Official rejects criticism of fatal shooting probe

EVERETT — Snohomish County officials on Tuesday defended the pace of their investigation into the June 10 death of a man shot by Everett police behind the Chuckwagon Inn.

The review of the investigation into the death of Niles Meservey, 51, is being conducted thoughtfully with a sharp focus on determining the facts, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Mark Roe said.

“All you can do is be thorough and be fair,” Roe said. “That’s what we’re doing.”

In a Seattle press conference Tuesday, Meservey family attorney Paul Luvera criticized the pace of the investigation. More than three months have passed since Meservey’s death, and several weeks have passed since the case was forwarded to Snohomish County prosecutors, Luvera said.

“We believe that delay is inexcusable,” Luvera said.

Tanda Louden, Meservey’s daughter, filed a claim for damages Tuesday seeking as much as $15 million from the city of Everett.

Meservey died after he was shocked with a stun gun and shot seven times by police while at the wheel of his white Corvette. Bystanders reported he was drunk and was planning to drive off.

The officer who fired the shots was placed on leave after the shooting and then brought back to desk duty, Everett police Sgt. Robert Goetz said Monday. Earlier this month, city officials placed the officer back on paid leave. The officer’s name has not been released.

The claim for damages, which puts the city on notice that it may face a lawsuit, called the killing reckless, unjustified and said that police were grossly negligent in their behavior.

“This is a serious matter, and the city is reviewing Ms. Louden’s claim,” Everett city spokeswoman Kate Reardon said in an e-mail Tuesday.

Reardon declined to comment further, citing the pending litigation.

Louden has hired Seattle-based trial attorney Paul Luvera, who has a history of winning multimillion-dollar claims.

The killing was investigated by a special task force of homicide detectives, the Snohomish Multi Agency Response Team or SMART. That investigation was completed on Aug. 31 and forwarded to Roe.

“The pace of this investigation is much quicker than many other SMART investigations, which often take as long as a year for scientific testing and crime lab work to be done,” Roe said.

Since November, SMART has been called five times to investigate police involved killings in Snohomish County. Reports in the Meservey case fill two-large binders, each several inches thick, Roe said. It is the first of those five investigations to be completed.

Roe said he’ll review the voluminous report with a narrow focus: “What happened? Was it a crime? Can we charge it? Can we prove it?” the prosecutor said.

Before making a charging decision, Roe plans to invite the family to meet with him. They will be able to ask questions and tell him what they think he should know, the prosecutor said.

In other places, including King County, police-involved killings are investigated using inquests. Luvera questioned why Snohomish County officials don’t adopt that practice.

Snohomish County has in the past used inquests to examine police-related deaths, with mixed results. An inquest only would be held should the Snohomish County Medical Examiner determine it was necessary to ascertain the cause and manner of death in this case, Roe said. There are no plans for an inquest, he said.

Results of the SMART investigation are subject to public disclosure, under state law. The Herald already has asked for access to the requests, as has Luvera’s law firm.

State law requires Luvera to wait 60 days after filing the claim for damages before filing a lawsuit.

Meservey’s daughter said she hopes the legal action will help her family move on.

“This will be the first step in finding out the truth,” Louden said.

Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437, jholtz@heraldnet.com.