When looking at last month’s cases, a trend that started when the pandemic began continues to dominate, Casey McNerthey with the said.

Unlike Tacoma, Seattle Police swears by crime data

“Unfortunately, domestic violence remains the most common type of crime for King County prosecutors,” McNerthney said, citing that those cases account for nearly 21% of the 629 charges filed in October.

But there was a recent bright spot for prosecutors handling domestic violence cases last week.

“A very successful week in the domestic violence unit in Seattle. We had three cases culminate in findings of guilt by juries,” said Senior Deputy Prosecutor David Martin, who heads up the Domestic Violence Unit at the Prosecutor’s Office.

In one case, a person was convicted on felony harassment charges for threatening to kill the victim with a deadly weapon. The second case involved charges of domestic violence, kidnapping, and felony aggravated assault involving domestic violence. The third case involved multiple violations of a court order for tampering with a witness and burglary.

“This was three separate cases, and the verdicts came back within a day of each other,” Martin said. “I think its a testament to the work of the teams that are operating in the Seattle Domestic Violence Unit, the deputies who were there, the advocates and the paralegals, and also that the court system is back and working at a high capacity across the board.”

Despite those wins, Martin said domestic violence still remains a huge concern in King County.

“There’s still a lot of domestic violence going on in the community,” he said. “Unfortunately, a mixture of homicide, suicide, and corollary domestic violence deaths. This year has exceeded what happened in the first year of the pandemic, which was really a surge of domestic violence.

“So even though the rate of domestic violence appears to have stabilized in felony cases and in some other areas, the rate of violent death is still very high,” Martin continued. “And that’s of deep concern to us that remains an ongoing and serious issue.”

But Martin also stated there is reason to hope that trends turn around.

More from Hanna Scott: Jury selection begins for Pierce County Sheriff trial

“The first hope begins with the way we’re measuring this now,” said Martin. “In the past, there was really just a focus on homicide and that those are the most important cases that we see. And there’s an enormous commitment to doing the best job possible on those types of cases. But what’s also true is that domestic violence has an impact on marriage, in many areas of the community. Measuring each one of those areas is really important and we’re especially committed to that.”

The Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has partnered with Public Health, Seattle-King County over some of these cases. For this, both parties are planning on using grant money to further research the intersections of domestic violence and how this can affect the overall health of the community, specifically around mental health issues like depression and suicide.

“We received a grant from the Center for Disease Control to study the intersection of domestic violence and suicide in King County, and we’re sharing our data with Public Health,” Martin said. “This will be a multi-year process to connect data to really understand the intersection of domestic violence and suicide.”

The Prosecutor’s Office has also worked alongside the University of Washington, a partnership that extends into the Harborview Injury Prevention Program.

“We’re making those commitments because we want to take a holistic view to these issues, and be a partner with many in the community to make a difference,” Martin explained.

Follow Hanna Scott on or email her here.��

Troyer has been charged with two misdemeanor counts of false reporting.

“Sheriff Troyer tested negative for COVID at the hospital but positive for Influenza A,” Troyer’s attorney, Anne Bremner, said. “He is severely dehydrated and is getting fluids. He is undergoing more tests. He apparently had COVID antibodies in his system from a prior bout with COVID.”

He reportedly came down with the flu after his defense initially claimed he had COVID early Monday. He took two rapid tests, one came back negative while another had a faint red line, declaring it positive.

Gov. Inslee touts homeless housing successes, lays out new proposals

In the early morning hours of Jan. 27, 2021, Troyer said he was at his Tacoma home watching TV and noticed what he described as a suspicious vehicle moving in and out of driveways in his neighborhood. The sheriff got in his personal vehicle and followed the car.

At one point, the driver reportedly got out and approached Troyer to ask why he was following him. Eventually, Troyer said he called a law enforcement line and was patched through to a dispatcher.

The sheriff told the dispatcher three times during the five-minute call that the man had threatened to kill him, while also contradicting himself about whether the man had him blocked in. Troyer also described the man as “looking homeless.”

That man turned out to be Sedrick Altheimer – a Black newspaper delivery driver who was working his regular route the same as he’d done for eight years.

While Troyer did tell the dispatcher he only needed one or two people to respond, the fact that he reported the man had threatened to kill him led to a high-priority response involving 40 officers from various departments.

The first officers to respond were able to downsize that initial number after realizing there was no threat, and only 14 officers actually responded. Still, that response and his detainment led Altheimer to fear for his life, according to a he’s since filed against Pierce County.

Altheimer’s account sparked a public outcry, leading Governor Inslee to call for an investigation into the incident. That led to charges filed by State Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s Office of one count of false reporting and one count of making a false or misleading statement to a public servant.

If convicted, Troyer could face nearly a year behind bars on each count, as well as a $5,000 fine. Troyer has continually denied wrongdoing, saying he was just checking a suspicious vehicle. He’s called the charges a “politically motivated anti-cop hit job.”

More from Hanna Scott: Dems lead most toss-up WA legislature races, GOP remains hopeful

A separate investigation commissioned by the Pierce County Council found Troyer had violated department policy on bias-free policing and off-duty conduct.

In July, the judge nearly jailed Troyer for violating an anti-harassment order in the case. Instead, he ordered Troyer to post a $100,000 bail after noting concern for Altheimer’s safety.

Jury selection in the criminal trial started Monday and was expected to continue Tuesday before Troyer reported he had the flu. If there is no delay in jury selection, opening statements are scheduled to begin Nov. 28, with the trial expected to last about a week and a half. If there is a delay, the proceedings won’t be expected to start until December.

“We will know more in the morning,” Bremner said.

Follow Hanna Scott on or email her here.��

The same holds true in where Republicans had high hopes of chipping away at the significant majorities held by Democrats in the House and Senate, but after the initial results have been released, that is looking less and less likely of coming true.

Early primary returns suggest GOP failed to flip targeted legislative districts, Dems say

Right now Democrats enjoy a 57-41 majority in the state House with a 28-21 majority in the state Senate, now Democrats might flip three more Republican-held seats.

Among the seats targeted by Republicans, the 26th LD Senate seat is currently held by Emily Randall – who was seen as the most vulnerable among state legislative targets. But after initial election night returns, Randall was ahead by about 2,500 votes, with 53% of the vote compared to Republican challenger Jesse Young’s 47%.

Other races that were expected to be closer are shaping up to be further losses for Republicans, including the open seat in South King County’s 47th District where Democrat Claudia Kauffman is leading Republican Bill Boyce, 53% to 47%.

Democrat Sharon Shewmake was ahead by about 1,250 votes in her challenge to Republican Simon Sefzik in Whatcom County’s 42nd LD Senate seat formerly held by the late longtime Senator Doug Ericksen.

In the House, Democrats also were leading in two of the most closely watched races, including those in the 10th LD between Democrat Clyde Shavers and Republican incumbent Greg Gilday, and Rep. Dave Paul and GOP challenger Karen Lesetmoe.

Despite making late headlines for embellishing his military record in official election materials Shavers is leading incumbent Gilday 47% to 53%. Rep. Paul leads Lesetmoe by 54% to 46% despite in the previous two elections winning by fewer than 750 votes.

Another Democratic House candidate is leading in at least one other Republican-held House race – the 18^th legislative district, where Democrat John Zingale leads Republican Stephanie McClintock 50% to 49% in the district formerly controlled by Republican Brandon Vick.

Republican State Senate Leader John Braun says the races are close though so he is still optimistic, and even if they don’t take back the majority it’s important they pick up some seats.

