Have a Gun b/c he was Cradling His Infant Child in His Arms-Suit Filed
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From [HERE] The father of a 24-year-old Black man who was fatally shot by a white Seattle police officer while holding his infant daughter has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, alleging excessive force and racial discrimination.
The lawsuit, filed by Jason Fuhr, alleges Shaun Fuhr was obeying officers’ commands to stop running from police when Officer Noah Zech shot him in the head April 29, 2020, at a construction site near Rainier Playfield in Columbia City. Shaun Fuhr was holding his infant daughter at the time and the gun shot caused him to drop the child, according to police.
The infant wasn’t hurt, police said. Fuhr later died at Harborview Medical Center.
Zech, a member of the Seattle Police Department’s SWAT team and a 15-year department veteran, was among a large number of officers who had responded to a frantic 911 call from a woman who said she had been beaten by her boyfriend, who fired a shot at her and had taken their 1-year-old daughter, according to police. The woman reported her boyfriend, Fuhr, had assaulted her throughout the day, and police said she had significant injuries.
None of the officers witnessed Fuhr commit a crime.
Seattle is city run by white liberals.
According to the complaint,
FACTS: THE UNJUSTIFIED KILLING OF SHAUN FUHR
Shaun Fuhr was an African American father of an infant child when he was shot and killed by a Seattle Police Officer
10. There is a video of Shaun Fuhr being shot in the head by Defendant Seattle Police Officer, Noah Zech.
11. On April 29, 2020, Defendant Noah Zech was working as a Seattle Police Officer.
12. On April 29, 2020, Defendant Noah Zech and other police officers responded to an alleged domestic incident involving Shaun Fuhr and the mother of his child.
13. Shaun Fuhr was on foot behind a section of townhouses while cradling his infant child in both arms.
14. The officers came running through an alley way and around the corner of a townhouse building to find Shaun Fuhr standing there, holding his infant daughter with both hands.
15. The officers commanded Shaun Fuhr to stop.
16. Shaun Fuhr complied with Seattle Police Officer’s command to stop.
17. Immediately after complying with Seattle Officer’s command to stop, Shaun Fuhr was shot in the head by Noah Zech while holding his baby daughter in his arms.
18. Seattle Police Officer’s continued to yell commands to Shaun Fuhr to stop after he was shot in the head.
19. Immediately after being shot in the head, Shaun Fuhr’s baby daughter fell out of her father’s arms to the ground and started crying as she rolled down the slight hill Shaun was then standing on.
20. Noah Zech shot and killed Shaun Fuhr even though he was complying with the police commands.
21. At the time Shaun Fuhr was shot in the head, Shaun Fuhr was not running away and was standing with his baby girl in his arms..
22. At the time Shaun Fuhr was shot in the head, Shaun Fuhr was not charging at police.
23. At the time Shaun Fuhr was shot in the head by the defendant Seattle Police Officer, it was visibly clear that Mr. Fuhr did not have a gun in his hands.
24. At the time Shaun Fuhr was shot in the head by the defendant Seattle Police Officer, it was clear that Shaun Fuhr did not have any weapons in his hands.
25. At the time Shaun Fuhr was shot in the head by Defendant Noah Zech, Shaun Fuhr was not threatening, hitting, or assaulting anyone.
26. At the time Shaun Fuhr was shot in the head by Defendant Noah Zech, Shaun Fuhr was not threatening or hurting his child.
27. After complying with the Seattle Police Officers to stop, Shaun Fuhr stopped, and was then shot in the head.
28. Even after being shot, Seattle police officers were still giving commands to Shaun Fuhr to stop.
Zech was cleared of any wrongdoing following a review by the department’s Force Investigation Team, as well as an investigation by the Office of Police Accountability after the family and community groups complained.
“Shaun Fuhr was a young man who was dedicated to his family and had high expectations for his future,” the lawsuit says. “Shaun should be alive today.”
Police released a portion of the woman’s 911 call and officers’ body-worn camera video, which drew sharp criticism from members of the Black community and civil-liberties advocates, who questioned the need for deadly force while Fuhr was holding an infant and posed no threat to the approaching officers. Police don’t listen to or answer 911 calls so such information is not relevant to what the police knew at the time of the shooting. The video is blurred to protect the system of racism white supremacy, a white over Black system that most white people participate in.
Police on their public blotter displayed a semi-automatic handgun they said belonged to Fuhr and was found “nearby.” However, none of the cops saw Fuhr with a gun at the time of the shooting because he was holding his child with both hands - thus posing no threat.
Carolyn Riley-Payne, president of NAACP Seattle King County, issued a statement at the time decrying the fatal shooting as unnecessary.
“The officer who killed Mr. Fuhr shot at him while he was holding his little girl, and while he was running,” the statement said. “It is absolutely unacceptable that the officer demonstrated such utter disregard for the life and safety of the child.”
The lawsuit claims excessive force, negligence, outrage and wrongful death. It alleges Zech shot Fuhr “without investigation or de-escalation, by consciously disregarding the fact that Fuhr was clearly, visibly unarmed because he was holding his infant daughter, and Zech made these conscious choices because Shaun Fuhr is African American.”
The lawsuit notes that the SPD has been under a federal settlement agreement for more than a decade after the Department of Justice concluded in 2012 that officers routinely use excessive force and showed disturbing evidence of biased policing.
Department of Justice and Seattle officials last month asked a federal judge to find the SPD has complied with “core requirements” of the settlement agreement, calling on the judge to end most federal oversight of the agency.
“The city of Seattle implicitly, overtly condones and defends Seattle officers that shoot and kill unarmed people,” the lawsuit said, further claiming the city “has consistently failed to adequately train, supervise and discipline its officers who commit acts of excessive force.”
