County Orders Inquest of Bellevue Police-Related Shooting

The fatal shooting of a 25-year-old in a confrontation with Bellevue police will be the subject of an inquest ordered by King County Executive Dow Constantine, his office announced today.

Bellevue police say that Andrew M. Fox of Bellevue was shot at 2:30 a.m. Jan. 6 in a confrontation with police at the Chevron station at 1649 Bellevue Way SE. Police said at the time that he threatened to hold people inside the gas station hostage and then held the knife in a threatening manner towards the responding officers. (Read Bellevue Patch's earlier coverage.)

It is routine to start an inquest after a shooting death involving on duty law enforcement officers, Constantine's office said in a press release, and an inquest itself does not imply any wrongdoing.

The six-member jury will determine the facts of the shooting and the King County Prosecuting Attorney's office determines whether there is any criminal charge, based on the findings of the inquest, said executive spokesman Frank Abe.

The officers were described as a 31-year old with four years of law enforcement experience and a 27-year-old with three-and-half years of law enforcement experience. 

The order signed by the Executive requests King County District Court Presiding Judge Barbara Linde to assign a judge to set a date and conduct the inquest.

The last fatal shooting by police officers in Bellevue occurred July 7, 2009, according to Bellevue police. The Seattle Times reported at the time that a man identified as John Pebles was killed outside a Bellevue strip mall after reportedly charging an officer with a knife.