Seattle Cop Cleared In 2020 Shooting Of Man Holding Baby: OPA

Seattle WA

25 March, 2021

8:31 PM

Description

SEATTLE — Seattle's police oversight office announced Thursday that its investigation fully cleared an officer of wrongdoing in the shooting death of Shaun Fuhr in the Columbia City neighborhood last year. On April 29, 2020, the Seattle Police Department responded to a 911 call from a woman who said the father of her child had fired a gun after an argument near the Rainier Playfield, then left with their 1-year-old daughter. The police response grew to include SWAT officers, K9 teams and a helicopter as police searched the area. Roughly 35 minutes after the initial report, police said they received information that a man was seen carrying a child at an under-construction building a few blocks away. Body camera footage released by the police department showed officers rushing through an alley, cornering the man near a fence, and yelling "you better stop right now," just as an officer fires a shot. The man falls to the ground, along with the infant he was holding, and the officers quickly move toward him and pick up the child, the footage shows. Warning: The video below contains disturbing audio and images. The King County Medical Examiner identified the man killed as Shaun Fuhr, 24, and ruled his cause of death to be a single gunshot to the head. The Seattle Police Department identified the officer who fired the shot as Noah Zech, a SWAT team member and 15-year veteran of the department. Police said a handgun belonging to Fuhr was found nearby. The Office of Police Accountability's investigation would confirm that he did not have the gun when he was shot. Fuhr's family has decried the killing, and marches demanding justice for his death have been a part of ongoing protests against police brutality and systemic racism. In the OPA's case summary, director Andrew Myerberg concluded that Zech's use of deadly force "was consistent with policy and Department training," clearing him of all three allegations of misconduct. The police watchdog office published a news release along with the report Thursday, including a brief overview of the OPA's reasoning. The statement reads in part: "OPA determined that given the totality of the circumstances, further de-escalation at the time of the shooting was not safe or feasible. Moreover, OPA found the use of deadly force was reasonable, necessary, and proportional. Mr. Fuhr had previously engaged in violence towards the child's mother, he was believed to be armed and dangerous, the officers could not see his right hand, he had repeatedly refused to surrender, and he was holding the child in a manner that raised concerns for the child's welfare. OPA also considered the officer's extensive SWAT training for similar scenarios and his belief that without immediate action, the child would be at serious risk of imminent harm. OPA recognizes that this incident is a tragedy for all involved. However, the weight of the evidence informs the determination that no policies or laws were violated." In the 17-page closed case summary, Myerberg details his reasonings for dismissing the allegations and supporting the officer's actions in each instance. Focusing on the use of deadly force, Myerberg ruled it was "necessary under the circumstances," and consistent with training. Myerberg writes: "In reaching this conclusion, OPA recognizes how quickly [Zech] acted. Certainly, it could be argued that, knowing after the fact that the Subject did not possess the handgun at the time of the shooting, had [Zech] waited just a few more seconds, the Subject may have surrendered. However, this is purely speculative and, in any event, is barred under the prohibition of using 20/20 hindsight. [Zech] must be judged based on what he knew and what he perceived at the time. In applying this standard, OPA finds the force was necessary and that there were no reasonably effective alternatives available to [Zech] in the immediacy of the moment." Myerberg also dismissed an allegation of biased policing as unfounded. Zech is white and Fuhr was Black. "[Zech]'s actions were based on the facts and circumstances he faced, not on the Subject's race," Myerberg wrote. "OPA reaches this conclusion due to the [body-worn video] and the contents of the interviews provided by [Zech] and the other witness officers." The Seattle Community Police Commission, tasked with making policy recommendations, responded to the OPA's findings Thursday afternoon, calling for change: "We are heartbroken for Shaun Fuhr's loved ones and our entire community. This is a tragedy on every level. Police responses in Seattle too often result in violence, particularly when it involves people of color. We cannot continue to rely on police policy that has repeatedly allowed officers to shoot unarmed people. In no world should it be acceptable to shoot someone when they have their baby in their arms." While the police commission does not investigate individual officers, the CPC said it requested the full, unredacted case files from the OPA to analyze where policy improvements might help prevent another tragedy.