Coroner's Inquests a Mixed Bag
By Corey Lyons
Contra Costa Newspapers
June 13, 2001
More than a few people were puzzled by a recent coroner's inquest ruling that it was accidental when a Walnut Creek police officer killed a Pittsburg man Feb. 13.
After all, Officer David Wright testified during the May 29 hearing that he fired four bullets that killed 23-year-old Jason Amen Watts.
Yet the nine-member panel ruled the shooting an accident rather than "at the hands of another."
The ruling sheds light on an enduring quarrel between civil rights attorneys and police and county officials over whether coroner's inquests are reputable and effective tools of the criminal justice system.
Unlike Alameda and Solano counties, Contra Costa holds inquests to rule on deaths involving a law enforcement officer. Jurors decide on one of four options: death by accident, natural causes, suicide or "at the hands of another."
Inquests do not rule on civil or criminal liability.
Some local attorneys, civil libertarians and community activists criticize the format of inquests. They allege the public hearings are flawed affairs designed to shield police from any wrongdoing.
Contra Costa deputy coroner Daryl England dismisses those allegations.
"It's a way to present, in a public forum, accurate information to everyone about an officer-involved fatal incident," he said.
Civil rights attorney Michael J. Haddad attended the May 29 inquest on behalf of Watts' widow, Alicia Akbar.
"If you're going to have a legal proceeding where the jury makes a decision," he said, "it needs to be more adversarial so that all the facts, from both points of view, are put forward."
The inquest looking into Watts' death narrowed its focus to the gunfire that erupted at a Good Guys store in downtown Walnut Creek on Feb. 13. Watts, also known as Kenyatta Akbar, had tried to buy gift certificates with a fraudulent driver's license and a stolen credit card.
Officers testified that Watts pulled a weapon on them as they began questioning him. Watts was shot four times.
The accidental ruling was justified, said Kelli Samson, a juror in the Watts case. "When police went into the Good Guys store, they did not have their guns drawn; they had notebooks and pens in their hands," she said. "They were not prepared to shoot. They were forced to shoot."
County officials say inquests provide an open forum in which to present information that, for months, had been sealed under police investigation.
Typically, three months or more pass between an officer-involved fatality and the inquest while police and the District Attorney's Office conduct a joint investigation. County officials say they believe inquests are a better alternative than allowing one person, the district attorney, to make the call.
"Typically, the D.A. will decide that nothing will be pursued," said Martinez attorney Stuart W. Willis, who presides over Contra Costa's jury inquests. "And nine times out of 10, there will not be a grand jury proceeding because the D.A. did not initiate it."
That leaves a jury to rule on a manner of death.
In some cases, those findings can raise more questions for attorneys and the victim's relatives. In a review of 19 county inquests since 1999, 13 officer-involved deaths were ruled accidents.
Accidental rulings included a man who crashed his car and died while being chased by police and a County Jail inmate who died after a scuffle with deputies.
According to the jury instructions, the term "accident" is an "unforeseen event, misfortune, loss, act or omission." Critics say the word is sometimes used to shield police from bearing the responsibility of a civilian death.
England, the coroner's deputy, rejects those claims.
"The whole inquest process is not to determine fault," he said. "It's a public inquiry into the circumstances of someone's death. We could only assume jurors are listening and hearing that."
A jury June 12, 2000, ruled the shooting death of 24-year-old Joseph Ross III by Antioch police an accident. The decision startled the man's friends and family members, who filed a wrongful-death suit against Antioch.
Three police officers shot Ross 26 times during an altercation at a Sycamore Drive apartment Oct. 27, 1999. The jury ruled 6-3 that although police killed Ross, it was not their intent to do so. Officers testified that Ross had ignored orders to lie down and that they fired only when the man charged them with a shiny object in his hands.
Lezly Crowell, a close friend of Ross' family, said she was insulted by the coroner's inquest format and the accidental ruling in Ross' death. She claimed police withheld factual information during the inquest.
"If the jurors knew some of the stuff that really happened," she said, "I don't think they would have gone the way they went."
For some frustrated lawyers and family members, the only recourse is through the filing of civil rights lawsuits, which often languish in Justice Department files. The rare cases get resolved in a few years.
In February 1998, parents of an Antioch man who died after police hogtied and pepper-sprayed him in 1995 agreed to settle their wrongful-death suit against the city for $362,500. Derek Wallace, 29, died in January 1995 after clashing with police.
A jury at a coroner's inquest ruled in May 1995 that Wallace's death was accidental; Wallace's parents were disappointed.
In many cases, however, an inquest can provide enough information for the victim's loved ones that they will decide to drop their lawsuit, said Willis, the inquest officer.
Inquests serve a purpose, said Alameda attorney Jim Chanin, who said he won wrongful-death suits against Richmond in the 1980s.
"It's better than nothing because at least they educate the public about what their police are doing," he said. "But it would be better if there was more participation, especially by attorneys or representatives of the family."
But if there were no inquests, Chanin said, "the family would tell me one thing and the police wouldn't tell me anything."
