Fatal New Year's shooting by Seattle police deemed lawful

Seattle's police watchdog agency says an officer who fatally shot a man last New Year's Eve acted within policy

Iosio Faletogo was killed after he ran from a traffic stop. He and a passenger were pulled over after an illegal lane change. The woman who owned the car had a suspended license.

Faletogo was armed with a handgun, which he let go of when six police officers wrestled him to the ground.

The city's Office of Police Accountability says officer Jared Keller feared he was in danger and followed his training in deciding to shoot.

Of six officers who restrained Faletogo, Keller fired the single gunshot. He is still with the Seattle Police Department according to the OPA report, issued Wednesday.

Faletogo's mother said if that shooting is deemed to be within SPD policy then the policy needs to change. She's speaking to media through her attorney, Corey Guilmette.

He said police need better training if people are dying at their hands.

"When he had that gun in his hand no one shot him, no one chose to use deadly force," he said.

"The concern here is what happened at the time he was shot, and at that point it's undisputed that he was not armed and that officers could have picked up that gun and he could be alive today."

The incident happened on Aurora Avenue North.

Seattle's police chief, Carmen Best, has not responded to an interview request.

The OPA report says he posed a threat because he was close to a weapon and not obeying police.

Guilmette said this was a needless loss of life.

"The officers were trained to fire their weapons in this situation, but obviously that was not the appropriate response and we know that because we have six officers and only one fired his weapon, so those other five officers obviously reached a different conclusion," he said.

The city's review of this use of force is complete, but an inquest by the King County prosecutor is expected later. That would involve an investigation of what led to the death.