Summary

King County Executive Dow Constantine today ordered an inquest into the fatal shooting of Vu Hoang Quach by three Seattle police SWAT officers on November 22, 2010.

Story

King County Executive Dow Constantine today ordered an inquest into the fatal shooting of Vu Hoang Quach by three Seattle police SWAT officers on November 22, 2010.

Firefighters called for police backup after responding to a report of a man slumped in a car parked in the 1400 block of South Atlantic Street on north Beacon Hill. Police said the man raised a handgun to his head when approached by firefighters. Police said the man refused orders from a SWAT team to put down the pistol and began to move his vehicle, and the SWAT officers opened fire.

King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg recommended the inquest after his office reviewed investigative materials from the Seattle Police Department.

Inquests are fact-finding hearings conducted before a six-member jury. Under a standing Executive Order they are routinely called to determine the causes and circumstances of any death involving a member of any law enforcement agency within King County while in the performance of his or her duties.

Inquests provide transparency into law enforcement actions so the public may have all the facts established in a court of law. The ordering of an inquest should carry no other implication. Inquest jurors answer a series of interrogatories to determine the significant factual issues involved in the case, and it is not their purpose to determine whether any person or agency is civilly or criminally liable.

The order signed by the Executive requests King County District Court Presiding Judge Barbara Linde to assign a judge who will set a date and conduct the inquest.

The ordering of inquests is a function vested in the county executive under the King County Code.

Read the Executive Order on Conducting Inquests in King County at: www.kingcounty.gov/operations/policies/executive/publicaeo/phl711aeo