King County unveils new process for police inquests

King County is resuming inquests, a court proceeding that investigates officer-involved deaths. Last October, County Executive Dow Constantine placed all inquests on hold. After months of meeting with law enforcement, families and community members, he unveiled changes for how the procedure will be conducted moving forward.

Constantine says the new framework is designed to help identify areas in officer training and policies that could be improved. “We listened very carefully to the families,” he said. " But also to law enforcement and many others within the community to try to create a process designed to make sense of a confusing and tragic situation.”

In the past, inquests tried to determine whether police action was justified. The new procedure seeks to determine whether officers followed protocol. Also, for the first time, families will have legal representation, through the county’s Department of Public Defense.

Some families who lost loved ones in recent police shootings say they’ll wait and see how the changes play out. Katrina Johnson is a cousin of Charleena Lyles who was shot nearly two years ago in her Magnuson Park apartment by two Seattle Police officers.

Said Johnson, “The longer we wait, the more trauma and things that we continue to go through, it is painful to have to continue to wait for something that happened so long ago.”

In 2017 the county ordered 13 inquests, up from two in 2015. The five inquests that were on hold since October have just resumed.