Bill makes coroners’ inquests a more useful tool in police fatalities, suspicious deaths

February 20, 2017

OLYMPIA – A bill aimed at making coroners’ inquests a more useful procedure, particularly in high-profile cases involving law enforcement, cleared the Senate Law and Justice Committee last week and awaits action by the Senate Rules Committee.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, was inspired in part by a December inquest that followed a police shooting in Pasco and by meetings with representatives of the Washington Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners.

“The Pasco inquest showed that coroners’ juries can play an important role in allaying community concerns,” Padden said. “By presenting the facts clearly, inquests allow the public to see what went into a decision to use deadly force. A transparent inquest process can go a long way toward clearing the air.”

Though county coroners and medical examiners may convene juries to determine facts in cases of violent, unnatural and suspicious deaths, their findings do not determine whether prosecutors file charges, and the process is rarely used. King County is the only jurisdiction that requires inquests in cases of law enforcement-related deaths.

In the Pasco case, the February 2015 death of Antonio Zambrano launched protests and prompted some to charge that race was a factor in officers’ decision to shoot. Yet the coroner’s jury ultimately reached the same conclusion as the Franklin County prosecuting attorney and the state attorney general’s office, which reviewed the case. All decided wrongful death charges were unwarranted.

Senate Bill 5769 establishes new rules for inquests:

  • Medical examiners who unreasonably refuse to conduct inquests as a matter of policy may be overruled by county commissioners or county councils.
  • Special consideration for inquests must be given to deaths involving law enforcement and to unnatural deaths during incarceration.
  • Counties are required to set aside funds for inquests.
  • Tribes must be notified of inquests and be allowed to participate when the deceased is a tribal member.
  • County superior courts must decide within 15 days whether a courtroom or other public facility is available for an inquest, allowing for a timely change of venue.
  • Jurors may submit written questions for a witness to a coroner or prosecuting attorney, and a coroner may compel the witness to answer.