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Officers testify on day two of inquest into fatal shooting of Charleena Lyles

SEATTLE — On day two of the inquest into the 2017 police shooting of Charleena Lyles, a Seattle officer told a jury he shielded the eyes of Lyles’ children before starting CPR after she was shot seven times.

KIRO 7 found out that it took several minutes before CPR was performed on Lyles.

The inquest included testimony from fellow Seattle Police Department officers, who say that officer Jason Anderson — one of two who opened fire on Lyles — appeared to be in shock after the shooting and might have been unresponsive to other officers’ commands.

Lyles, a mother of four, had a history of mental illness and died in the kitchen of her apartment after calling 911 to report a burglary.

Officers said four minutes after they entered her apartment, she threatened them with a knife.

Officer Erick Schickler was the officer who performed CPR and escorted the children out of the room.

“I deemed it very important because when you render the type of first aid we were going to need to render, it was going to be extremely horrific to a small child and traumatizing,” Schickler said. “It’s not pretty. You have a bunch of grown men pounding on the chest of a young (mother), ... and that’s not something you’re gonna be able to unsee.”

The inquest jury is weighing the facts about Lyles’ death as they determine whether officers followed policy and if a crime occurred.

The city of Seattle has already settled with the Lyles family for $3.5 million to avoid a wrongful death lawsuit.

KIRO 7 was informed that the King County prosecutor is monitoring the inquest, which will continue on Thursday.