No criminal charges to be filed against 2 SPD officers who shot, killed Che Taylor

SEATTLE -- It’s hard to watch two police officers make the call to fire their weapons.

Dashcam video from February 2016 shows officers Scott Miller and Michael Spaulding trying to arrest Che Taylor who is bent over by an open passenger-side car door on a residential street. Seconds later, shots are fired.

“They killed him like he was nothing, they shot him down cold blood," Che’s wife, Brenda Taylor, said.

The family`s yearlong fight to hold the two Seattle officers criminally accountable ended with King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg’s announcement on Tuesday that he would not be filing charges against the two cops.

“Their use of deadly force at that moment was authorized by law,” Satterberg said at a news conference.

Satterberg said the facts are compelling in favor of the officers.

“This is not, as a legal question, a close case; the officers were confronted with an armed suspect,” Satterberg said.

“I am insulted he said that this was not even close,” Che’s brother, Andre Taylor, said.

Andre said his brother complied. He passionately disputed allegations that Che was reaching for a gun inside the car.

“Even if you comply, you die. There is a nothing nobody will do for you,” Taylor said.

It all started when the officers recognized Che, a convicted felon, carrying a gun during a narcotics operation.

When they went to arrest him, Satterberg says, Che did not appear to surrender to the officers.

“What they perceived was he was going for his gun, he wasn't surrendering, he was leaning into the car,” Satterberg said.

Later, detectives said they found Che`s gun on the floor of the car.

But attorneys for Che`s family blame the officers for escalating the incident, saying the approach from the beginning was too aggressive.

“They could have tried to contact someone such as Mr. Taylor`s parole officer, who had a relationship with Mr. Taylor,” attorney Corey Guilmette said.

The family says they support efforts in the state Legislature that would give prosecutors more power to charge officers involved in shootings.

“Not one officer, not one in three decades, have been held accountable for their behavior,” Taylor said.

State Rep. Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland, is backing a proposal that would change the way officers are trained and prosecuted in case of a shooting.

On Tuesday, he told Q13 News there is no agreement by lawmakers yet but he is hopeful his bill will get passed.

“We are still working on the language so we can find common ground on this,” Goodman said.

Che’s brother says he will continue to lobby lawmakers to give prosecutors more power to charge police officers.

Right now, state law requires prosecutors to prove an officer acted with malice. Taylor’s family says they want that word taken out of the law. But so far lawmakers have been grappling with the details of the complicated and controversial issue.

But even if the bar for prosecution was lower, Satterberg says, it would not have changed his decision in Che’s case.

“I think there would have to be a fundamental change to the facts to make a different decision,” Satterberg said.

Che’s family says their next step is to pursue a civil suit and if lawmakers do not change the laws, they hope to take the issue to the ballot.