“We know in Washington that the way our election system works we often don’t know the actual result on election night,” Braun said. “I think our key races in LD 26 and LD 42 and LD 47 are all still very much in the hunt. I’m optimistic because I know that Washington state needs a more balanced legislature.”

“I would say [we are feeling] cautiously optimistic,” State Republican Party Chair Caleb Heimlich said. “We’ve got a lot of momentum. We’re certainly seeing momentum across the country, the big question is [if] that going to translate here in Washington state.”

“We’ve got Patty Murray running statewide as an incredible U.S. senator. We’ve got Steve Hobbs as an incredible secretary of state. Every single Washingtonian who’s eligible to vote can vote for those two great Democrats and then take a look to see who are your Democrats in your congressional district, as well as your legislators, and vote D up and down the ballot,” State Democratic Party Chair Tina Podlodowski said.

Click here for updated Election Results

Will Tiffany Smiley’s momentum be enough?

While Democrats and progressive pollsters say Patty Murray maintains anywhere from a 9 to 14-point lead over Republican challenger Tiffany Smiley, Republicans say the race is tightening, with some calling it neck and neck.

“Republicans have put junk polls out there in the field and that’s skewing what you see in terms of data. They’ve also spent millions of dollars on these terrible ads that are coming from dark money PACs,” Podlodowski said.

2022 Election Preview: U.S. Senator Patty Murray vs. Tiffany Smiley

But Heimlich says even if that were true and Smiley was 10 points behind Murray, that would still be significant.

“Even if she’s ahead by 10, that gap has closed significantly since the primary. In the primary, we were looking at an 18-19 point gap, and so if Tiffany’s closed it to within 10, that shows a lot of momentum and progress,” said Heimlich. “And we had hundreds of people at a bus tour for Tiffany Smiley, and so there’s real momentum, real excitement. She’s the best-funded U.S. Senate candidate we’ve ever had.

“If the Democrats really believe that they’re ahead by 10, then why are all these outside groups dumping millions of dollars in the last two weeks? If they thought they were going to coast to victory because they could go to Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania or many of these other Senate state seats. So I think they have internal polling that at least shows that it’s too close for comfort, which again, is a major improvement for Tiffany from the August primary, which leads me to be optimistic for the eighth congressional district,” he added.

Election Day preview: Key races to watch for 2022

Schrier vs. Larkin will be close

Rep. Kim Schrier (D) is in a tight race for the eighth congressional district against Republican challenger Matt Larkin.

“We’re working hard to get Kim Schrier in a very contested race back to D.C. to represent us as the only female pediatrician in Congress and one of the few pro-choice doctors in Congress. We’re excited to have her there,” Podlodowski added.

Is an upset brewing in District 3?

Another race Democrats are putting a lot into this year is the 3rd congressional district.

“We’ve got a great upset brewing in Washington three with Marie Pérez, in what’s generally been a Republican district for a little while, taking on Joe Kent. So we’re going to make sure that we win that one as well,” Podlodowski said.

2022 Election Preview: Joe Kent vs. Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez

Republicans are much more confident.

“I think Joe’s going to win,” Heimlich said referring to Republican candidate Joe Kent.

“I think I just saw on Twitter, he has now held 630 town halls in the last two years, the guy campaigns everywhere. I mean, pre-primary, and then over the last two weeks, to three public events every day, every small town across the 3rd congressional district. If you follow him on social media, you find out about small towns that you didn’t know existed, and he’s there. I think his résumé speaks for itself. Given the environment I think people are in a good position to keep that seat,” explained Heimlich.

Will write-in candidate impact Secretary of State race?

In the other statewide race for Secretary of State a write-in candidate, Brad Klippert, has made things more interesting.

Incumbent Democrat Steve Hobbs is vying to keep the post that Governor Inslee appointed him to, following the exit of former Republican Secretary of State Kim Wyman. Hobbs and Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson (Independent) came out of the primary in August as the top two candidates. Republicans ran four different candidates, ultimately splitting the vote enough for Anderson to edge out any Republican candidates.

2022 Election Preview: Secretary Steve Hobbs vs. Julie Anderson

With no viable GOP candidates, Republicans opted to endorse a write-in candidate.

“It’s a very interesting situation. There are only two names on the ballot, our incredible democratic Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, and then a so-called independent, Julie Anderson. But Brad Klippert is a MAGA-Republican, election denier who is running a write-in campaign, and he’s gaining some traction in Central and Eastern Washington. So we are making sure that Republicans who break with their party around this idea of election denial make certain that they are not writing in Brad Klippert and in fact, will vote for the person who will keep our election system safe: Steve Hobbs,” Podlodowski said.

Heimlich says he is much more confident in a write-in candidate for the election due to the incredibly slim margin that Anderson got second place.

“Obviously write-ins are very tough, and frankly, because we had four candidates as Republicans running in that race, we shot ourselves in the foot. I think it’s important to remember, though, Julie Anderson got 12.8% of the vote in August. It’s not like she got 30 or 40%; she barely beat out other Republicans that were at 12.2% or something like that,” Heimlich said.

Other state races to watch

Both parties are also looking to defend current state house and senate seats and pick up a few new ones.

One state election race being closely watched is the 10th District House of Representatives Position 1 race. Democrat Clyde Shavers had been the only Democrat to lead a Republican incumbent coming out of the primary, but now after reports that he embellished his military record, there has been a shift.

“He, for whatever reason, chose to embellish that in a dishonest way. And so while he was the only Democrat challenger leading a Republican incumbent in August, and he was beating representative Greg Gilday about 52-48 in August, I think that’s the seat we’re going to hold because of his embellishments [and] lies,” Heimlich said.

Democrats acknowledged what Shavers did but had a different type of response.

“We want to make certain that people are being absolutely clear about their background and their experience. Clyde made a mistake, and he owned up to it. That is a very, very good thing. If you take a look at the Republicans in that race, though, Greg Gilday doesn’t own up too much in that area. So I think voters are going to need to decide if Clyde has done enough to make certain that he can win that race,” Podlodowski said.

For up-to-the-minute results on the biggest races in Washington and in-depth analysis of races, strategies, and a breakdown of how the results affect you, tune in to ����Xվ Newsradio’s election day coverage with Dave Ross and Dori Monson Tuesday night from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. The special two-hour, commercial-free broadcast will be broadcast live on 97.3 FM, the , and the ����Xվ Newsradio App. You can also watch the broadcast live on the ����Xվ Newsradio video stream, in addition to the station’s and pages.

But Inslee emphasized there’s more work to be done.

“Homelessness and housing affordability is hurting communities all across the country. The scale of this challenge is daunting, but we are learning that the new approaches we’re taking can and will work,” Inslee said.

“There is no simple answer for fixing homelessness fast. In the short term, we need more shelters that provide more services so people get back on their feet. Over the long term, we need more housing that average workers can afford. Both of those solutions require every community to do their part.”

Inslee tours homeless shelter

Speaking after a tour of a Seattle homeless shelter, the governor touted programs such as Rapid Rehousing.

The effort allows communities to purchase properties such as hotels and apartment buildings that can quickly be turned into shelter and housing.

Incentive program looks to house homeless with help from Seattle landlords

This also includes permanent supportive housing which has been identified as the primary need in getting the chronically homeless off the streets.

Inslee also highlighted other programs he called successes such as his Right of Way Safety Initiative. The policy focuses on getting people out of dangerous encampments along state highways and connected with housing and services.

New proposals in upcoming legislative session

Despite making inroads, Inslee said there is much more work to be done.

