King County Sheriff Faces Growing Pressure To Resign

SEATTLE — King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay on Wednesday added his voice to a growing call for Sheriff Mitzi Johnknecht's resignation. Last week, the South Seattle Emerald reported on an internal e-mail the sheriff sent to employees after the county agreed to a $5 million settlement with the family of Tommy Le. Le, a 20-year-old Vietnamese-American student, was shot and killed by deputy Cesar Molina in 2017 before Johanknecht took office.

Initially, the sheriff's office suggested that Le was holding a knife, only to later confirm the item was a pen. According to the Seattle Times, an internal force review board ruled the shooting justified, but an autopsy found Le was shot twice in the back and once in the wrist.

In late March, the sheriff's office agreed to settle the civil rights lawsuit brought by Le's family. Shortly after the decision, Johnkanecht told employees in an e-mail that she appreciated "the difficulty of the decision and actions he had to take" and said awaiting the outcome of a trial "runs the risk of a verdict based on emotion, rather than facts."

Last Friday, Metropolitan King County Councilmember Joe McDermott formally called for Johanknecht's resignation, casting her remarks as ignorant and disrespectful.

His statement concludes:

“I have no confidence the Sheriff can effectively lead KCSO through the next nine months. I believe she must step down to limit the ongoing damage her decisions have inflicted against the trust of our BIPOC neighbors and our entire community. If the public cannot trust KCSO, everyone’s safety is compromised.”

On Wednesday, Girmay Zahilay, councilmember for the King County's 2nd District, echoed the call for the sheriff's resignation in a Twitter thread.

Zahilay went on to note the findings from independent investigations and raise concerns with the existing internal review system as a roadblock for accountability.

King County voters in November approved a slew of police accountability charter amendments championed by Zahilay, including one which reverts the sheriff to an appointed, rather than elected, office after Johanknecht's term.

Johanknecht has yet to publicly respond to the calls for her resignation.