Charleena Lyles inquest: Jury finds officers used reasonable force in deadly 2017 shooting

After days of hearing testimony in an inquest to ascertain the facts about the fatal shooting of Charleena Lyles, jurors deliberated and found that the two officers who fatally shot the mother of four used reasonable force.

The jury ruled it did not appear as though a reasonably effective alternative to deadly force existed, and that the amount of force used was reasonable.

They also determined that a stun gun would not have been a reasonably effective alternative, that officer complied with the use of force policy as it related to firearms, and that the officers’ actions were consistent with Seattle Police Department training.

They also determined officers did not comply with SPD policy on the use of force with a stun gun/electrical weapon.

On Father’s Day in 2017, Lyles, 30, called police to report a burglary at her Magnuson Park apartment.

Seattle police officers Jason Anderson and Steven McNew shot her seven times. They said Lyles suddenly came at them with a knife.

Lyles’ family insists she had a history of mental health problems and that the officers failed to de-escalate the situation before shooting her.

In the final day of testimony on Tuesday, McNew said there was no time to give Lyles detailed verbal warnings before he fired his gun.

He said he had to protect himself.

“I felt that, that was — in that moment, with what we had — trying to respond to her behavior, felt that it was clear that if I’ve got my gun pointed toward you and I’m a police officer, and you’re coming toward me with a knife and I say, ‘get back,’ that’s sufficient warning,” said McNew.

Anderson, the other officer, originally told investigators he was trapped in a confined space and his back was against a closed door when Lyles lunged at him, but surveillance video showed the officers backing up through an open door into a hallway.

Anderson agreed that his memory and the video don’t match.

“I was talking to Ms. Lyles. I was somewhere at the corner of the peninsula talking to Ms. Lyles, she’s in front of me, I see her produce the knife, she’s lunging it towards me and I did one of these (demonstrates a jump to the jury) movements. You know there’s very little space behind me and you know, I go for the hall, I hit the door — I don’t remember that,” said Anderson.

Both Anderson and McNew were cleared by Seattle police and are still on the job.

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