The governor said with the next legislative session just two months away, lawmakers are hard at work on other bills intended to tackle housing and homelessness in new ways.

Among the new proposals, there is an effort to create a public-private partnership program that includes ensuring some units are priced affordably.

Speeding up housing construction will also be on the docket for the upcoming legislative session.

To address that, Inslee pointed to a bill is working on to create a pilot program and digital permitting platform to give the state a solid policy foundation to work from.

Inslee said he is also working with legislators to find ways to help lower income renters and home buyers get their foot in the door.

Incentives for homesellers

One idea is to expand the exemption for people who sell their homes to first-time home buyers in the state’s home buyer program. Under this initiative, transfers of real property to qualifying entities will no longer be subject to real estate excise tax.

The governor said this would help level the playing field for those buyers to make their offer more competitive. The governor’s office says thousands of people already use this program every year.

The hour long-debate was hosted by Gonzaga University in Spokane and covered everything from abortion and immigration to crime and climate change.

Suits: Murray – Smiley should be debate instead of Town Hall

“This is one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime,” Murray noted in her opening remarks. She stressed that the economy, democracy, and women’s rights are all on the ballot.

“If you send me back to a pro-choice senate I will work to pass my legislation to codify [Roe v. Wade] into law,” Murray promised.

A tearful Smiley used her opening statement to re-tell the story of how her combat veteran husband was blinded in a suicide car bombing in Mosul, and how she fought the Department of Veterans Affairs and other agencies on his behalf.

“I took on big government and I won,” said Smiley. “I have a record of taking on big government and winning. My opponent doesn’t. She works for Washington D.C. She is the image of big government. Washington state deserves better.”

Murray’s five previous terms have been a talking point in the Smiley campaign in her ongoing effort to paint Murray as part of a bureaucracy that has failed working-class Americans.

The two candidates also covered immigration, inflation, the Hanford nuclear site, and the centerpieces of the two campaigns – the Roe decision for Murray, and Smiley’s stance on public safety and reducing crime. It was this portion of the debate where things got louder and more heated.

“Our cities are being destroyed by crime. Our police are not being supported. In addition to the crime, we have fentanyl, all over our streets. We’re allowing a humanitarian crisis to unfold right before our eyes. We’re allowing people to poison themselves to death and we do nothing,” said Smiley, as she recalled Murray voting to divert police funding in June 2020.

Smiley said her plan to lower crime rates would be to attract more cops using federal funding to incentivize hiring.

“I would ensure that our police officers have access to federal grants for $5,000 retention and recruiting bonuses. I will work closely with prosecutors especially Seattle City Attorney Ann Davidson to make sure that we prosecute repeat offenders,” said Smiley. “Crime is out of control. Patty Murray is to blame.”

Murray acknowledged that crime was an issue and stressed it was an issue that must be addressed at the local, state, and federal levels but said that the solution to addressing crime was supporting communities as well.

“That is exactly why we need the American rescue plan [that] every single Republican voted against, and Tiffany Smiley said she opposed. We put resources in there for our police officers so they could stay on the job and fight and our communities are using that funding now and need to continue to do so,” she said.

But she slammed Smiley for missing the mark on two main drivers of crime: Guns and the mental health crisis.

“In that slew of responses, you did not hear anything about gun violence,” noted Murray.

“We need to ban dangerous weapons. We need to ban assault weapons. We need to make sure that we have really good background checks and enforce our ability to make sure that those who are dangerous do not have guns. That is what I fight for because gun violence is a part of this, and the other part you didn’t address is mental health,” Murray pointed out before she shared details of her own plan to try to tackle the mental health crisis.

“I am working right now, with the Republican colleagues. We hope to pass a bill by the end of this year to help with mental health resources for our frontline workers, making sure that they have beds, that they have training that they have the capability to help people with one of the most critical issues we face in this country today – mental health and substance use disorder,” said Murray.

Follow Hanna Scott on or email her here.��

It also improved its ballot tracking system for this vote.

Voters can track their ballots

“Our team at King County Elections is looking forward,” County Elections Director Julie Wise said. “Today we are launching ballot alerts, voters can now go onto our website to our ballot tracker and sign up to get texts and emails when their ballot hits another milestone in the process.”

While King County Elections has had a ballot tracker in place, this year’s alert system is new.

“They’ll get a message when their ballot is mailed,” Wise said. “When we receive it back here at King County Elections headquarters in Renton, their ballot is verified and ready to be counted. And they’ll get an alert if there’s any issue with their signature so they can get it fixed and make sure that their ballot counts,” she explained.

Wise joined King County Executive Dow Constantine for the announcement.

Can noncitizens vote in US elections?

Election security outlined

They addressed election security and stressed the importance of every voter turning out in the coming election.

“Voters in King County have the opportunity to weigh in on their representatives in Congress, their leadership in Olympia, and ballot measures in communities across the county,” Constantine said.

He also stressed just how secure the process is in King County.

“King County Elections is one of the best in the business in ensuring the security of every vote,” Constantine explained. “From the moment you deposit your ballot in the mail or an official dropbox to when it’s received, processed, and tallied on election day, you can count on this team to deliver an accurate and secure account, to be transparent, and to help make sure your voice is heard.”

‘Your vote is secure’

“I want everyone in the county to know that because of Wise and her team, your vote is secure. Our elections are secure, and our democracy will continue to thrive,” he added.

Constantine said as part of a program connecting people to jobs and housing this year, they were able to hire a team of nine that helped update over 35,000 signatures in the voter registration system.

This is meant to ensure that those communities facing some of the most challenges will have their voices heard.

“In a democracy, we should be doing everything we can to make it easier to vote, not harder. Same-day registration, online registration, and helping young people become active citizens and participate in their democracy,” Constantine said.

72% turnout expected in King County

Wise said she’s expecting a 72% voter turnout for the general election. That’s lower than the 75% turnout seen in 2018, the most comparable election.

This year’s projections are based on several factors, including the lower turnout in the 2022 primary.

“But honestly, my hope is 80%. I really want to see us hit 80%. Here in King County, I believe we can do it,” Wise said. “You know, we had an 87% turnout in our presidential election, which is some of the highest in the entire country. So King County voters, they always show up and impress me.”

More from Hanna Scott: Verdict appealed over murder of Susan Cox Powell’s children

Security efforts in place

Wise also detailed various layers of security, including her highly-trained team.

“This team at elections is made up of dedicated professionals who go above and beyond to not only meet the letter of the law, but to go the extra mile for our voters because we are your neighbors, friends, and relatives. We are extensively trained, deeply experienced in running vote-by-mail elections, and setting the standard for transparency and elections.”

Those transparency efforts include the new expansion of their observer program.

Unaffiliated observers 

“In this coming election, we’ll be joined for the first time by non-partisan or unaffiliated observers through a partnership with the Seattle King County League of Women Voters. We have found that by inviting folks to see how the process works, we’re able to turn at least some of those election skeptics into our greatest advocates,” she explained.

Those who want to observe the process can also take advantage of the nearly dozen webcams set up for live streams.

“We are now up to 11 locations that are streamed 24/7 on our website throughout the entire processing period,” Wise said.

Voters can find the live streams, update their address, register to vote, and sign up for the new ballot alert system on the King County Elections .

Follow Hanna Scott on or email her here.��

“I asked him if the boys were in there. And he said, yes,” a tearful Cox testified.

The boys he was referring to were his two young grandsons, Charlie (7) and Braden (5). They were his daughter Susan’s children with Powell, who Cox long believed to be behind his daughter’s 2009 disappearance in West Valley, Utah, where they shared a home.

