Charleena Lyles inquest: Administrator rules proceedings can be livestreamed
SEATTLE - An Inquest Administrator has ruled that the proceedings of an inquest into the police shooting death of Charleena Lyles can be livestreamed, despite officers filing to keep their faces concealed.
Representatives for Seattle Police officers Jason Anderson and Steven McNew filed a motion to not livestream the hearings, saying showing the officers' faces could jeopardize the safety of themselves and their families.
Lawyers for the city of Seattle separately filed a brief in support of the officers' motion, requesting the inquest be audio-streamed only.
Inquest Administrator Michael Spearman ruled that video will be included in the Zoom livestream of the inquest into the death of Lyles.
The proceedings begin on Tuesday, June 21 at 9 a.m.
Lyles was shot and killed by Anderson and McNew in June of 2017. They responded to Lyles’ apartment after she called 911 to report a burglary. According to the officers, she suddenly attacked them with one or two knives and they shot her seven times in her kitchen.
She was 15 weeks pregnant at the time of her death and already a mother of four.
Her family said she has documented mental health issues and that police didn't do enough to de-escalate the situation. The city of Seattle paid Lyles' family $3.5 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit.
An inquest is not a trial, but rather, an investigation into why a deadly police shooting happened and how to prevent them.
After years of legal challenges, at the end of March, King County resumed inquests into law enforcement-involved deaths. The first inquest hearing in four years involved the shooting of Damarius Butts, who was killed by Seattle Police in 2017.
In 2017, inquests were paused over concerns of transparency and clarity of the process—alleging rushed deadlines, access to witnesses and unwieldy orders issued by the inquest administrator.
Butts' inquest is over, but including Lyles, there are currently seven inquests on the docket