A community is demanding accountability after Seattle police shot and killed an armed man near Othello Light Rail Station on Tuesday afternoon.
Community members gathered at the scene Wednesday on Martin Luther King Jr. Way South and South Othello Street, questioning whether deadly force was necessary and calling for officers to have done more to de-escalate the situation.
Police say officers responded to reports of a man waving a gun. According to authorities, the man wouldn’t comply with commands, prompting officers to open fire.
After the man was shot, police used a 40-millimeter sponge round to disarm him, knocking the gun out of his hand.
CPR was performed, but the suspect did not survive.
The shooting occurred near an elementary school, apartments and businesses. Police say a bystander was injured by shattered glass or bullet fragments.
Emijah Smith, a Seattle resident, said her son was coming home from school when the shooting happened.
“That bothers me as a mother because the burden and the weight-- I gotta figure out what that healing process is gonna look like for my son,” Smith said.
She said multiple families are now dealing with trauma from the incident.
“It felt like it was very reckless. And I really do feel like the families were not centered in this community and they deserve to be centered,” Smith said.
Robert Engel with the Seattle Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression said officers should have de-escalated and used less-lethal options first.
“Compounding issues that come when, you know, the police kill people and fail to de-escalate,” Engel said.
Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes said officers sometimes must act quickly in situations involving firearms.
“Compliance is always best, de-escalation is always best, but sometimes you don’t have the benefit of time when someone is carrying a firearm and walking toward you, or walking toward innocent people,” Barnes said.
The King County Force Investigation Team is investigating the officer-involved shooting.
Smith said the community needs support and resources to heal.
“I hope that our leadership will help us move in an appropriate and a healthy way in the healing process of this and to not disregard this black body because somebody made a phone call. His life still deserves to be honored,” Smith said.
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