Two Seattle police officers who shot and killed Charleena Lyles, a pregnant mother of four, after she charged at them with a knife last year were cleared from the murder by a King County Superior Court judge.
Charleena Lyles, a mother of four, was shot in her apartment on June 18, 2017, after reporting a burglary. The officers said she attacked them with one or two knives. Her death sparked protests and allegations that the shooting was racially motivated because Lyles was African-American and the officers are white.
the victim's family claimed Seattle police violated Lyles' civil rights, that its officers were negligent, and that they violated the Americans with Disabilities Act because she was mentally ill.
Judge Julie Spector dismissed the suit against the officers after their attorneys argued that Lyles lured police to her apartment by falsely reporting a burglary and then attacked them with a knife, which is a felony. She then disregarded their commands to "get back" and caused the officers to fire their weapons.
