King County jurors will open an inquest today into the death of Harold McCord Jr., a fugitive killed in a police raid at a Monroe apartment.
A six-member jury picked this morning will determine the circumstances surrounding McCord’s June 24 death.
All sides agree that the verdict — which isn’t binding — will not end the controversy surrounding the shooting.
"I think there’s going to be a number of very important things that will be new to the public, things that were not communicated to the public previously," said McCord family attorney Bradley Marshall of Seattle.
But the inquest jury won’t decide the key issue in the case — whether the officers involved in the raid will face criminal charges.
That’s up to Snohomish County prosecutors, who will determine whether McCord’s death was a lawful but unfortunate act, or a crime.
Mark Roe, the county’s chief criminal deputy prosecutor, previously has said that, in keeping with the law, his decision will be influenced by what was going on in the minds of police at the time they were preparing to apprehend McCord.
Roe has reviewed nearly 1,160 pages of investigation reports and witness statements taken for the case. He also will listen to today’s testimony.
"Should I hear something dramatically different than what I’ve heard already, that may warrant some kind of additional investigation. But I don’t anticipate that," he said.
The investigation records, released to the public in October, have probably already answered the questions that will be asked at the inquest, he said.
"With the full access virtually everybody has to the report in its entirety, there could be an argument that inquests are no longer necessary," he said. "However, it does sometimes happen that live testimony differs than what’s said in a witness statement."
The McCord family, which has maintained that Harold McCord wanted to surrender but wasn’t given the chance, began pressing for an inquest shortly after his death.
The court-supervised inquiry is needed, they say, to hold the officers involved accountable. The inquest is being held in King County because McCord died at a Seattle hospital.
"There are probably people who think this process is going to vindicate them. I think it will demonstrate the flaws of our system, and ultimately lead to changes that will improve it," said Marshall, who has raised questions about the tactics used by the officers during the raid.
The Monroe Police Department declined to comment before the inquest. Mark Bucklin, an attorney representing the cities of Monroe and Bothell, also said he did not want to discuss the investigation during the inquest.
The officers from Monroe and Bothell believed that McCord, 36, was a threat, and that a dark-colored, pistol-shaped object in his hand was a firearm, according to the investigation records.
Monroe police Sgt. Eduardo Jany, who organized and led the raid by members of the department’s Special Emergency Response Team, said he shot at McCord through a bathroom door, believing he was protecting himself and other officers.
Jany, 39, was accidentally hit in his right hand by gunfire from a high-powered rifle carried by another Monroe officer during the raid. His ring finger had to be amputated, but he returned to duty in August.
Jany, a special operations reservist in the Marine Corps, is scheduled to leave soon for military service in the Middle East, but returned to testify at the inquest.
He’s expected to be the first witness called today, King County deputy prosecutor Kathy Van Olst said.
Reporter Katherine Schiffner: 425-339-3436 or schiffner@heraldnet.com.
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