Seattle police officer who shot Lyles suspended for 2 days for no Taser

SEATTLE – A Seattle police officer who didn’t have his Taser with him during the fatal shooting of Charleena Lyles has been suspended for two days without pay for violating department policy.

The Seattle Times reported Interim Police Chief Carmen Best imposed the discipline Friday on Officer Jason Anderson.

He and another officer shot Lyles when police say she pulled at least one knife on them during a June 18 confrontation at her Northeast Seattle apartment.

Best noted the disciplinary case didn’t reach a conclusion on whether the outcome would have been different if Anderson was carrying a Taser. A department Force Review Board report determined that a Taser wasn’t a feasible alternative.

Lyles, a 30-year-old African-American mother of four, was shot seven times by the officers, who are white, after she called 911 to report a burglary.

Authorities noted the shooting happened less than two weeks after Lyles threatened officers with long metal shears, and family members had expressed concerns about her mental health after that incident.

The shooting unleashed a storm of public protest.