$3.5 Million Settlement for Family of Charleena Lyles After Wrongful-Death Reversal
The estate of Charleena Lyles, a pregnant Black mother of four fatally shot by Seattle police during a mental health crisis in 2017, settled its wrongful-death civil rights claim for $3.5 million after a state appellate court reversed a prior dismissal and reinstated the case for trial.
What happened
On the morning of June 18, 2017, Charleena Lyles called 911 from her Magnuson Park apartment to report a burglary. She was 30 years old, pregnant, and the mother of four children, three of whom were home when officers Jason Anderson and Steven McNew arrived. Both officers knew Lyles had a documented history of mental illness and prior contacts with Seattle police. When she produced a small knife, the officers shot her seven times. She died at the scene. Her children were in the apartment.
The circumstances surrounding the shooting drew immediate scrutiny. Officer Anderson, who had received Taser training, had left the device in his locker that day because of a dead battery. Seattle Police Department policy required him to carry it. Experts retained by the family's legal team concluded that the shooting was avoidable, that de-escalation alternatives existed, and that Lyles, in a psychotic state at the moment of the shooting, could not have formed the intent to assault the officers.
Karen Koehler of Stritmatter Kessler Koehler Moore filed a wrongful-death negligence suit on behalf of Lyles' estate and children. In January 2019, King County Superior Court Judge Julie Spector dismissed the case after granting a defense motion that barred the family's three expert witnesses, a forensic psychologist and two police use-of-force specialists. Without that testimony, the negligence claims could not survive summary judgment.
The Washington State Court of Appeals reversed that dismissal in February 2021. A three-judge panel found the trial court had abused its discretion in excluding the experts and that genuine disputes of material fact remained for a jury to resolve. The ruling also foreclosed discretionary immunity as a defense, narrowing the city's options going into trial. That appellate decision set the stage for what would have been a February 2022 jury trial in King County.
The case never reached a jury. On November 29, 2021, after a 13.5-hour mediation session overseen by retired King County Superior Court Judge John Erlick, the City of Seattle agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle all claims. Koehler described the amount as 'representative of the magnitude of the loss.' The family said publicly they continued to seek criminal accountability for the officers, which the civil settlement did not preclude. The settlement was announced the following morning.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
- 1.KNKX Public Radio: Seattle will pay Charleena Lyles' family $3.5 million to settle wrongful death lawsuit (Nov. 2021)·Archived copy
- 2.South Seattle Emerald: Family of Charleena Lyles Reaches Settlement With City of Seattle for 2017 Shooting (Dec. 2021)·Archived copy
- 3.PubliCola: Family of Charleena Lyles Reaches $3.5 Million Settlement With City of Seattle (Nov. 2021)·Archived copy
- 4.Seattle City Council Insight: Appeals Court Reverses Charleena Lyles Case Dismissal, Sends It On to Trial (Feb. 2021)·Archived copy
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