State attorney general’s office declines Lynnwood’s request to investigate death of Tirhas Tesfatsion

The Washington State Attorney General’s office has declined a request from the City of Lynnwood to investigate the death of Tirhas Tesfatsion, a Black woman whom police say died by suicide in the Lynnwood Jail earlier this month. The Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office said it has begun to review the materials related to the investigation.

Under pressure from a crowd of demonstrators, the Lynnwood City Council at its July 26 business meeting voted to seek an independent investigation by the state attorney general into the death of Tesfatsion, who died in the jail July 13. The death was ruled a suicide by the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office. 

But in a letter addressed to the City of Lynnwood attorney, Chief Deputy Attorney General Shane Esquibel stated that it would be unlawful for their office — which he described as “primarily a civil law office with a small team of criminal prosecutors” — to initiate a criminal investigation in this case. In his response, Esquibel explains that the attorney general’s office does not employ any general commission peace officers, which are defined as “any full-time, fully compensated and elected, appointed, or employed officer of a general authority Washington law enforcement agency who is commissioned to enforce the criminal laws of the state of Washington generally.

“Consequently, we do not have the authority or personnel to initiate this type of criminal investigation even if we had jurisdiction, which we do not,” he said.

Esquibel’s statement also cited the investigation into the death of Manuel Ellis — a 33-year-old Black man who died in March 2020 during an encounter with Tacoma police — as an example, stating that “Gov. Jay Inslee referred the independent criminal investigation to the Washington State Patrol and the charging decision to the attorney general’s office. Our office is akin to a county prosecuting attorney’s office – we prosecute crimes over which we have jurisdiction, but we do not investigate them.”

According to Esquibel, the attorney general’s office legally cannot initiate an investigation or prosecution without a formal referral from the county prosecuting attorney or the governor. Esquibel said that their office has received no such referral.

“We frequently decline referrals due to a lack of resources,” he said. “A city council does not have statutory authority to grant us jurisdiction.”

Under Washington state law, the state attorney general’s office may request authority from the county prosecutor to handle the investigation. Earlier this year, the Washington State Legislature established an Office of Independent Investigations with jurisdiction over in-custody deaths, but that office will not be operational until 2022.

Snohomish County Prosecutor Adam Cornell said his office would be open to working with the attorney general’s office if an investigation is requested.

“If the attorney general wishes jurisdiction, they can make that request at my office,” he said.

The Kirkland Police Department already conducted an independent investigation following a request by the Lynnwood Police Department. A July 21 update on the investigation stated that on the same day that Tesfatsion’s body was found, Lynnwood police provided Kirkland detectives with “full access” to the department facilities, staff reports and electronic/video data to conduct their investigation. The medical examiner’s ruling was consistent with Kirkland detectives’ findings, the Kirkland announcement said.

Earlier this week, the report from Kirkland police detectives was sent to the county prosecutor’s office. In the statement released Thursday, Cornell said his office has already begun reviewing the investigation reports and material. 

“As we do in every case, we will ensure that prior to completing our review we have all the information and all available evidence necessary to make a well-informed, thoughtful and ethical decision whether the conduct investigated constitutes a crime provable beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said.

In the statement, Cornell also noted that his office is not an investigatory agency and therefore does not investigate criminal activity.

“That is the role of law enforcement,” he said. “The bringing of criminal charges and prosecuting those alleged to have committed crimes is the province of the prosecuting attorney, and the performance of that function is dependent upon the investigatory reports prepared by the police.”

–By Cody Sexton