More from Hanna Scott: Despite optimism, homelessness remains Seattle’s No. 1 issue

That belief, and the many other facts that came to light from Josh Powell’s past, as well as Powell’s own father’s arrest on voyeurism charges, were just a few of the reasons Cox and his wife Judy fought hard to keep the boys away from their father.

Chuck and Judy Cox believed Powell was a threat to his grandsons. They were right.

On that fateful Super Bowl Sunday in 2012, Josh Powell was to have a supervised visit with his sons – a supervised visit the Cox’s had repeatedly warned against to no avail.

When the social worker, contracted by the state’s then-Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), went to drop the boys off, Powell grabbed his sons and locked the social worker outside.

What happened inside over the next 22 minutes was horrific.

Josh Powell would take a hatchet to his sons in a brutal attack before dousing his home in accelerant and lighting it on fire – both boys still conscious.

The Cox’s filed a wrongful death lawsuit against DSHS.

When Chuck Cox got to the home engulfed in flames that day, the firefighter confirmed the boys had been inside. Cox told the jury in 2020 that he remembered thinking he tried so hard to keep them safe.

“I tried to do everything. I did everything I was asked and more so, and I told everyone I could tell my fears and the danger and still, here I am looking, looking at this building and powerless to save the boys,” Cox recalled at the long-delayed trial.

Jurors in 2020 also heard graphic testimony of what the boys endured on that final day which led the jury to award the Cox’s – on behalf of the boy’s estate – $115 million. The majority of that, $98 million, was specifically in damages for the pain, suffering, fear, and anxiety each of the boys suffered that day.

It was a win for Cox, who never cared about the financial victory with the exception of wanting it to be significant enough to shock the state into changing the way it handles the safety of kids under its care in similar situations.

But a short time later, a judge sharply reduced the financial settlement, citing among other reasons, that the graphic details of the boys’ killings had led the jury to issue an award based on emotion. The award was cut by two-thirds to about $33 million.

Now, the state is appealing to have the entire award tossed and is asking for a new trial, citing alleged mistakes in jury instructions and an emotional jury.

But attorneys for the Cox family are also appealing, calling for the reinstatement of the full damages – approximately $98 million.

Bones pulled from collapsed Utah mine not Susan Powell’s, but hope persists for family

Among the questions the Cox family attorney had to answer from judges on a state appeals court this week: What evidence was there to support such a huge award for damages?

The attorney replied, the evidence speaks for itself.

“The state delivered two young children in their custody to their father’s remote rental house. He pulled them inside, locked the door, and attacked them with a brutality that is unimaginable. And they would have seen that happening to each other,” the Cox family attorney replied. “He lit the house on fire and they died from carbon monoxide poisoning. The house exploded. The state concedes that that ordeal lasted for 22 minutes. They were conscious for nine minutes. So this is the question before the jury. Was that manner of murder sufficiently painful? Did that matter of murder provoke enough anxiety, emotional distress, and humiliation? Were those boys in insufficient fear? 12 people said yes.

“I would submit to you that the only answer to those questions is yes,” she added, noting the only legal question then is how long the boys had to suffer, but pointing out case law does not limit damages under that scenario.

On the argument about the jury responding to the details with emotion in coming up with damages, the Cox family attorney noted that the facts are the facts, and that anytime you are dealing with the murder of two young boys, things are going to get emotional.

Now it is in the hands of the State Appeals Court Panel to decide whether the state gets its new trial or whether the Cox family gets the full damages award reinstated.

It’s not clear when that decision could come down, as of this reporting.

Follow Hanna Scott on or email her here.��

The Nakia Creek Fire grew from about 150 acres to 2,000 acres in a matter of hours Sunday, forcing thousands to evacuate. The fire is located nine miles northeast of Camas in the Yacolt Burn State Forest.

Multiple wildfires erupt across western WA

Late Monday, the Clark County Fire Marshall issued a statement asking for the public’s help finding two men and two women connected to a white or light-colored Subaru seen on a ridge near the fire Sunday, Oct. 9, around 2:30 p.m.

“We are looking for what we believe is a white or light-colored Subaru vehicle,” said Assistant Fire Marshall Curtis Eavenson. “Based on witness statements, we also believe there were two men and two women connected with this vehicle.”

They did not elaborate on the exact connection to the fire but released a video with images of the vehicle asking anyone who recognized it or the people connected to it, or who has any information on the investigation to call the Clark County Fire Marshal’s Office at  (564) 397-3320.

Heather Bosch contributed to this report.

Follow Hanna Scott on or email her here.��

“I think of note, again, homelessness is cooling as a top priority. And I think that is in large part because people are seeing that progress is being made. It is slow progress, but it is progress,” explained Rachel Smith, the CEO and President of the Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce, during a call with reporters this week. “For me, this sort of notion of hopefulness that the voters are optimistic about the future that they are proud to call themselves Seattleites, and there are indications that the voters believe we are turning the corner.”

More from Hanna Scott: Seattle to maintain control of troubled City Hall Park

Smith cited the city’s regional approach to aid the homeless crisis, alongside both public and private sectors continuing to work together, as reasons for optimism.

82% of voters — including 83% of self-identified Democrats — support closing homeless encampments once alternative shelter and services have been provided, even if that means those who refuse services are going to be displaced.

On the issue of public safety, most continued to state they feel less safe in their own neighborhoods, while also sharing concerns about their safety downtown. Nearly three-quarters of Seattle voters agree that hiring more cops should be an immediate priority for the city. But trust in the city to deliver on police reform and budgeting remains low.

Most voters also said they felt their quality of life has declined.

A big surprise from the poll came in the rezoning conversation, with voters supporting policy action to increase housing, including in their own neighborhoods.

And two-thirds supported zoning and permitting changes to allow for more density across the city — even if it means more duplexes and triplexes in single-family housing zones.

“Elected leaders have multiple upcoming opportunities to advance housing affordability through the city’s comprehensive plan, state action, and changes to processes and permitting,” said Smith. “Voters are telling them to go for it. They’re ready to see the increases in housing supply that will increase the opportunity for more people to live and succeed in Seattle.”

Check the full results of the poll .

Follow Hanna Scott on or email her here.��

“After months of continued engagement on this potential land swap, we believe City Hall Park should remain with the City of Seattle,” said Harrell in a prepared statement Friday. Mayor Harrell dedicated $2.8 million in his budget proposal currently being debated by the city council for “activation, security, and a visible presence” in the park.

It reverses a 2021 plan for King County to take over the troubled park from the city of Seattle, which appeared to lack the resources to ensure its safety.

The move came after a homeless encampment had taken up residence in the park, where a stabbing and several assaults soon followed within the encampment – on top of other security concerns in and around the King County courthouse, including the near sexual assault of a staffer in the ladies room.

Those security concerns prompted King County Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Wells to propose a measure for a land swap with the city that was ultimately passed by the county council and later signed off on by then-Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan.

More from Hanna Scott: Panel issues recommendations after reviewing CHOP fallout

But there was pushback almost instantly, both on and off the council.

“These are some of the last places where our community members can just simply be,” said one public commenter as he pleaded for a delay of the final vote.

“Several questions remain unanswered regarding the future of the public green space,” said another man.

County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay was concerned about the homelessness impact.

“The question is whether we address the symptoms of homelessness or do we address the root causes of it,” questioned Zahilay.

“I’m concerned that legislation like this contributes to a narrative about homelessness that I find de-humanizing,” said Councilmember Joe McDermott.

But ahead of the final vote, County Councilmember Reagan Dunn laid out the bottom line.

