Civil lawsuit filed against Seattle police officers who fatally shot Charleena Lyles

Charles Lyles, father of Charleena Lyles, has a lawsuit on behalf of her daughter’s estate against the two Seattle police officers who fatally shot her on June 18. (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times)

Seattle Times

September 8, 2018
By Sara Jean Green
sgreen@seattletimes.com

A civil lawsuit was filed Friday against the two Seattle police officers who fatally shot Charleena Lyles in June. Attorneys representing Lyles’ estate say the suit is in response to the Seattle Police Department’s failure to release additional information about the shooting.

Attorneys representing the estate of Charleena Lyles filed a civil lawsuit Friday against the two Seattle police officers who fatally shot the pregnant mother of four in her Magnuson Park apartment in June.

The suit alleging civil-rights violations and wrongful death names Officers Steven McNew and Jason Anderson as respondents. They are indemnified as city employees, which means should there be a civil judgment or settlement agreement against them, damages would be paid by the city.

During a Friday news conference outside the Seattle Police Department’s Fifth Avenue headquarters, Seattle attorneys Karen Koehler, Ed Moore and Travis Jameson explained the legal maneuver is meant to speed up the clock on getting answers to outstanding questions surrounding Lyles’ death.