The Seattle, Washington Office of Professional Accountability (OPA) has cleared a Seattle Police Officer of wrongdoing in the killing of Iosia Faletogo in North Seattle, according to The Stranger.
Faletogo was shot in the afternoon on New Year's Eve. He was pulled over, but fled the scene. Six officers chased him across Highway 99 before apprehending him and forcing him to the ground.
The officers can be heard on dashcam footage shouting various commands. One officer warns Faletogo that,"You're going to get shot" if he continues resisting arrest, and they identify a weapon on his body before one opens fire. Only twenty seconds pass between the warning and the single shot fired. Officer Jared Keller was identified as Faletogo's shooter. He was placed on administrative leave during the course of the investigation. Keller was involved in a previous fatal shooting in December of 2017, in which heon a man in Magnuson Park after leading officers on a chase through North Seattle and opening fire on them.Getty
"Officers outnumbered Mr. Faletogo six-to-one and forced him onto his hands and knees," said Corey Guilmette, an attorney for Mr. Faletogo's family, said in a statement. He argued that officers could have de-escalated the situation. "After he was forced to the ground, an officer announced that Mr. Faletogo 'dropped the gun.' Once he complied with commands by dropping the gun, officers could have safely resolved the situation by picking up the gun," Guilmette said.
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