Through the Static

By Hannah Saunders

TtS has identified the Black man who Seattle Police shot dead in the street on December 2 as 29-year-old Christian Hadley Nelson. The King County Medical Examiners Office is also expected to release his identity in the near future.

Nelson’s wife of ten years (who he has been undergoing divorce proceedings with), Anna, and a friend have come forward, and TtS worked to cross reference information, including public records. Anna, who is Nelson’s next-of-kin, was the first to be contacted by officers, she told TtS. Nelson lived in Georgia before coming to Seattle about a year ago, and it’s where his mother and support system is located. Nelson is a father of a 9-year-old son who lives in Georgia.

In broad daylight on a Tuesday, SPD responded to a 911 call from a concerned community member who reported a topless man brandishing a firearm, according to Seattle Police chief Shon Barnes. He said officers tried to “talk” with the victim, who advanced.

At a rally outside of the Othello Light Rail Station on December 3, where Nelson’s blood was stained on the sidewalk, eyewitnesses and community members took to the microphone and reported police had fired dozens of rounds of bullets. One stated that officers shot the victim numerous times, and after he fell to the ground, police shot him again. They expressed the atrocities of how law enforcement left him lying on the cold wet pavement for 12 hours.

Nelson liked submarines, airplanes, had a passion for fashion, and had recently developed an interest in music. His friend and ex both think Nelson was experiencing a mental health crisis, they said.

“He loved hard and went hard for his family and his friends and anyone he even remotely cared about, and he would always support you and help however he could,” Anna told TtS.

In 2021, Nelson’s younger brother was killed by gun violence. Anna said in the past four to five years, Nelson exhibited “extreme depression” and would not seek or accept help, but would constantly pray as a devout Christian. Anna said he began drinking heavily in 2017, two years into their marriage.

“I think this is a massive mental health issue and I didn’t know how to get him the help. He wouldn’t accept the help from friends, family, anybody. I have seen him go into psychosis multiple times and I fear that this may have been one of those instances where he was under the influence of some sort. It doesn’t justify what the police did,” Anna said. “It’s shocking, but sadly, I’m not surprised by this at all. I always knew that one day I would get the call that something like this happened.”

Anna said Nelson was a Donald Trump supporter and had a small gun collection he was eager to show off at house parties, including about three handguns, three AR-15s, and a mini-AR, most of which are located in his apartment in Seattle. She said Nelson missed his son and was asking for them to come out to Seattle.

“He didn’t deserve to die this way by any means,” Anna said. “I have heard him say on a million occasions that if he’s going out, it’s going to be suicide by cop. One of the most recent times was in 2022 or 2023. He bought a BMW M3…he was over at a friend’s house we were planning to go out, I told him not to drive he drove anyway.”

Anna said Nelson caused a car accident and after he allegedly said if he had his gun on him he would pull it out and die by cop because he was unable to handle the situation that had just occurred.

“He’s not a violent person by nature, but when he is drinking, on drugs, whatever the case may be, you don’t know what you’re going to get. You don’t know if it’s going to be happy Christian or scary Christian. That was one of the main reasons I decided to leave. I didn’t feel like he was leading the family down a safe path,” Anna said, reiterating that he was not a bad person.

Anna believes SPD did not handle the situation appropriately, and that Nelson likely reached a breaking point and “went out in the way he wanted to go out,” she said.

“It’s unfortunate beyond belief but I just hope this can continue to shine the light on how much we truly need to look at mental health, especially in men,” Anna said.

Anna will have to fly out to Seattle and is requesting police body camera footage from SPD.

“He loved very hard and he did not deserve this in the slightest,” Anna said. “He just needed some guidance and some help ultimately.”

The community and rally organizers demand that officials release his name and the names of the killer cops – and to fire them.

Follow us on TikTok and Instagram to view more footage from the December 3 rally outside of the Othello Light Rail Station.

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