“Seattle has the highest homeless population per capita of any city in the United States, we have got to start showing success stories. We have precious few related to homelessness,” said Dunn. “I hope that this turns out to be one of them.”

Kohl-Wells insisted it was not an either-or situation.

The park has had fencing around it for more than a year now as the county worked on coming up with a final plan on what to do with it – but now there’s no need.

The city said it would work with local transit agencies to ensure visible security at nearby bus and rail stations, and work with building owners to make sure there are appropriate security measures in place.

WA opioid settlement to provide assistance for communities

The city also would allow food trucks in the park on weekdays and create more moveable and fixed seating areas while also helping the business community fill vacant storefronts.

“I’m looking forward to the City of Seattle making investments and improvements to this cornerstone of downtown Seattle,” Constantine said. “Making this long-neglected space a safe and enjoyable park for thousands of King County staff, jurors, customers, visitors, and residents will help restore and revitalize downtown Seattle.”

Many, including County Councilmember Joe McDermott, celebrated the announcement.

“City resources should maintain and operate city parks,” McDermott, who led the opposition to the land swap, told Friday.

But others who work and live in the area said they still have the same concerns as before, given that Seattle Police have never had the resources necessary to provide the security needed at the park – a situation made worse by the ongoing staffing shortage.

One source who spoke to ����Xվ Newsradio on condition of anonymity said, at the very least, they hope the city does not remove the chain link fencing that has been up around the park without having a safety plan in place.

Follow Hanna Scott on or email her here.��

That’s the overall finding in the 82-page report OIG released Tuesday as part of its Sentinel Event Review (SER) of the Seattle Police Department’s (SPD) response to the 2020 protests.

This is the third of four reports looking at critical incidents during the protests. An SER panel that included representatives from the community and SPD heard from dozens of protesters, city staff, officers, and others during the months-long review of what they called the third wave of the protests.

The so-called third wave includes four critical incidents between June 8 and July 1, starting with SPD’s evacuation of the East Precinct.

More from Hanna Scott: WA opioid settlement to provide assistance for communities

Even after this review by the OIG panel and a previous Office of Police Accountability investigation, OIG says who actually made the decision to evacuate the East Precinct – which quickly led to the creation of CHOP – remains unclear.

Both then-Mayor Jenny Durkan and then-SPD Chief Carmen Best insisted at the time it was not their decision. Neither took part in this review.

What the review panel did find was that following a meeting between SPD and the Mayor’s office around noon on June 8 regarding changing strategies in an attempt to deescalate the situation with protesters, the Mayor’s office directed SPD to remove the barricades surrounding the East Precinct in order to open the street and allow public passage by the building.

At the same time, an assistant SPD Chief ordered the temporary evacuation of the East Precinct, with officers expected to stage at nearby Volunteer Park while protesters gained access to the area that had previously been barricaded.

The concern given at the time was a cited FBI report about a “credible threat” of arson against the East Precinct. But many on the OIG review panel – as was true at the time – doubted the credibility of those unconfirmed threats and continue to doubt them today. This only increased the lack of trust between protesters, the community, the city, and SPD.

An addendum to the temporary evacuation plan in June 2020 showed a directive to remove officers, all weapons, and evidence from the precinct. The plan was for officers to return to the precinct the next day, but that did not happen.

Instead, once the CHOP perimeter was established and SPD leadership observed the East Precinct was not being destroyed, the decision was made to hold off re-occupying the precinct. According to an OPA interview with an SPD Assistant Chief, “reestablishing a police presence in the area would require significant planning.” The CHOP existed for the next 23 days, the report states.

Retrial underway for alleged Lakewood 4 getaway driver

Many panelists remained highly skeptical about the FBI’s unsubstantiated intelligence of a “credible threat” of plans to destroy the building. They noted that no specifics had been provided to support the statement. The use of a general, unsubstantiated threat increased the panelists’ doubts about the integrity of the claim and the validity of the threat as a justification for evacuation of the precinct.

Despite the doubts about the threat’s validity, the report said many panelists felt the decision to leave the precinct was inevitable and some felt it helped deescalate the situation.

However, both community members and SPD officers were dissatisfied with the way the Mayor’s Office and SPD leadership communicated the decision.

Despite an investigation from OPA, the actual decision-making process between the city and SPD remains unclear. There is no known documentation of who participated in the meetings between the Mayor’s Office and SPD on June 7 and 8, or who gave what instructions to whom.

The panel issued several recommendations related to the evacuation and abandonment of the East Precinct, which are listed below.

• Recommendation 1: SPD and the City of Seattle should ensure Seattle neighborhoods are not left without public safety and other essential services. If city government is prevented from accessing an area, it should make every effort to provide city services and emergency response. The city should assign a city liaison to facilitate communications with impacted community members about service provision or interruption.
• Recommendation 2: In the event of an evacuation of a government building or other emergency, strategic decision-making should be done at the highest level of government with accountability and transparency.
• Recommendation 3: SPD should improve internal channels of communication to increase efficient and timely collaborative decision making amongst command and with officers.
• Recommendation 4: SPD should ensure processes for transparency and accountability are in place in case of evacuation or other emergency. Ensure accurate logs are kept at the Seattle Police Operations Center (SPOC).
• Recommendation 5: SPD should ensure appropriate recordkeeping and documentation during significant planning and decisions during large-scale protests.
• Recommendation 6: SPD should conduct and publish an After-Action Review of actions taken during a large-scale protest response within 60 days of the incident, including publication of all non-confidential materials used in the review.
• Recommendation 7: SPD Incident Action Plans (IAPs) should follow a standardized approval process that includes review at the appropriate command level to allow for accountability of decision-making.22 SPD should communicate IAPs to all officers prior to the implementation of the acts set forth in the IAP.
• Recommendation 8: SPD should ensure coordinated communication of goals, so the public has a clear understanding of SPD actions.
• Recommendation 9: SPD and the Mayor’s Office should publicly communicate rationale for decision-making during large-scale protest response to decrease mistrust on the part of the public and officers.
• Recommendation 10: SPD and the City of Seattle should include OIG in planning meetings to offer recommendations and to stay informed.
• Recommendation 11: An SPD Public Information Officer should accompany the Incident Commander to important or large-scale events.

Follow Hanna Scott on or email her here.��

Funding will be critical.

The more than half-billion-dollar settlement secured in a lawsuit against the three top opioid distributors will help.

Opioid distributors to pay $518 million to Washington state  

Ferguson announced in May the more than $500 million settlement with , , and in a lawsuit over their role in fueling the opioid crisis. The case claimed that the companies were negligent in their legal obligation to report large suspicious shipments of opioids pouring into the state to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Ferguson said they knew or should have known that pharmaceutical-grade opioids were being diverted to the black market in pursuit of profits.

McKesson still disputes allegations

One of the distributors, the McKesson Corporation, posted a statement in May when Ferguson highlighted the resolution.

It read in part: “While the companies strongly dispute the allegations made in the plaintiffs’ complaints and during trial, they believe that resolving all of the litigation filed by the State of Washington and its political subdivisions will further the companies’ goal of achieving broad resolution of governmental opioid… while delivering meaningful relief to communities across the United States that have been impacted by the opioid epidemic.”

Ferguson detailed the final agreement this week. He outlined how the settlement would be divided among the counties in the state and how those counties would be required to use the dollars.

“$215 million of the recovery will go directly to cities and counties to be used to heal communities in crisis. Local governments and all 39 counties will receive a portion of the settlement,” Ferguson said. He noted Washington is giving out one of the highest percentages of funds in the nation, directly to its cities and counties. Local governments negotiated how to divide the money.

