OLYMPIA – The Senate Law and Justice Committee will hold a work session Wednesday, Jan. 11, on coroners’ investigations of police use of deadly force – a topic that has garnered much comment during the run-up to the 2017 legislative session.

The hearing begins at 8 a.m. in Senate Hearing Room 4. The hearing will be live-streamed over TVW, the state’s public-affairs television network, at www.TVW.org.

Among those testifying will be retired King County Judge Michael J. Fox, who oversaw an inquest last month in Franklin County into the police shooting death of Antonio Zambrano in 2015. Testimony and video footage established the Pasco man was throwing rocks at officers when he was shot, posing a danger to police and the public. The coroner’s jury found that Pasco police were justified. Also testifying will be Franklin County Coroner Dan Blasdel, and video of the incident will be presented.

Although the findings of coroners’ juries are not binding on courts or prosecutors, they can provide a useful mechanism to determine facts, says Senate Law and Justice Chair Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “In Pasco we saw an example of how such inquests ought to be conducted,” Padden said. “The inquest helped to defuse community tensions in a racially charged case, and its just-the-facts approach could serve as a model for other communities facing similar situations.”

Padden noted that procedures for coroners’ inquests vary from community to community, and said lawmakers may consider this year whether procedures ought to be standardized.

Coroners are allowed to convene inquests when deaths occur under unlawful, violent or suspicious circumstances. Such inquests are infrequent, however. Last year, after Franklin County commissioners threatened to block the Pasco inquest, the Senate passed SB 6295 to allow county coroners to seek another venue when no local courtroom facilities are available. Wednesday’s work session aims to gather testimony on the new law.

Also testifying at Wednesday’s hearing will be Cowlitz County Coroner Timothy Davidson, representing the Washington Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners, and Nina Martinez of the Latino Civic Alliance.