Summary

Fact-finding hearing is routine to determine causes and circumstances of any death involving a member of law enforcement while in performance of duties

Story

King County Executive Dow Constantine today ordered an inquest into the shooting death of Maksim Mayba, a 21-year-old Kent man, by a Federal Way police officer on January 13, 2012.

Police say the officer was investigating an alleged drug transaction in a car parked outside a Starbucks on Southwest Dash Point Road in Federal Way, when they say a suspect did not show his hands as ordered. Police say the officer fired twice, striking and killing Mayba, who was seated in the car.

King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg recommended the inquest after his office reviewed materials from the Auburn Police Department, which conducted the investigation.

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 Corinna Harn to assign a judge to set a date and conduct the inquest.

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