The family of Charleena Lyles wants answers. And who can blame them? After all, Lyles called Seattle police for help on a Sunday morning after an alleged burglary in her apartment and wound up dead—killed by the very cops who were supposed to be helping her. The 30-year-old pregnant mother of four had been struggling with mental health issues. She was known to the police from a prior arrest earlier in the month and her family wants to know why police couldn’t have figured out a nonviolent way to restrain her after she seemed to become agitated during the officers’ visit.
Family attorney James Bible said Tuesday that family members have questioned why police didn't use a non-lethal option when they knew Lyles had been struggling with mental health issues.
Lyles' cousin Kenny Isabell said she was depressed but not violent and "was going through some things in her life."
This is becoming routine: police shoot people with impunity and then blame the victim or inadequate training. And while they kill people of all colors, there is a disturbing pattern to how they often kill blacks, other people of color, and those with mental illness at disproportionate rates. This leaves those communities deeply distrustful of the police—and with good reason. There is a well-documented history that shows that, as an institution, policing has not been there to protect and serve minority communities.
"Do our lives really matter to them?" [Lyles’ cousin asked]. "What do you want from us? We try to comply and this is still happening. You're killing our young men and now a young woman has died."
It’s still early in the investigation but there are no seemingly satisfactory answers here, certainly none that are helpful in understanding why this young woman is dead. Even when they have the proper training and equipment to deal with members of the public who may have mental illness, the police still manage to kill people.
A police spokesman said the two cops were equipped with a less-lethal option, but were not carrying Tasers.
Detective Patrick Michaud also said Tuesday that both officers had undergone crisis intervention training to deal with people showing signs of mental illness or other crises.
Sadly, her family will likely be waiting for answers for a very long time. Justice for the victims of police violence is exceedingly rare—even more so for black people and those with mental illness. It seems like there is pretty much nothing that can stop the police from taking our lives whenever they want to.