An agreement on how to divide the cash

“They did agree on a formula based on how many opioids were shipped into their communities. How many people died as a result of opioids, and how many people are currently suffering from opioid use disorder,” Ferguson added.

The five counties getting the most significant share include King County – the county and its local jurisdictions will receive $56 million, and Pierce County will receive approximately $26 million. Snohomish County will get a little over $25 million, Spokane County will get a little over $90 million, and Clark County, nearly $15 million. Ferguson says an equal amount of $215 million will go to the entire state.

“Additionally, I’m directing the entire $46 million reimbursement of my office’s costs related to bringing and litigating this case; all of that money will go to the state… as well. So in total, $261 million goes to the state of Washington,” noted Ferguson.

Lawmakers have the final say

The State Legislature will have the final say on how the state dollars are used.

“But lawmakers under the terms of the agreement must use the funds to address the opioid epidemic,” he clarified.

The opioid distributors will pay the settlement dollars over the next 17 years.

The first payment comes to the state of Washington and to local jurisdictions on Dec. 1. The resolution front loads these payments to get significant dollars flowing quickly. The first payment is the largest, with a total of $55 million to the state and $80 million to local governments.

Spending decisions must be consistent with plan

“The Consent Decree aligns with our state’s opioid response plan, and spending decisions by state and local governments must be consistent with that plan. Local governments will need to report how they’re spending the monies. We have transparency throughout this process so the public can see how the money is being spent,” explained Ferguson.

Addressing addiction treatment, drug education, and community services, are just a few of the ways the money will be spent.

“The resources can be used to fund desperately needed prevention strategies, including improved and expanded treatment options to address the needs of pregnant women and their families, including those with babies with a neo-natal disorder, youth focus outreach and prevention efforts, support for first responders and other evidence-based programs and services that can save lives and preserve families,” Ferguson said.

First responders benefit

The support for first responders allows local jurisdictions to use money to hire fire and police personnel.

Follow Hanna Scott on or email her here.��

But the damage was already done.

Man accused of threatening to stab Renton bartender pleads not guilty

39-year-old Sergeant Mark Renninger and 40-year-old Officer Tina Griswold both died almost instantly after being shot in the head. 37-year-old Officer Ronald Owens died from a gunshot wound to the neck as he tried to draw his weapon and 42-year-old Officer Greg Richards died from a gunshot wound to the head, but not before returning fire and striking Clemmons in the abdomen.

Clemmons’ death made accused getaway driver Darcus Allen the main target for justice over such a shocking attack on law enforcement. By 2011, he’d been tried and convicted on first-degree murder charges.

But that jury did not find evidence to support the aggravating factors, which would have led to an automatic life-without-parole sentence. The jury did, however, find evidence to support sentencing enhancement.

Allen was sentenced to 420 years in prison.

But in 2015, the State Supreme Court vacated the convictions, citing prosecutor misconduct because of language the deputy prosecutor used during closing arguments.

Prosecutors hoped to retry Allen on aggravated first-degree murder charges with sentencing enhancements, but Allen’s defense team appealed, arguing the retrial was double jeopardy.

A series of appeals ensued. It all culminated in a final appellate decision from a three-judge panel on the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals last month, rejecting the final appeal from Allen’s defense team.

That decision cleared the way for the retrial to begin. Allen was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and sentencing enhancements, but not the aggravating factors, which would mandate automatic life without parole. Since the original jury had already cleared Allen of those charges, retrying them would have been double jeopardy.

Allen has always maintained he had no idea what Clemmons planned to do when he drove him near the coffee shop and did not know what he’d done when he drove him away from the scene. Allen said he did not realize anything was wrong until he noticed Clemmons was injured, at which point he claimed he abandoned the truck and Clemmons.

However, prosecutors found no evidence of Allen ever abandoning the truck.

Opening statements in Allen’s retrial got underway Monday, with prosecutors coming out of the gate with their firm belief that Allen knew full well what his longtime friend had planned.

“Maurice Clemmons did not act alone,” the prosecutor told the jury. “He had an accomplice and that accomplice was Darcus Allen.”

Allen’s attorney passionately rejected that narrative in his opening statement, telling the jury Allen was across the street at a car wash when Clemmons killed the officers and had no idea what his plans were or what he had done when he drove him away from the scene.

“This man has done nothing,” Allen’s defense attorney told the jury. “He knew nothing.”

Testimony was expected to begin on Tuesday.

Follow Hanna Scott on or email her here.��

Last week’s sentences included an encampment arsonist, a dangerous driver who nearly killed a family, and a terrifying New Year’s Day robbery.

Crime and Punishment: Highest number of domestic violence murders, prosecutor says

Case #1 Encampment Arsonist

We hear a lot about encampment fires, but unlike some, this fire about a block off Rainier Ave South last December was no accident.

“There was a tent fire with two people inside – a man and a woman. And when Seattle police went to investigate, there was a witness who said that he saw a guy going to the gas station nearby and pouring gas on this tent before he lit it on fire. And one of the victims came out and said ‘what are you doing?’” Casey McNerthney with the office said.

“This is a case that King County prosecutors rush filed. We asked for the defendant here to be held on $100,000 bail because we argued that he was a danger. This isn’t somebody who went to the encampment to target the folks there, the victims and the defendant were known to each other before this happened. But whatever the dispute was, this [was] not the way to handle it,” McNerthney said.

McNerthney says Seattle Police did great work getting the evidence to prosecutors and they were able to immediately file the case.

“And faced with that evidence, the defendant pleaded guilty and he was ultimately convicted of felony arson charges and said that he maliciously sent that tent on fire,” McNerthney said.

“He’s got a history of violence, which King County prosecutors showed to the judge with our high bail request. His conviction history includes multiple assault cases and criminal trespass, harassment, interfering with domestic violence reporting,” he said.

But most of those convictions involved misdemeanors.

“And that matters, because in Washington state if you’re convicted of misdemeanors, those don’t count towards your offender score, which influences how long you stay in prison for a new offense,” explained McNerthney.

“What happened here with this felony arson conviction, even though he’s got multiple misdemeanor convictions, his range was 12 to 14 months. The defendant was sentenced to 12 months on Friday and also 18 months in community custody with the Department of Corrections,” said McNerthney.

“An important thing to note here is that victims of crimes deserve justice regardless of where they live. And people who commit felony crimes can expect charges whenever we can prove those cases, regardless of where they happen in King County,” he added.

Case #2 Dangerous Driver Vehicular Assault, Illegal Gun (Travis Swan)

On a Sunday night in September 2020, multiple 911 calls came in about someone driving erratically on I-405. The driver was speeding and drifting across all lanes before suddenly exiting the highway.

“There was a red light there but this car didn’t stop, and plowed into the back of a Tesla,” said McNerthney.

“It was a young couple in their 20s with their three-year-old daughter in the back. The three-year-old was in a car seat, but the impact was so intense that the child got a concussion when she was flung up to the ceiling of this car, and her dad got a concussion too. The mom suffered a really serious compound arm and shoulder fracture that required emergency surgery,” he added.

Despite his injury, the dad got out and chased the suspect – who tried to run from the scene – along with several bystanders. The suspect was hiding in the bushes and when cops found him, he also possessed an illegal gun.

“He had multiple felony convictions out of Pierce County, including three convictions for ID theft and two for attempted robbery. So this is a guy who had a high offender score going into his sentencing. [He] was convicted of vehicular assault, felony hit-and-run and unlawful gun possession,” said McNerthney.

