SEATTLE — Two Seattle police officers acted within policy and reasonably when they shot a man to death in May while responding to a call at a Lower Queen Anne apartment, the department’s Office of Police Accountability found in a recently released report.
Ryan Matthew Smith, 31, died of gunshot wounds on May 8, 2019. Officers had responded to a call from a woman who reported her boyfriend had a knife and was threatening to kill her, according to police.
After officers broke into the apartment, Smith moved toward them with a knife and they fired, according to the report and body-camera footage.
In a complaint, Smith’s mother said the officers improperly used deadly force, failed to de-escalate the confrontation, made biased decisions because her son was black and failed to provide timely medical care.