Arlington Police Respond to Lawsuit Apparently Filed in February 2017 Officer Involved Shooting
(Arlington, WA) – The Arlington Police Department has not yet been served with the lawsuit that has apparently been filed related to the officer involved shooting that occurred on February 14, 2017.
An independent investigation by the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team (SMART) was conducted immediately following the shooting. SMART is a team of investigators, evidence technicians, records specialists, and public information officers from various Snohomish County law enforcement agencies and the Washington State Patrol who respond to, and investigate, police use of force incidents including law enforcement involved fatalities and serious injury incidents. A SMART investigation has been a long standing practice for all Snohomish County jurisdictions following a qualifying use of force incident. The SMART team model was adopted as the state standard under the recently approved Initiative 940.
The SMART investigation and subsequent review by the Snohomish County Prosecutor cleared both officers in the use of force. At the time of the shooting, the involved officers were trained in crisis intervention techniques to the standard required by state law. The independent investigation showed that the officers repeatedly attempted to deescalate the situation, including the deployment of a Taser to prevent injury to the plaintiff, the officers, and bystanders. The plaintiff pled guilty to two counts of Assault on a Police Officer in connection with the case, admitting she attempted to assault the officers to force a “suicide by cop” scenario.
Stated Arlington Police Chief Jonathan Ventura, "this is an unfortunate situation for the plaintiff and we empathize with her and her family.”
The Arlington Police Department will be unable to comment further regarding the incident due to the pending litigation.
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