By Aaron Allen
The Seattle Medium
The Seattle/King County Chapter NAACP is calling for an investigation into the shooting death of Iosia Fatelogo by Seattle Police officers.
The incident occurred on December 31, 2018, when officers, responding to a targeted plate – a license plate that has been tagged by the Department of Licensing because the driver has a suspended license — pulled over Faletogo for driving with a suspended license and a traffic violation.
After being pulled over, SPD dash and body cam video shows Fatelogo jumping out of his car and being chased by several officers as he attempted to flee the area. Officers subsequently apprehended and attempted to subdue Fatelogo. During the struggle an officer discharged their weapon killing Fatelogo at point blank range.
According to SPD, Fatelogo allegedly had a loaded gun that was unregistered and reported stolen from a 2016 car prowl. In addition, SPD claimed that Fatelogo had $1,160 in his possession and a vial of pills at the time of the incident.
Sadiqa Sakin President of the Seattle/King County NAACP responded by calling on King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg to independently investigate the shooting death of Fatelogo. According to Sakin, the investigation should be conducted at the direction of the King County Prosecutor by an independent law enforcement agency; the Washington State Patrol, the King County Sheriff; or by use of a grand jury or special inquiry judge.
“An independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding this homicide, regardless of the outcome; is the proper exercise to ensure that the administration of justice occurs,” said Sakin.
“The King County Prosecutor must conduct an independent investigation to discover evidence surrounding the circumstances of this homicide and make an independent determination whether a crime has been committed and whether this was excusable or justifiable act,” she added. “It is naïve to rely upon an investigation conducted by the SPD, the agency responsible for the death, as guidance for a decision whether or not to file criminal charges, to determine whether this homicide was excusable or justifiable.”
Andrea Taylor, founder of Not This Time – an organization that advocates against the use of unnecessary force, and promotes de-escalation and improved police training, also believes that the incident should be investigated by an independent agency.
Not This Time organized and promoted the passage of Initiative 940 (I-940) – a voter initiative designed to create a good faith test to determine when the use of deadly force by police is justifiable, require police to receive de-escalation and mental health training, and require law enforcement officers to provide first aid.
“I am concerned that the investigation of this death is being conducted by the Seattle Police Department itself, contrary to the mandate of Initiative 940,” said Taylor.
Sakin would not comment on whether or not the actions of the officers were unlawful, but she did say that the NAACP plans to make sure that there is a complete investigation regarding the circumstances of the incident.
“The NAACP are the guardians of Civil Rights and we are here to protect our community. It is important to us that there is an independent investigation done before we form an opinion,” says Sakin. “We want to be proactive not reactive.”
The Seattle Police department would not comment on the incident as it is an active and ongoing case being investigated by the Seattle Police Force Investigation Team (FIT) in accordance with the policies and procedures established by the Department of Justice and the Seattle Police Monitoring team.
