Inquest begins into Bellevue Police shooting in Seattle neighborhood
Mar 3, 2014, 10:40 AM | Updated: 11:14 am
Attorney Andy Cooley, representing the city of Bellevue, talks with Bellevue Police Department SWAT officers Jacob Childers, Casey Hiam and Jacob Bement (l-r), before the start of an inquest at the King County Courthouse into the March 2012 shooting death of a robbery suspect in Seattle's Columbia City neighborhood. (KIRO Radio Photo/Tim Haeck)
(KIRO Radio Photo/Tim Haeck)
Many Columbia City residents were stunned by the volley of gunfire that rattled their Seattle neighborhood about one year ago. An inquest is underway Monday into the early morning police shooting of a robbery suspect.
A six-member inquest jury will hear from the King County Medical Examiner, police officers, other witnesses and see photos taken the day a Bellevue Police tactical team surrounded a house near 43rd Ave. S. and S. Hudson St. Three Bellevue officers opened fire, killing Russell Smith, claiming Smith tried to run them down.
Police officers Jacob Bement, Casey Hiam and Jacob Childers are the officers who opened fire on March 22, 2013. Bellevue police say officers were trying to serve an arrest warrant on Smith, 51.
Seattle Police, which investigated the shooting, said the suspect put his car in reverse and rammed a parked truck before shifting and stepping on the gas, prompting the three officers to open fire, fearing they would be run down.
The inquest jury is expected to determine the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting by answering a series of questions written by a county prosecutor and an attorney for the City of Bellevue. An attorney for Smith’s family will also participate in the inquest. The jury is not expected to assess guilt or blame.
The inquest is expected to wrap up by the end of the week.
