Inquest ordered into fatal police shooting of armed man at light rail station

September 12, 2014

Summary

Fact-finding hearing is customary 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 fatal shooting of Oscar Eduardo Perez Giron by a Sound Transit Police deputy on June 30, 2014.

King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg recommended the inquest after his office reviewed materials from the Seattle Police Department, which conducted the investigation. According to the investigation, the 23-year old man was armed with a handgun when he was fatally shot in a confrontation with police at the Sound Transit Sodo Station. Sound Transit contracts with King County for deputies to patrol the agency’s trains, buses, stations and platforms.

Inquests are fact-finding hearings conducted before a six-member jury. Under a standing Executive Order, inquests are convened 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.

Read the Executive Order on Conducting Inquests in King County.