Ruiz & Smart files amicus brief in support of strengthened inquest process

Attorneys Isaac Ruiz and Kathryn M. Knudsen today filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of Washington, on behalf of 73 public-health professionals and organizations supporting King County’s strengthened inquest process. The inquest process seeks to examine, in a public form, the facts surrounding the death of a person at the hands of law enforcement.

As stated in the brief, “Police violence is a legal and moral issue, but it is also a ‘public health issue with widespread health impacts for individuals and communities.’” “These challenges … should be viewed not merely through a legal lens, but they should be addressed in the context of the intractable public-health crisis of police violence. These are obstacles to mitigating and eventually eliminating deaths, harm to mental health, and other adverse health effects that are hurting communities of color.”

The brief was filed in Family of Damarius Butts v. Constantine, No. 98985-1 (Wash. S. Ct.).