Inquest Ordered into Fatal Shooting by Bellevue Police

The shooting death of Russell L. Smith by Bellevue Police will be heard before a jury in an inquest ordered by King County Executive Dow Constantine, according to information released by his office today.

The King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg recommended the inquest after his office reviewed materials from the Seattle Police Department, which conducted the investigation, according to the information from Constantine's office.

Inquests have been described by the prosecuting attorney's office as a routine matter in major incidents such as a fatal police shooting. The hearings are public and conducted before six members of the public in a jury. 

According to the King County Executive's office, the jury determines the facts of the case, but it iss not their purpose to determine whether any person or agency is civilly or criminally liable.

Seattle Police has been investigating the March 22 incident, which occurred in the Seattle neighborhood of Columbia City when the Bellevue Police Department attempted to serve a warrant and arrest Smith and another person on suspicion of several burglaries in Bellevue.

Smith was outside the home at 43rd Ave. S. near S. Hudson St., sitting in a car.

According to the Bellevue SWAT officers feared for their lives and shot Smith fatally after he put his Mercedes Benz into gear. Police say when ordered to surrender, the suspect put the car into reverse, slammed into a parked truck, and drove directly at officers, according to the information released on Tuesday.

In a May neighborhood forum in Seattle's Columbia City, neighbors said that the shooting, the raid on the home, and the subsequent shooting investigation blocked neighbors in the cul-de-sac in their homes for five hours. Neighbors criticized the actions of the Bellevue Police Department, including the conducting of the raid in a neighborhood in the early morning hours.

The next step is for King County District Court Presiding Judge Corinna Harn to assign a judge to set a date and conduct the inquest, according to the information released today.

Previous coverage on Patch

Bellevue Police Shooting: Neighborhood Suspicious of Police, Damaged by Fatal Shooting

Bellevue Officers, Man Shot in Friday's Fatal Shooting Identified