Case: Zoe Adberg v. City of Seattle

This is a case about the use of excessive force against protesters during the 2020 Black Lives Matter/George Floyd protests. On September 25, 2020, protesters filed a complaint against the City of Seattle, the State of Washington, and King County in King County Superior Court, a general jurisdiction state trial court based in Seattle, Washington. The plaintiffs sought monetary damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs for wrongful death, personal injuries, and civil rights injuries under Washington state law and the City of Seattle’s municipal code. Plaintiffs also requested an order requiring defendants to expunge or seal plaintiffs’ arrest and charging records arising out of the protests. The group of private plaintiffs were represented by Stritmatter Kessler Koehler Moorse, a Seattle personal injury firm. 

The complaint alleged numerous instances of police negligence and excessive force that caused injuries to more than fifty protesters. First, plaintiffs alleged that the Seattle Police Department (“SPD”) and Washington State Patrol (“WSP”) failed to properly close down I-5, resulting in the wrongful death of a protester who was struck by a rogue vehicle. Plaintiffs also alleged that defendants—despite decades of law enforcement’s documented inability to use appropriate force to maintain order during peaceful protests—failed to monitor implicit bias within law enforcement ranks, and failed to properly train and supervise officers regarding use of force policies. Plaintiffs alleged that this failure led to SPD and WSP’s repeated use of tear gas, flash bang grenades, projectiles, and other less lethal physical force against peaceful BLM protesters, resulting in physical and emotional injuries to plaintiffs. Injuries included bruising, lacerations, fractured bones, burns, hearing loss, concussions, panic attacks, and post-traumatic stress disorder. 

A subset of plaintiffs alleged that they were wrongfully arrested for exercising their freedom of speech and assembly guaranteed by the Washington State Constitution. Plaintiffs also claimed that the county officials at the King County Jail violated state strip search laws and failed to exercise ordinary care of protesters in custody, resulting in physical injuries. 

The third amended complaint, filed on April 2, 2021, joined additional individual plaintiffs and added King County as a defendant. The amended complaint further sought an order permanently enjoining the City of Seattle and King County from using less lethal weapons and other physical force to control and suppress demonstrations in violation of state constitutional rights. Plaintiffs also sought to enjoin defendants from stifling messages of anti-racism and anti-police brutality and from unlawfully arresting and searching protesters absent a warrant or probable cause. 

At least one plaintiff’s claims against King County were severed and settled separately in 2022. 22-2-12922-1 SEA. The Clearinghouse was unable to access additional details regarding the settlement. Several other claims were dismissed throughout the course of the proceedings. King County Superior Court Judge Sandra Widlan ruled in favor of one of the protesters on a motion for partial summary judgment, finding that the city could not assert an assumption of risk defense where the protester was exercising her constitutional rights to speech and assembly. The court permitted the city to move forward with a contributory negligence defense.  

On January 17, 2024, the City moved for separate trials, arguing that it was unreasonable to expect the jury to be able to keep track of so many fact specific inquiries from over fifty plaintiffs. Alternatively, the City suggested that the court separate the trial into three phases all tried before the same jury, with each phase limited to plaintiffs grouped by incident dates.  

With trial set to begin in May 2024 and estimated to last three months, the City agreed to a $10 million settlement on Tuesday, January 23, 2024. In announcing the settlement, the Seattle City Attorney explained that a primary motivation for resolving the case was the time and financial burden of going to trial. The City admitted no fault. 

This case is closed. However, the Clearinghouse found that at least one individual plaintiff has a pending case against the State of Washington, which was severed from this case in May 2021. 21-2-07115-1 SEA. Most recently, the court scheduled a hearing on the defendant's motion for summary judgment in February 2024.