Contra Costa Newspapers
June 13, 2001
More than a few people were puzzled by a recent coroner's inquest ruling that it was accidental when a Walnut Creek police officer killed a Pittsburg man Feb. 13.
After all, Officer David Wright testified during the May 29 hearing that he fired four bullets that killed 23-year-old Jason Amen Watts.
Yet the nine-member panel ruled the shooting an accident rather than "at the hands of another."
The ruling sheds light on an enduring quarrel between civil rights attorneys and police and county officials over whether coroner's inquests are reputable and effective tools of the criminal justice system.
Unlike Alameda and Solano counties, Contra Costa holds inquests to rule on deaths involving a law enforcement officer. Jurors decide on one of four options: death by accident, natural causes, suicide or "at the hands of another."
Inquests do not rule on civil or criminal liability.
Some local attorneys, civil libertarians and community activists criticize the format of inquests. They allege the public hearings are flawed affairs designed to shield police from any wrongdoing.
Contra Costa deputy coroner Daryl England dismisses those allegations.
"It's a way to present, in a public forum, accurate information to everyone about an officer-involved fatal incident," he said.
Civil rights attorney Michael J. Haddad attended the May 29 inquest on behalf of Watts' widow, Alicia Akbar.
"If you're going to have a legal proceeding where the jury makes a decision," he said, "it needs to be more adversarial so that all the facts, from both points of view, are put forward."
The inquest looking into Watts' death narrowed its focus to the gunfire that erupted at a Good Guys store in downtown Walnut Creek on Feb. 13. Watts, also known as Kenyatta Akbar, had tried to buy gift certificates with a fraudulent driver's license and a stolen credit card.
Officers testified that Watts pulled a weapon on them as they began questioning him. Watts was shot four times.
The accidental ruling was justified, said Kelli Samson, a juror in the Watts case. "When police went into the Good Guys store, they did not have their guns drawn; they had notebooks and pens in their hands," she said. "They were not prepared to shoot. They were forced to shoot."
County officials say inquests provide an open forum in which to present information that, for months, had been sealed under police investigation.
Typically, three months or more pass between an officer-involved fatality and the inquest while police and the District Attorney's Office conduct a joint investigation. County officials say they believe inquests are a better alternative than allowing one person, the district attorney, to make the call.
"Typically, the D.A. will decide that nothing will be pursued," said Martinez attorney Stuart W. Willis, who presides over Contra Costa's jury inquests. "And nine times out of 10, there will not be a grand jury proceeding because the D.A. did not initiate it."
That leaves a jury to rule on a manner of death.
In some cases, those findings can raise more questions for attorneys and the victim's relatives. In a review of 19 county inquests since 1999, 13 officer-involved deaths were ruled accidents.
Accidental rulings included a man who crashed his car and died while being chased by police and a County Jail inmate who died after a scuffle with deputies.
According to the jury instructions, the term "accident" is an "unforeseen event, misfortune, loss, act or omission." Critics say the word is sometimes used to shield police from bearing the responsibility of a civilian death.
England, the coroner's deputy, rejects those claims.
"The whole inquest process is not to determine fault," he said. "It's a public inquiry into the circumstances of someone's death. We could only assume jurors are listening and hearing that."
A jury June 12, 2000, ruled the shooting death of 24-year-old Joseph Ross III by Antioch police an accident. The decision startled the man's friends and family members, who filed a wrongful-death suit against Antioch.
Three police officers shot Ross 26 times during an altercation at a Sycamore Drive apartment Oct. 27, 1999. The jury ruled 6-3 that although police killed Ross, it was not their intent to do so. Officers testified that Ross had ignored orders to lie down and that they fired only when the man charged them with a shiny object in his hands.
Lezly Crowell, a close friend of Ross' family, said she was insulted by the coroner's inquest format and the accidental ruling in Ross' death. She claimed police withheld factual information during the inquest.
"If the jurors knew some of the stuff that really happened," she said, "I don't think they would have gone the way they went."
For some frustrated lawyers and family members, the only recourse is through the filing of civil rights lawsuits, which often languish in Justice Department files. The rare cases get resolved in a few years.
In February 1998, parents of an Antioch man who died after police hogtied and pepper-sprayed him in 1995 agreed to settle their wrongful-death suit against the city for $362,500. Derek Wallace, 29, died in January 1995 after clashing with police.
A jury at a coroner's inquest ruled in May 1995 that Wallace's death was accidental; Wallace's parents were disappointed.
In many cases, however, an inquest can provide enough information for the victim's loved ones that they will decide to drop their lawsuit, said Willis, the inquest officer.
Inquests serve a purpose, said Alameda attorney Jim Chanin, who said he won wrongful-death suits against Richmond in the 1980s.
"It's better than nothing because at least they educate the public about what their police are doing," he said. "But it would be better if there was more participation, especially by attorneys or representatives of the family."
But if there were no inquests, Chanin said, "the family would tell me one thing and the police wouldn't tell me anything."
posted by Corey at 10:28 PM
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