A Seattle police officers' union argued in Washington state court on Friday a former cop acted reasonably when she shot at a suspect fleeing in a stolen vehicle, defending an arbitrator's decision to downgrade her firing to a 60-day suspension amid a challenge by the city.

The Seattle Police Officers' Guild said Officer Tabitha Sexton honestly believed the fleeing suspect was an "imminent threat" when she fired shots at the stolen Subaru in 2017, seconds after the vehicle nearly hit a fellow officer in an alleyway.

Though the police chief terminated Sexton that year for violating department policy, counsel for the union said the arbitrator rightly chose to ratchet down the penalty and urged King County Superior Court Judge Annette Messitt to reject the City of Seattle's bid to undo the findings.

"This was a high-stress, incredibly precarious situation where an officer was nearly run over by a driver attempting to escape with custody of a stolen vehicle," said Erica Shelley Nelson of Vick Julius McClure PS, representing the guild. "There was no evidence that Officer Sexton was impatient of the driver of the stolen vehicle or otherwise allowed her emotions to get the best of her."

In a lawsuit filed in January, the city challenged arbitrator Stan Michelstetter's November 2023 decision lessening Sexton's penalty to a 60-day suspension, arguing the decision went against public policy regarding the use of excessive force by law enforcement officers. 

Michelstetter did not reinstate Sexton, noting she wasn't looking to return to her job; however, he awarded her back pay, which The Seattle Times reported would total over $600,000 based on her salary.

During Friday's hearing, Judge Messitt pointed out that the city's latest brief says the police chief cannot impose unpaid suspensions of longer than 30 days.

"Doesn't the court have to look at whether or not a 30-day suspension is enough to deter this type of conduct in the future when that is all that can actually be imposed?" Messitt asked the guild's counsel.

Nelson responded that the city challenged the findings of the arbitrator, who settled on the 60-day penalty, and has not yet discussed with the union whether the suspension will ultimately be capped at 30 days.

"It might become a discussion down the road, but frankly those conversations didn't happen," Nelson said. "I'm not actually convinced that it can't go beyond the 30 days."

According to the city, officers Sexton and Kenneth Martin were called to the alley on Oct. 8, 2017, responding to reports that people were smoking a glass pipe, loading a pistol and wiping down the inside of the Subaru.

Both officers began firing into the car after it began to roll forward as Martin was standing in front of the vehicle. The car then crashed into an apartment building and reversed, and the two officers fired another round as it rolled to exit the alley, the city's lawsuit says.

Shannon E. Phillips of Summit Law Group, representing the city, said the police chief later determined both officers were justified in their first round of shots, since the car represented a deadly threat rolling toward Martin. However, the second round went against department policy, as the vehicle was leaving the scene and there was no immediate danger, she said.

"The vehicle was not, at that point, coming toward the officers," Phillips added. "There were no pedestrians that were visible."

"Remember here, the driver and at least one passenger suffered shrapnel wounds from these shots," Phillips said. "And Officer Sexton said the only thing she regretted is that she didn't aim better."

The city's counsel noted the department's use-of-force policies were previously reformed under a 2012 consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice, which found its officers routinely used more force than necessary during arrests. 

Martin was also fired for the use of deadly force, according to the city's lawsuit, though his firing is not at issue in the case.

The guild's attorney contended the arbitrator correctly pointed to several "mitigating factors" in downgrading Sexton's termination to a suspension, including that she acted in good faith and that the department's policy was unclear when it came to use of force against a moving vehicle.

"She believed, based on her interpretation of an ambiguous policy, the driver posed an immediate or imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to others as he drove out of the alleyway," Nelson said.

The City of Seattle is represented by Shannon E. Phillips and Molly J. Gibbons of Summit Law Group.

The union is represented by Erica Shelley Nelson of Vick Julius McClure PS.

The case is City of Seattle v. Seattle Police Officers Guild et al., case number 23-2-25752-9, in King County Superior Court, Washington.

--Editing by Philip Shea.