Case 2:19-cv-00247 Document 1 Filed 02/20/19 Page 1 of 5

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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MANE FALETOGO, individually,
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NO.
Plaintiff,

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v.

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CITY OF SEATTLE, a municipal corporation,
OFFICER JARED KELLER ,

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COMES NOW the Plaintiff by and through his attorneys of record, and alleges as
follows:

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JURY DEMANDED

Defendants.

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COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES:
PARENTAL LOSS OF CONSORTIUM
RE: THE DEATH OF IOSIA
FALETOGO

I.
1.

PARTIES

Plaintiff Mane Faletogo is an adult male and the father of his deceased, Iosia

Faletogo.

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2.

Defendants City of Seattle and Officer Jared Keller were responsible as

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employers, operators, and/or agents in relation to the Seattle Police Department.
II.

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3.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

At approximately 5pm on Monday, December 31, 2018, then 36-year-old Iosia

Faletogo was pulled over on Highway 99 near 96th Avenue North by officers with the Seattle
Police Department.
COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES: PARENTAL LOSS
OF CONSORTIUM RE: THE DEATH
OF IOSIA FALETOGO - 1 of 5

CONNELLY LAW OFFICES, PLLC
2301 North 30th Street
Tacoma, WA 98403
(253) 593-5100 Phone - (253) 593-0380 Fax

 Case 2:19-cv-00247 Document 1 Filed 02/20/19 Page 2 of 5

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of the vehicle indicated that the owner had a suspended license.

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The alleged purpose of the stop was an illegal lane change and the license plate

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Iosia Faletogo ran from the scene, and a chase ensued, eventually involving at

least six (6) officers in pursuit.

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where they tackled him and struggled to arrest Iosia Faletogo.
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The officers spotted a gun on, and ordered Iosia Faletogo to release the weapon,

and pandemonium ensued.

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The six (6) officers chased him across the highway and toward a side street,

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“You’re going to get shot!” the officers can be heard screaming during the chase

and physical struggle, followed by a glimpse of Iosia Faletogo’s gun on the ground beside him

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while several officers hovered over him.
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9.

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muffled voice, “I’m not reaching.”
10.

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Ultimately, Officer Jared Keller fired his weapon into the back of Iosia

Faletogo’s head.

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Another officer shouted “He’s reaching,” to which Iosia Faletogo said in a

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At the time, Officer Keller was wearing a mandated body camera, which

reflected that Iosia Faletogo’s hands were entirely free of the weapon at the moment he was

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shot:

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COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES: PARENTAL LOSS
OF CONSORTIUM RE: THE DEATH
OF IOSIA FALETOGO - 2 of 5

CONNELLY LAW OFFICES, PLLC
2301 North 30th Street
Tacoma, WA 98403
(253) 593-5100 Phone - (253) 593-0380 Fax

 Case 2:19-cv-00247 Document 1 Filed 02/20/19 Page 3 of 5

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12.

The fatal shooting came as a shock not only to Faletogo’s family, but to the tight-

knit local Samoan community which Faletogo’s aunt Tiare Chanel said has been deeply affected

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by his death. “The shooting has brought a very dark cloud in my family,” said Chanel, a Tacoma

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resident. “It has impacted our community a lot … We feel that we’re just going to be part of

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the count of people of color that’s been conflicted with these issues.”

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13.

At the request of Chief Carmen Best, the State Patrol has reportedly opened a

criminal investigation into the shooting.
14.

Mane Faletogo brings this lawsuit for what appears to be the unnecessary

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execution of his son.
III.
15.

FEDERAL LOSS OF CONSORTIUM CLAIM: 42 U.S.C. 1983
Ninth Circuit precedent holds that “a parent who claims loss of the

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companionship and society of his or her child, or vice versa ... has a constitutionally protected

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liberty interest under the Fourteenth Amendment in the companionship and society of his or her

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COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES: PARENTAL LOSS
OF CONSORTIUM RE: THE DEATH
OF IOSIA FALETOGO - 3 of 5

CONNELLY LAW OFFICES, PLLC
2301 North 30th Street
Tacoma, WA 98403
(253) 593-5100 Phone - (253) 593-0380 Fax

 Case 2:19-cv-00247 Document 1 Filed 02/20/19 Page 4 of 5

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child ....”1 This is true even where the deprivation is incidental to the state's acts. 2 Official

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conduct that “shocks the conscience” in depriving parents of that interest is cognizable as a

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violation of due process.3 Where “actual deliberation is practical, then an officer's ‘deliberate
indifference’ may suffice to shock the conscience.”4

On the other hand, “where a law

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enforcement officer makes a snap judgment because of an escalating situation, his conduct may
only be found to shock the conscience if he acts with a purpose to harm unrelated to legitimate
law enforcement objectives.”5

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16.

Under this federal law, Mane Faletogo has a cause of action for the deprivation

associated with the loss of his adult son, Iosia Faletogo. Pursuant to the claims recognized at
federal common law stemming from the substantive due process rights under the Fourteenth

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Amendment, Mane Faletogo hereby brings such a claim. At present, this federal lawsuit does
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not include any claims derived by the Estate of Iosia Faletogo or any of the other beneficiaries

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under state law. This claim also includes a cause of action for a pattern, practice, and failure of

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training on the part of the City of Seattle leading up to this wrongful death. It is well

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documented that the City of Seattle has a pattern and practice of the use of excessive force.

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Multiple questionable shootings have occurred over the preceding years. In this situation, the
use of lethal force was not necessary, and full de-escalation was never attempted.

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Curnow v. Ridgecrest Police, 952 F.2d 321, 325 (9th Cir.1991) (citing Strandberg v. City of Helena, 791 F.2d
744, 748 (9th Cir.1986); Kelson v. City of Springfield, 767 F.2d 651, 653–55 (9th Cir.1985)); see also Moreland
v. Las Vegas Metro. Police Dep't, 159 F.3d 365, 371 (9th Cir.1998) (noting that plaintiffs “may assert a Fourteenth
Amendment claim based on the related deprivation of their liberty interest arising out of their relationship with
[their deceased son]”).
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See Moreland, 159 F.3d at 371.

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Wilkinson v. Torres, 610 F.3d 546, 555 (9th Cir.2010) (citations omitted).

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Id.

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Id.

COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES: PARENTAL LOSS
OF CONSORTIUM RE: THE DEATH
OF IOSIA FALETOGO - 4 of 5

CONNELLY LAW OFFICES, PLLC
2301 North 30th Street
Tacoma, WA 98403
(253) 593-5100 Phone - (253) 593-0380 Fax

 Case 2:19-cv-00247 Document 1 Filed 02/20/19 Page 5 of 5

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IV.

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PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff requests a judgment against Defendants:
(a)

Awarding Plaintiff general, special, and punitive damages to be proven at trial;

(b)

Awarding him reasonable attorney’s fees and costs as available under law;

(c)

Awarding him any and all applicable interest on the judgment; and

(d)

Awarding them him other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper

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under the circumstances of this case.
DATED this 20th day of February, 2019.
CONNELLY LAW OFFICES, PLLC

Lincoln Beauregard
By _________________________________________
Lincoln C. Beauregard, WSBA No. 32878
Amanda M. Searle, WSBA No. 42632
Attorney for Plaintiff Mane Faletogo

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COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES: PARENTAL LOSS
OF CONSORTIUM RE: THE DEATH
OF IOSIA FALETOGO - 5 of 5

CONNELLY LAW OFFICES, PLLC
2301 North 30th Street
Tacoma, WA 98403
(253) 593-5100 Phone - (253) 593-0380 Fax