Gary Brose Charleena Lyles death was a deep tragedy that affected many in the community. The police shooting, however, was only the last act in that play. Many people and agencies failed Charleena along the way leading to the ending that occurred. Our biggest failure is to be putting the police in the position of having to save the day after everyone else has failed. DSHS, family, friends, mental health agencies could have done a better job so that the police encounter never would have happened. Hindsight is 20-20 as we know, and we can’t expect any of our support systems to catch everyone or to solve every problem. But we do have to do a better job at every step of the way. The police must be accountable, but it is my view that they are diligently making that effort and blaming these events solely on them is giving a free pass to everyone else – and that is not right either.

Casey Carlisle This question is ridiculous. Lyles was killed because she came at police with a knife. “Intersectionality” does not apply, and your organizations should be ashamed for blaming Lyles’ death on “intersectionality.” Her death is tragic, and I wish the police who defended themselves were able to do so in a non-lethal manner; however, it’s too easy for us to judge those policemen. We weren’t there. Maybe we could have responded differently, but maybe not. The only failure I see is from Seattle’s own City Council. Councilmembers wanted to make Lyles’ death about identity politics, which is why no attention was given to the murder of this policeman. We demand too much of police. I want the police to deal with only theft and violence. If that was their mandate, I bet they’d have a lower attrition rate, and I bet the public would respect them more, making Seattle safer.

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Jenny Durkan* The recent shooting of Charleena Lyles is a tragic reminder that police reform is never done; progress requires constant and urgent evaluation of what we can do better. We failed Ms. Lyles before the police got to her door. We must better align our systems – health care, mental health, children and family services, courts and housing – to help people in a holistic fashion. As US Attorney, I led efforts to begin police reform in Seattle and as mayor, I will continue implementing reforms – particularly in the areas of de-escalation and crisis intervention. Under these reforms, progress has been made. But we also know that community trust can be earned or lost with every officer interaction. We must keep pushing and evaluating if policies, training and oversight are working in practice and to make sure the community has a voice in that process. *Durkan’s questionnaire was submitted 24 hours after the deadline. We agreed to accept it in the spirit of informing voters.



Jessyn Farrell Institutionalized racial biases must end in our city. While the recent legislation passed by the City Council to continue federally mandated reforms is a sign of progress, we still have a long way to go. We need to expand and support crisis teams that integrate mental health professionals and social workers with specially trained officers. Community members with mental health issues should not be presented with police tactics alone. These teams should be part of a new push to integrate services across City government. In addition, we need to strengthen diversion programs, like mental health court, that provide treatment rather than just punishment through the criminal justice system.

Bob Hasegawa We need to empower the Civilian Oversight Commission to have everything it needs to do it job. I also think we need to implement the recommendations of the Washington State Joint Legislative Task Force on the Use of Deadly Force in Community Policing in changing the wording of the law to change the “malice” burden of proof. These are good ideas for dealing with tragedies after the fact, but we need to do a better job of meeting people’s needs where they are at so that we can avoid tragedies like the Charleena Lyle’s shooting.

Lewis A. Jones The police must ALWAYS possess tazers on every call, at the ready. Briefed on the possibility of the “suicide by cop” phenomenon, they must also be briefed on all the various types of mental illness with an Abnormal Psych class as part of their educational curriculum. They should know the behaviors to expect from Autism, Downs, Schizophrenia, bipolar, and Alzheimers, as well as every depressive mental disorder. This will enlighten them as to the fact that stressed people who are also battling mental health issues will almost ALWAYS act out. This is to be expected, and the police must be ready to subdue these people, while maintaining a personal distance between themselves and the patient. Education is the answer. I will institute these changes in January, upon assuming office.

Mike McGinn The tragic killing and loss of Charleena Lyles highlights a series of systemic failures. Two threads that weaves these failures together is our failure at every level of government to prioritize the well-being of people, and the clear and ongoing presence of racial inequity across institutions and systems. It is difficult for a city alone to resolve these systemic failures. Nevertheless, it is the responsibility of a mayor to marshal the resources at our disposal to address them. That means Budget prioritization

Actively managing city agencies to work together. As mayor I held weekly cabinet and subcabinet meetings to break down silos.

Convening across government, providers and community as we did with the Center City initiative.

Empowering and listening to the Community Police Commission.

Holding oneself accountable in public

Never shying away from a hard look at the racial inequities embedded in our institutions.

Cary Moon I am feeling anger, rage, and grief at the tragic killing of Charleena Lyles. She needed help, and our systems failed her again and again. As a black mom of four experiencing the toxic stress of poverty, housing insecurity, domestic violence, fear of losing her kids, and suffering a mental health crisis, Charleena urgently needed the best care we could provide. But because we as a society have drained our funding for mental health care and social services, we had little to offer her. As Mayor, I will redouble our commitment to do the transformative work to root out systemic racism, systemic wealth inequality, and ongoing societal injustice towards people of color. And work with progressive leaders across the state to build public will for progressive tax reform. We need sufficient revenue to fund the services we all know are essential to helping struggling neighbors get back on their feet.

James Norton Jr.

As a Seattle Police officer I respond to many calls a day similar to the victim Lyles tragedy. I think we need to stop sending our police officers to situations which are setting them up for failure. V/Lyles had mental health issues, known by SPD and our mental health agencies as well as her family. Police alone should not be the ones sent to resolve future issues with her. She already had a negative experience with officers weeks just prior their response. Our mental health system is failing and we have to address it if we are going to continue to have a large percentage of our 911 calls involving police response. We need to have more people assigned to our crisis team with meantal health professionals accompanying them to these type of calls.

Nikkita Oliver Our city failed Charleena Lyles and her family. And, we will continue to fail our residents if we don’t begin to transform our systems. As mayor I will work to develop a clear vision, articulated with goals & metrics, that sets out to meet the needs of our most vulnerable residents. I will partner with other cities and the county to develop a regional approach to our housing crisis, state of emergency around homelessness and the opioid epidemic currently affecting our communities. Most importantly, I will strive to address the root causes of poverty and eliminate institutional barriers to accessing jobs, education and land ownership which promote economic sustainability. This will cost more upfront but save lives and money in the end.