Cousin: Pregnant woman killed by police wasn't violent
SEATTLE (AP) — A cousin of a mother who was shot and killed by Seattle police questioned Monday why officers didn't use a Taser or other non-lethal options during the encounter with the woman who he said had been struggling with mental health issues in the past year but wasn't a violent person.
Kenny Isabell, pastor of The Way of Holiness Church of God in Seattle, said 30-year-old Charleena Lyles was pregnant and some of her four other children were inside the apartment during the Sunday shooting.
Police released a roughly 4-minute audio recording of the officers initially discussing "a safety caution" about the address and a previous encounter with the woman before they reached her fourth-floor apartment in Seattle's Sand Point neighborhood.
Seattle officials agreed in 2012 to an independent monitor and federal court oversight of the department after a federal investigation found Seattle officers routinely used excessive force.
Under the agreement with the Justice Department, Seattle police adopted a new policy dictating that uses of force by officers must be reasonable, necessary and proportional to the threat or urgency of the situation.
In a report in April, the court-appointed monitor found that the reforms had prompted a stunning drop in how often officers use serious force — with no rise in crime or officer injuries.