The standard range was between 51 and at least 60 months, but prosecutors in this case argued for 70 months – nearly six years. On Friday, a judge sentenced him to 70 months and also required Swan to get evaluations for substance abuse and alcohol.

Case #3 First Degree Robbery

The final case involves Caleb Bell who carried out a terrifying robbery – at least for one QFC clerk.

“It was just before 8:00 a.m. on New Year’s Day at the QFC right there on 145th NE Street on the North Seattle-Shoreline border. This guy walks in with what the clerk at the QFC thought was a rifle slung across his back and he asked for cigarettes. The guy who was working at QFC said ‘Sure, but you gotta pay for them,’ and that really set off the defendant. He demanded money and then took this rifle and pointed [it] directly at the clerk,” said McNerthney.

“When police found him, it turns out that this was a loaded AK-47 that was slung on the guy’s back with a full magazine and a round in the chamber. That’s really, really terrifying and this could have ended much worse,” he added.

Fortunately, the gun was not fired.

Prosecutors rush filed this case.

“The sentencing range for first-degree attempted robbery as set by state lawmakers is 27 to 36 months. The range for unlawful gun possession with this guy’s history is three to eight months and again, that’s set by state lawmakers. A lot of folks will say ‘Really? Three to eight months for an AK?’ but that’s what we’re limited to and it’s not just King County, [it’s] statewide,” explained McNerthney, who added Bell’s criminal history also included harassment, trespassing and interfering with domestic violence reporting, amongst other crimes.

Prosecutors sought a used firearms enhancement to keep Bell off the streets longer.

“With that firearm enhancement, that increased the range and we argued for 67.5 months, roughly five and a half years. The judge on Friday didn’t quite go for that and gave him 63 months, but that’s still five and a quarter years,” said McNerthney.

“That firearm enhancement really made a difference there because that means additional years in prison,” he added.

The effort to require independent investigations began with I-940, an initiative to the legislature approved by voters in 2018, followed by the passage of HB 1064 [the Legislature’s amended compromise to I-940] in 2019. A of independent investigations into the use of deadly force incidents included in I-940 and HB 1064 that families of those killed by police wanted on the books was the mandatory involvement of non-law enforcement community representatives.

Former Seattle police chief to testify in trial of officer charged with murder

But a found that not all officer-involved shooting investigations complied with that. That same year, the legislature approved a sweeping police reform package of more than a dozen bills, including sponsored by Democratic State Rep. Debra Entenman, to create the new Office of Independent Investigations (OII). This further strengthened laws on the books for cops not investigating cops.

“The new Office of Independent Investigation will increase transparency and trust in investigations of deadly uses of force by law enforcement. I want to thank the families of victims of police violence who courageously showed up again and again to change a system that provided them with no accountability and no justice,” Entenman said at the time.

“Our premise is simple: police shouldn’t be investigating other police. This new office will help us build trust between the community and law enforcement by ensuring that there is accountability for unnecessary police violence,” she added.

Under HB 1267, the OII was expected to start taking cases involving the use of deadly force in July of 2022, but that has not happened yet. In an update to law enforcement, impacted families, and community members this week, the new director of the office gave no clear timeline for when that would be.

“We intend to have six investigation teams throughout the state located in the eastern part of the state, the central part of the state,” OII Director Roger Rogoff said during Wednesday’s meeting.

But they’re not ready yet. Rogoff says the office is the equivalent of a start-up with four priorities.

“The four priorities are hiring, protocols and procedures, training, and outreach,” said Rogoff.

The Office of Independent Investigations teams will not make law enforcement personnel’s existing independent investigation teams obsolete. They have slightly different authorizations, and when OII takes over a scene when a concurrent criminal investigation is underway, Rogoff’s team won’t have the authority to handle underlying criminal investigations.

Rogoff says the most important part of that protocol will be how they hire investigators.

“We are tasked with including non-law enforcement and folks who have not had law enforcement experience within our investigator teams,” Rogoff explained.

But Rogoff said since the only people currently trained on how to do death and complex criminal investigations are former law enforcement, they’ll hire some of them as senior investigators to hit the ground running and be ready to take over these investigations credibly.

“We’ll also be hiring entry-level investigators who may not have that law enforcement background, who will then be in the field training relationships with some of those senior investigators so they can learn and get experience on how to do these investigations,” said Rogoff.

The office is working on an internal manual detailing how they’ll do their work, including protocols on interacting with current independent investigations teams and with the agencies involved in the incident. All information will be publicly shared once approved.

“I want to be as clear and transparent as possible,” said Rogoff.

But it is a bit unclear when they might be ready to take on cases.

“We are working at maximum speed to try to get up and running,” said Rogoff.

Racial disparities in King County Sheriff’s use of force, more data needed says Sheriff

Rogoff noted that while the office was initially slated to start taking over cases this past July, he was only appointed his position at the new agency about two weeks earlier, adding that folks had been very graceful in understanding that there was no way they could make that original July start date.

“But I also understand the hope of community and the uncertainty from law enforcement during the time that we haven’t started, so we very much want to get started with cases as soon as possible, and that is what I am focused on,” explained Rogoff.

“We need to hire the right people. We need to train them. We need to get our protocols in place, and we need to be ready to start doing the things the state and the Legislature want us to do. We’re very well aware that at the five-year mark, we need to have a report out to the Legislature describing how we will accomplish that goal,” he added.

HB 1267 makes clear the ultimate goal is to have a civilian agency running these investigations. Some cops wonder how someone with zero investigative experience could run what potentially amounts to homicide investigations.

“We will not be having any investigators that have no experience and no training doing any kind of investigation with us,” Rogoff stressed. “We intend to hire, train, and get new investigators experience before they’re ever let loose on a crime scene by themselves. We are asked to follow the statute, but we are not naive to the idea that in order to do these investigations over time and to have credibility, both in the community and with police agencies, we’re going to need to start with experienced investigators. So I’m never going to put someone out on a crime scene who doesn’t know what they’re doing.”

HB 1267 also opens the door to the Office of Independent Investigations re-opening previously closed investigations involving the use of deadly force, should new evidence arise. Rogoff says his team is currently working on protocols and defining what constitutes new evidence.

He says the team is also in talks with those involved with Seattle Police Department’s more than decade-old consent decree to determine how the OII can best collaborate. As it stands now, the consent decree supersedes state law created in HB 1267, leaving SPD the only law enforcement agency in the state not subject to the OII investigators and able to have its own Force Investigation Team investigate the use of deadly force involving its officers.

While Rogoff could not offer a definite date on when OII would start taking cases, his team says they expect to have a public website available in the next few weeks where people can get more information on the process and where things stand. In the meantime, as this week, use of deadly force incidents continue to happen around the state, including a recent case in Olympia where officers shot and killed Timothy Green.

Green’s mother told Axios’ Melissa Santos if the new Office of Independent Investigations was up and running, her son might still be alive because it would cause police to think again before using deadly force.

While the new OII is not ready to take cases, the state auditor is.

This week State Auditor Pat McCarthy’s team released the first-of-its-kind of the use of deadly force investigations to ensure they’re conducted in compliance with new police accountability laws.

The Kitsap Critical Incident Response Unit volunteered to be the first audited, which found the unit fell short in two deadly force investigation cases.

The first case involved the death of David Pruitte, 36, an unarmed man who was shot and killed by a Kitsap County sheriff’s deputy after a confrontation in the middle of the road, according to the Kitsap Sun.

