‘That memory haunts me.’ Man sues after Tacoma cop ran him over at street-racing event
A man run over by a Tacoma Police Department SUV during an illegal and chaotic street-racing event in 2021 is suing the city and officer behind the wheel, alleging negligence by both.
The lawsuit, filed by Anthony Huff-McKay in Pierce County Superior Court on Jan. 19, comes just under three years after an estimated 100 people were drawn to a downtown intersection where some vehicles spun in circles in close proximity to bystanders as part of a public street “takeover.”
Now-retired officer Khanh Phan, who was 58 at the time, arrived at Pacific Avenue and South 9th Street on Jan. 23, 2021. As he attempted to inch through a crowd, some pounded and kicked his vehicle and blocked his path forward, according to authorities and videos posted to social media.
Phan slowly reversed and then accelerated forward, striking six people, The News Tribune previously reported. Huff-McKay was run over.
The incident spurred a protest the next day as well as immediate calls to hold police accountable and address street racing in Tacoma.
Attorney Austin Neff, who is representing Huff-McKay in the lawsuit, said in an interview that Phan could and should have deescalated tensions by backing up or even by slowly continuing forward.
“There were many other things that officer Phan could have done” instead of accelerating forward, Neff said. “It’s about the fact that he didn’t make the right choice in this situation.”
Neff claimed that, although he didn’t believe Phan had malicious intent, his actions reflected a broader issue of inadequate training inside the Tacoma Police Department.
Huff-McKay, 24, who is facing criminal charges for his role in the incident, suffered several injuries, including broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung, according to the complaint.
“As the patrol car hit me, I was overwhelmed by a fear for my life,” he said in a statement sent to The News Tribune. “That memory haunts me continually, impacting my daily life.”
The lawsuit targeted the city of Tacoma for liability as Phan’s employer when the incident occurred.
City spokeswoman Maria Lee said Monday it appeared that the city had yet to be served with the lawsuit. The city declined to comment on the complaint because, by practice, it doesn’t publicly address pending litigation.
Phan couldn’t be reached at phone numbers that public records showed might belong to him.
Phan, who retired in January 2022 following a 30-plus-year career with TPD, was cleared of criminal wrongdoing by the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in July 2022. The office concluded that it wouldn’t charge him with any crimes.
In a letter to Tacoma Police Chief Avery Moore to explain the decision, Prosecuting Attorney Mary Robnett wrote that Phan “took a measured response to an unruly, aggressive, and dangerous mob.”
“To the extent moving his vehicle forward into an unruly mob of individuals who intentionally positioned themselves in front of his vehicle constitutes intentional use of force, it is justified under these circumstances,” she wrote.
Phan previously told investigators with the Pierce County Force Investigation Team that he had been paralyzed by fear after crowd members banged on his SUV’s hood, kicked the vehicle’s sides and screamed at him. When a bottle shattered against his window, he said, he was convinced it was a Molotov cocktail.
“At that moment I was certain that I was seconds away from dying at the hands of the angry crowd if I remained there any longer,” Phan wrote in a statement to investigators, who spent six months probing the incident before submitting their findings to prosecutors. “The mob clearly wanted to get at me and beat me, or set my car on fire with me inside.”
Huff-McKay was charged in July 2022 with two counts of unlawful imprisonment, two counts of second-degree malicious mischief and one count of obstructing a law enforcement officer in connection to the incident, court records show. That case remains ongoing.
He allegedly participated in the illegal street-racing meetup, attempting to touch the back bumpers of spinning and drifting cars as they sped by. He also allegedly shouted, “Block the cops,” and “Let’s go,” as Phan neared the intersection with his SUV’s lights, siren and air horn activated, according to a declaration for determination of probable cause.
“The spectator crowd responded and swarmed around (officer) Phan’s patrol car,” charging papers said. “Individuals in the crowd began beating on the windows and kicking the car, rocking the car and yelling profanities at the officer.”
Another officer — one of three at the scene including Phan — had his patrol unit’s rear-window shattered and reported that a crowd surrounded his vehicle, shouting threats such as “Get him,” “Pull him out,” “Drag him out,” and “Kill that cop,” according to charging papers.
Neff, who isn’t representing Huff-McKay in the criminal matter, said he’d leave it to his client’s defense attorney to handle those allegations. Neff said he didn’t believe the charges had merit, and he wasn’t going to speculate about the prosecution’s motivations.
He underscored that his client hadn’t banged on any patrol vehicle but instead had been roughly three rows in front of Phan’s SUV when Phan surged forward and struck him without apparent warning.
Neff said Phan was not justified in using deadly force against the unarmed teenagers and young people who had gathered at the event.
“That decision forever changed Mr. Huff-McKay’s life,” Neff said in a statement provided to The News Tribune prior to the interview.
The suit is seeking unspecified damages to be proven at trial, legal fees and any other relief deemed appropriate by the court.
