The family of a 19-year-old man fatally shot during a violence-reduction mentorship program meeting has filed a lawsuit alleging the nonprofit Community Passageways was negligent in his death and failed to provide adequate security.
Omari Wallace had been placed in Community Passageways as a court-ordered alternative to incarceration on pending felony robbery charges. He was attending a March 2021 orientation held at the Emerald City Bible Fellowship when a rival who wasn’t part of the program entered the gathering and shot him several times.
That man, 22-year-old Isaiah Thomas Hinds, was later shot and killed by King County sheriff’s deputies while they were trying to arrest him on a homicide warrant.
According to court documents and news reports, there were nearly 40 people in attendance when Hinds entered the Rainier Valley church and shot Wallace. The lawsuit alleges Community Passageways “failed to take reasonable measures to ensure that the participants … were safe from harm.” It also names the church and Urban Impact, another Washington nonprofit, as defendants.
The action claims that after the shooting, Community Passageways staff and members refused to cooperate with investigators, forcing then-King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg to empanel a rare special inquiry to obtain documents, interviews and other information police say they needed for the investigation.
“Both law enforcement and the community at large were bewildered how staff from the Community Passageways, a violence-prevention program which receives millions of dollars in public funding, could watch a murder committed before their eyes and not assist law enforcement,” the lawsuit states.
The nonprofit, whose government filings show gross receipts of nearly $14 million a year, states its purpose as creating “alternatives to incarceration for youth and young adults by rebuilding our communities through committed relationships centered on love, compassion, and consistency.”
The organization’s attorneys argued that cooperating with law enforcement could undermine credibility with its clients, writing to the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office that “developing a reputation as an investigatory pipeline for law enforcement — despite being inaccurate — would put an end to Community Passageways’ life-changing and wide-ranging work in the community.”
The organization didn’t respond to a message seeking comment on the lawsuit, which names as plaintiffs an attorney representing Wallace’s estate, his parents and son, as well as the child’s guardian, Kailani Madrigal.
The lawsuit alleges Community Passageways and the other defendants had entered into an agreement to provide security at the group’s orientations and other meetings. It says Hinds wasn’t enrolled but was able to enter the building with a handgun and make his way to a second-floor room where the orientation was taking place.
The lawsuit alleges the group is liable for Wallace’s wrongful death and makes common-law claims of negligence, infliction of emotional distress, outrage, conducting an abnormally dangerous activity and loss of consortium.