The second case involves the death of Kitsap County Jail inmate Sean Howell when corrections officers placed him in a restraint chair.

In both cases, auditors found no documentation showing supervisors had removed the involved officers from the scene, nor were they separated and directed not to speak to each other about the case.

Auditors also noted investigators failed to inform families before putting out a press release to the media.

As far as enforcement action goes, it won’t come from the auditor.

“It’ll be up to the legislature, the Criminal Justice Training Commission, the governor’s office, or law enforcement agencies to make changes based on our findings and recommendations,” said Michael Huynh, program manager for the use of deadly force investigation audits for the state auditor.

As part of the package of police reform legislation passed in 2021 by the Legislature, the State Auditor’s Office must audit every investigation into officers’ use of deadly force that resulted in death or bodily harm in the state since Jan. 6, 2020.

Two more audits are expected to be released next week.

Follow Hanna Scott on or email her here.��

“The big takeaway is that there [are] enormous disparities in home ownership, and that our history of racial discrimination and policies, like redlining, like the way the GI Bill was not administered fairly, contributed to that,” said Lisa Brown, Director of the State Department of Commerce. “But also, home equity is a primary form of wealth in American society, and it has been unequally distributed, and there have been barriers.”

HDWG spent nearly a year reviewing data to discover housing trends while authoring best practices to remove barriers to homeownership for Washingtonians of color, including a strong recommendation to the executive and legislative branches to “chart a new course” with new initiatives and bills.

Redfin settles lawsuit alleging housing discrimination

“Unfortunately, this is not just about history, because the last 20 years, this has not improved,” said Brown. “And so we need specific attention to home ownership, especially in BIPOC communities. What are the barriers? How can we increase the opportunities?”

Brown cited archaic lending, financial practices, and credit scores as traditional tactics that disproportionately impact BIPOC communities.

“We don’t expect this to happen overnight, but we do have a $25 billion home ownership assistance funding opportunity coming out in a couple of months and we’re going to work very hard to make sure that we’re looking at this issue,” said Brown. “It’s an issue across the state, particularly challenging in some of our rural communities.”

(BHI) is a new regional effort to increase rates of Black homeownership in the Puget Sound region. Its goal is to generate 1,500 new Black homeowners in the next five years, working in tandem with the national organization, the Center for Community Investment.

The policy framework includes policy strategies in four areas: Zoning and Regulatory Reform, Funding, Large Scale Acquisition of Land and Value Capture, and Cost Reduction.

“The state plays a role in directly funding some affordable housing, but we also know we need local governments to step up and look at zoning regulations, even permitting and things that might slow down the construction of affordable housing,” Brown said.

Follow Hanna Scott on or email her here.��

“As we move into the first budget season with the Harrell administration, among my areas of focus is ensuring firefighters get the resources they need to perform their life-saving duties,” Herbold said in a statement.

Harrell’s first two-year budget proposal included a 20% boost to the Seattle Police Department budget and additional funding to cover a 50% increase in the number of Seattle Fire recruits.

County asks District 12 fire commissioners to resign amid investigation

Herbold stated she supports spending more to increase the size of the next class of fire recruits in theory, but not the way it appears in the mayor’s budget proposal.

When the West Seattle Bridge closed in March 2020, Harold had internal discussions with Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins about whether another ladder truck was needed for the peninsula.

“I was grateful then that Scoggins championed the safety of District 1 with his decision to place a ladder truck for the peninsula at Fire Station 37, in the Highpoint neighborhood, and a medic unit at Fire Station 26 in South Park,” Herbold said. “However, with the release of the proposed budget on Tuesday, it appears that those resources are proposed to be removed at the end of 2022 and used instead for training more recruits to SFD.”

Herbold still supports the idea of paying for more fire recruits but stressed existing resources must be protected.

“The historically underserved areas that receive life-saving assistance from our first responders at Fire Station 37 and Fire Station 26 need these resources in 2023,” Herbold said. “Without the ladder truck at Station 37, there is only one ladder truck to serve all of West Seattle.

“The nearest medic units are Medic 28 in Rainer Valley and Medic 32 in the Junction, far away from the Delridge neighborhoods, Arbor Heights, and South Park. As our population continues to grow, it’s critical that we reevaluate the need for new resources.”

Herbold noted that many constituents are concerned, including a longtime firefighter serving on Fire Station 37.

“Without the ladder truck at Station 37, there is only one ladder truck to serve all of West Seattle — if it’s not already dispatched on a call,” the firefighter wrote in his message to the City Council. “This means that responses requiring extrication, fire-related search-and-rescue, fire ventilation, and other ‘truck’ abilities which are unable to be performed by an engine company [leading to] a delay of approximately 14-to-20 minutes, compared to a 6-to-8 minute response using L13. Our ability to perform life-saving measures [are] limited as firefighters.”

With only one medic unit in the West Seattle area, this could lead to delays of approximately 12-to-18 minutes at least, according to the Station 37 firefighter.

“I will be working to fund L13 and M26 to provide continued service in District 1,” Herbold vowed. “Just like we did in the 2022 budget, we must fund life-saving investments in the council’s 2023 budget.”

����Xվ Newsradio reached out to the mayor’s office for a response to Herbold’s concerns. The mayor has yet to comment as of this reporting.

Follow Hanna Scott on or email her here.��

23-year-old Jose Luque-Gutierrez was arrested last week after Seattle Police, Homeland Security, and the FBI teamed up on a controlled-buy operation with the help of a cooperative witness.

The Crime Blotter: 15 guns, 5.5 pounds of fentanyl recovered in North Seattle drug bust

According to charging documents, the witness told investigators they had bought fentanyl powder and pills from a drug dealer operating in North Seattle multiple times over the previous six months.

According to court records, the witness called the dealer and asked for a kilo of fentanyl powder and 10,000 fentanyl pills. The person on the phone said they would meet the witness in one hour with the goods. When the suspect showed up carrying a box, the witness identified the man as a runner for the drug dealer they knew.

Investigators searched the box and found over 1,000 grams of fentanyl powder and nearly 900 grams of fentanyl pills. According to charging documents, they also found about two grams of meth and nearly $2,500 on Luque-Gutierrez.

Luque-Gutierrez has been charged with violating the Controlled Substances Act for possession with intent to deliver. Prosecutors asked that he be held on a $150,000 bail, noting he was unlikely to appear in response to a summons.

Luque-Gutierrez has no criminal history in Washington state and was carrying a Mexico-issued driver’s license at the time of his arrest.

Follow Hanna Scott on or email her here.��

The bartender said he asked Perez to leave because he was drinking alcohol from an open container outside the premises and aggressively soliciting money from people walking by. When he told Perez to leave the property, Perez got verbally and physically aggressive with him. Perez eventually pulled a knife out of his pocket and threatened the bartender, saying “I’ll put a hole in your six stomach,” according to court records and the bartender’s police statement.

58-year-old baseball umpire charged with sexual abuse of a minor

The bartender immediately went back inside where two women customers, who were scared for their lives, ran and hid in the bathroom. The bartender grabbed a bat he kept behind the bar and called 911.

Police said Perez denied pulling a knife, but according to security camera footage, Perez was seen holding two knives as he moved toward the bar.

“This level of escalation for this type of situation shows a level of disregard on the defendant’s part,” prosecutors argued, noting they believed he presented a substantial risk of committing a future violent offense.

Prosecutors also argued Perez was unlikely to show up for court if released on his own recognizance as he had just moved to the area from Texas six months earlier and had no ties to the area and no place to live.

Follow Hanna Scott on or email her here.��