King County announces police inquest overhaul in incidents of deadly force

King County Executive Dow Constantine has signed an executive order dramatically changing the way inquests on deadly use of force incidents with police are handled.

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The changes mean the fact-finding process will focus more on whether cops followed policy and training, and less on whether the officer had a reasonable fear for their life.

“We should not have policies and training that put us in a position of having to use deadly force,” said Constantine. “We should not be putting ourselves in a position of having a police officer have to make that split second decision. We should not be outing ourselves in a position where a family is grieving, rather than attempting to find out how their loved one got into trouble and to begin a restorative process.”

Constantine says he believes these changes put the county in a better position to be able to do make that king of progress.

“In each case… in every single case what we should be asking what could have been done to prevent this,” Constantine said.

The executive order made the following changes:

• A pool of retired judges will serve as pro tem Inquest Administrators to oversee the process. King County Superior Court will provide a courtroom as required by state law.
• A staff attorney hired on a pro tem basis will assist. The King County prosecuting attorney’s office will no longer serve as a neutral facilitator. The prosecuting attorney’s office will continue to serve an administrative role, assembling the investigative files, and making the recommendation to the Executive to order an inquest, as required by County Charter.
• Officials from the investigating agency will offer testimony about the facts of the event. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will no longer have the power to subpoena the responsible officer, and that officer cannot be compelled to testify.
• Separately, the chief law enforcement officer of the involved agency (or their designee) will testify about the department’s use of force policy and training.
• RCW requires a jury of no more than six, and no less than four. Jurors will be asked to determine the facts and circumstances surrounding the death. Instead of being asked whether the officer had reason to fear for their life, jurors will now be asked to determine whether the officer’s actions complied with department training and policy.
• Involved parties may call expert witnesses such as medical examiner and ballistics experts.

The changes are expected to be in place by March, which will allow inquests put on hold to resume. There are a total of nine, including the shooting of Charleena Lyles by Seattle Police, and the shooting of Tommy Le by King County Sheriff’s deputies.

In a statement, Le’s family said they were pleased with the changes.

We, the family of Tommy Le, are pleased with the changes to the Inquest process announced today. Our many concerns and efforts, echoed by so many in King County communities, were heard and seen. Today, we encourage King County Executive Dow Constantine and the King County Sheriff to take the next honorable step, and replace future Sheriff ‘internal investigations’ regarding the use of deadly force, with independent investigations conducted by a neutral party. Only then, will the communities and constituents of King County be fully satisfied that truth will prevail.

The Office of Law Enforcement Oversight, which gave input to the community work group Constantine convened to recommend changes to inquests, applauded the changes, but said it hoped to continue a dialogue to improve experiences and outcomes.

“Executive Constantine’s changes to the inquest process address some of the deficiencies that have left the public dissatisfied,” said OLEO Director Deborah Jacobs.

“We hope that these changes can help shine more light on the truth for those searching for answers amidst tragedy,” said Jacobs. “As with any big shift in policy and practice, it will be important to assess the impact of these changes over time and make adjustments.”

The Seattle Police Guild was less pleased, in a tweet calling the changes “another example of politics playing with public safety to the detriment of communities,” and questioning whether it was truly transparent. They added that any death is tragic, and that no police officer ever wants to use deadly force.

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