Charleena Lyles Inquest

July 8th, 2022

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From The Stranger: "The most detailed response among the House hopefuls came from Darya Farivar."
Statement reprinted below in full.

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There is so much I can say about the Charleena Lyles inquest. This is not justice, this is not accountability, this was a show. This became abundantly clear when the lawyers representing SPD tried to blame Charleena Lyles for her death when they were the ones to pull the trigger.

This is exactly why we have established an Office of Independent Investigations and exactly why we now need an independent prosecutor's office. These inquest hearings were built to protect the system. There is no accountability or justice in that. The legislature needs to pass legislation creating an independent prosecutor's office, I’m committed to working on this. 

If the jury found that SPD was justified in using deadly force based on the department policies then we need new policies. Most of all, we need mental health professionals responding to mental health calls, we need a robust 988 system to lean on, now. Our Black, Brown, and disabled communities cannot wait, we are dying. 

I stand with Katrina Johnson’s call for an independent investigation.