An eight-person inquest jury into the Seattle Police fatal shooting of Damarius Butts, 19, of Kent, found unanimously that officers were justifiable in their use of deadly force and followed department policies.
The jurors answered a long series of interrogatories about the 2017 shooting and released those answers on Monday, March 28 at the Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center in Seattle. The hearing lasted for two weeks as jurors heard testimony, including from the officers involved, and reviewed evidence. Jurors began deliberations Friday afternoon, March 25.
It was the first county inquest into deaths caused by law enforcement since December 2017. The inquests had been delayed more than four years by lawsuits after King County Executive Dow Constantine in 2018 paused them to address concerns of fairness and transparency and pushed forward with a new process built on stakeholder and community input. The new inquest policy began with the Butts case.
Butts was killed April 20, 2017, by police in downtown Seattle after a reported armed robbery by Butts and his 17-year-old sister at a convenience store at 627 First Ave.
A store clerk told police he saw a man grab a 12-pack of beer, donuts and chips and leave without paying, according to court documents. The man had walked into the store with a female. When the pair left the store without paying, the clerk pursued them. The clerk knocked the beer out of the man’s hands, but the two continued to flee. The clerk grabbed the female, but Butts then displayed a silver pistol inside the area of his waist. The clerk let the girl go, returned to the store and called 911.
Officers responded, chased Butts and cornered him in an office at the Federal Office Building, where gunshots were exchanged, according to police reports. Shots by Butts hit three officers, one critically, as Hudson Kang suffered a gunshot wound to the chin, according to the Seattle Times. Another officer was shot in the hand. A bullet lodged in the protective vest of Officer Elizabeth Kennedy, who suffered bruising.
Officers recovered a gun near the body of Butts, who died at the scene of multiple gunshot wounds. He was the father of a 1-year-old daughter at the time of his death.
The Seattle officers who fired shots and are involved in the inquest hearing included Kennedy, Christopher Myers, Joshua Vaaga and Canek Gordillo.
Jurors each answered yes, no or unknown to 84 questions about the case. Their major findings included that the officers complied with the police department’s policies on de-escalation, the use of firearms and the use of deadly force. They also found the officers commanded Butts to drop his gun as well as get to the ground but Butts did not comply and did not show his hands when told to do so.
Jurors responded that officers did request medical aid for Butts and that emergency personnel responded when it was safe to do so. Butts died at the scene.
The purpose of an inquest is to shed light on the facts and circumstances surrounding a death at the hands of law enforcement and facilitate public understanding of these events. At the conclusion of the proceedings, an inquest jury answers a series of questions called interrogatories as directed by the inquest administrator. These interrogatories result in the issuance of a series of findings. The findings may include whether the law enforcement officers acted in line with their agency’s policies and training and whether the death was a result of criminal means.
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