Cities are mounting opposition to King County’s effort to reform police shooting inquests.
An email circulated by Renton Mayor Denis Law included a draft letter to King County Executive Dow Constantine, voicing concerns over the executive’s efforts to re-vamp the inquest process. The letter asks Constantine to “push the pause button” until he hears from the elected officials in the county.
Inquests are fact-finding forums that investigate the circumstances surrounding law enforcement shooting deaths.
“For example, we are being told that the current inquest proposal guarantees families a voice, but does not provide any assurances that decision makers will hear from subject matter and forensics experts,” the letter states.
The letter also mentions the possible implications of Initiative 940, the police accountability initiative, which will go before voters this November.
The email, signed by Law and Kirkland Mayor Amy Walen, asks more than 30 cities in King County to sign by next week. The email and draft letter was posted on the Sammamish City Council meeting agenda for next Tuesday.
"We're concerned about families impacted by violence from police officers, but we're also concerned about police officers," said Kirkland Mayor Amy Walen.
She said the cities signing the letter want their police chiefs to have more input before the county moves forward with reforms.
"Right now we have officers who waive their 5th Amendment rights to participate in the inquest process," Walen said. "We don't want that to change.
Constantine's office issued a statement Friday afternoon saying the effort was to make the process more fair and transparent.
“The Executive agrees that the inquest process should integrate the statutory underpinning of I-940/SHB 3003,” the statement said. “If and when it passes, rulemaking and implementation will take up to 18 months, and King County will participate in that process. Currently, there are 5 pending inquests and 4 pending investigations. The Executive believes we must move forward with reforms now.”
So far, the mayors of Tukwila, Kent, Redmond, Auburn, Duvall, and Black Diamond said they were all signing the letter. The mayors of Woodinville, Sammamish, Normandy Park, and Shoreline said the city council had not yet discussed the matter.
The mayors of Snohomish and Algona were not aware of the effort and did not plan to sign the letter.
Executive Dow Constantine placed all police shooting inquests on hold earlier this year to consider possible reforms. There are currently five pending inquests of police shootings in King County: the shootings of Isaiah Obet, Damarius D. Butts, Eugene D. Nelson, Tommy Le, and Charleena Lyles.
State law authorizes elected coroners or appointed medical examiners to investigate the circumstances of any death involving a member of law enforcement in the performance of their duties. The King County Charter requires an inquest and King County Code gives the executive control over the inquest process.
Since the 1970s, inquests have been conducted by District Court judges, who have traditionally accepted the delegation of the executive's fact-finding duties in his capacity as Coroner.
But last year, King County District Court Presiding Judge Donna Tucker notified the executive that she had decided to decline future requests to appoint a district court judge to preside at inquests.
Full statement from the office of Dow Constantine:
On April 2, Executive Constantine’s Inquest Process Review Committee submitted a report with recommendations for a revised process. Since then, Executive Constantine and senior staff engaged with a coalition of community stakeholders and members of law enforcement. Together, we sought to ensure any reforms to the inquest system would make the process more transparent, fair, and meaningful to all parties. The purpose of the inquest is to ensure a full, fair, and transparent review of any law enforcement-involved death of a civilian, and to issue findings of fact regarding the circumstances surrounding the death. All those involved in this discussion agree that the purpose of the inquest is not to determine whether the law enforcement member acted in good faith, should be disciplined or otherwise held accountable, or to otherwise find fault. Rather, inquests must determine the basic facts of each case. Forensic experts will be allowed in the scope of the inquest. The ultimate goal is to apply what’s been learned to prevent officer-involved deaths in the future.
The Executive agrees that the inquest process should integrate the statutory underpinning of I-940/SHB 3003. I-940 is slated to be on the November ballot. If and when it passes, rulemaking and implementation will take up to 18 months, and King County will participate in that process. Currently, there are 5 pending inquests and 4 pending investigations. The Executive believes we must move forward with reforms now, so that we can provide resolution to law enforcement, families, and the community.
