King County Prosecutor reviews Charleena Lyles inquest findings, agrees officers were justified
Charleena Lyles inquest finds officers were justified in deadly shooting
The jury delivered its findings Wednesday in the inquest of the death of Charleena Lyles, King County's formal investigation into what happened the day Seattle police officers shot and killed her in her apartment.
SEATTLE - The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office reviewed the findings of the inquest into the death of Charleena Lyles, agreeing there is no evidence to prove officers carried out criminal conduct.
According to county prosecutor Dan Satterberg, officers involved in the fatal shooting were measured under standards before I-940—an initiative passed in 2018 requiring de-escalation, mental health and first aid training in police responses.
Satterberg found there was insufficient evidence to prove officers "acted with malice" under those standards.
"Charleena Lyles’ death is an absolute tragedy," said Satterberg. "My office independently reviewed all the information available from police investigators. After that review, we do not believe there is sufficient evidence to prove a criminal act under the law beyond a reasonable doubt under the pre-I-940 standard, which requires proving that officers acted with ‘malice.’ Our decision after reviewing the admissible evidence is consistent with the separate and unanimous findings of the inquest jury. While our legal investigation concluded that we do not have evidence to prove criminal conduct of the involved officers, it also does not mean that the events that unfolded went right – they didn’t. Ms. Lyle’s 9-1-1 call to report a crime resulted in her death, and the entire sequence of events underscores the importance of expanding behavioral health experts who can work alongside police officers when responding to people in crisis."
The inquest into Lyles' death concluded on July 6, where the jury found that officers were justified in their deadly shooting. The jury found that the two officers who fired at Lyles both gave multiple warnings after she suddenly grabbed a knife and told officers something to the effect of "do it."
They also found that there was no reasonable alternative to deadly force. However, the jury found that Officer Jason Anderson did not comply with the policy or training surrounding Tasers.
After the inquest concluded, the Prosecuting Attorney's Office announced it would review the findings to make a final charging decision.
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Charleena Lyles inquest: Jury finds officers justified in deadly shooting of pregnant woman
The jury found that the two Seattle police officers who fired at Charleena Lyles both gave multiple warnings after she suddenly grabbed a knife and told officers something to the effect of "do it."
Deadly shooting of Charleena Lyles
Five years ago, two Seattle police officers responded to a report of a burglary at an apartment complex. The caller was a 30-year-old Black mother, Charleena Lyles, who had long lived with mental illness and was known to police.
Within minutes, the officers, Jason Anderson and Steven McNew, shot and killed Lyles. They claimed she cornered them in her kitchen, brandishing a small knife. Lyles, who was four months pregnant, was shot seven times as her children watched.
An officer had to pull one of the children off Lyles as medics tried to treat her wounds.
She was a mother of four, and at the time of her death was 15 weeks pregnant.
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Lyles' 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.