2 Seattle officers fired for shooting at fleeing car

SEATTLE (AP) – Two Seattle police officers who fired a barrage of gunshots at a fleeing car have been fired.

The Seattle Times reported Monday that Interim Police Chief Carmen Best found that officers Kenneth Martin and Tabitha Sexton recklessly fired at the stolen car after failing to follow department policies.

Best wrote that their actions and decisions created a deadly force situation that unnecessarily threatened public safety.

The driver and passenger were wounded in the Oct. 8, 2017 incident.

In firing them, Best upheld the results of the investigation by the department’s Office of Police Accountability.

The Seattle Police Officers’ Guild, which represents the officers, couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.

Martin and Sexton responded to a call reporting two people using drugs in Seattle’s Eastlake neighborhood. The caller said he saw one person holding a handgun, although later said the object could be a phone.

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Information from: The Seattle Times, http://www.seattletimes.com