BELLEVUE
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ENTERTAINMENT | Bellevue 12-year-old shows his championship form in Pokemon tournament [19]
Business | Heavenly Cafe opens at Bellevue Square with gourmet-on-the-go menu [10]
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2013
Sports | New cricket pitch in Bellevue giving a home field to a game growing in popularity [14]
Inquest delayed in BPD-involved SWAT shooting Investigative report details events leading to Russell Smith's death in Seattle BY BRANDON MACZ BELLEVUE REPORTER
Whether Bellevue SWAT members were justified in fatally shooting Russell Smith as he allegedly attempted to strike officers with his car in what seemed to be a desper-
ate attempt to flee a blocked dead-end street in Columbia City, and explaining the differing perspectives among law enforcement about the events of March 22, will likely be taken up during an inquest hearing potentially starting next year. Considered a career criminal by law enforcement, Smith, 51, already had an extensive rap sheet before officers responded to his residence on the 5000 block of 43rd Avenue South in Seattle with an arrest warrant. Smith was suspected of at least three
robberies in Bellevue and two in Seattle going back to November 2012. He was believed to be armed and dangerous. A 428-page investigative report submitted to the King County Prosecutor's Office ahead of a six-member jury inquest hearing – ordered by King County Executive Dow Constantine in June – provides more than a dozen accounts from Bellevue and Seattle police officers there that morning. None of the residents witnessed the fatal shooting as all had been asleep at 5 a.m.
and awoke to the sounds of gunfire and explosions. With Seattle SWAT down the road ready to provide back-up, Bellevue officers approached Smith's home expecting to catch him and his brother, Rydell, 46, off-guard. Rydell Smith was suspected of aiding his brother in committing the robberies, but was not home at the time of the warrant services and later cleared as a suspect. SEE INQUEST, 5
Meydenbauer Center eyes renovation, expansion to to stay financially viable After 20 years of operations, the Meydenbauer Center’s board of directors are working with the city of Bellevue to figure out how to make improvements that will ensure its financial viability for many years to come. “As Bellevue’s grown, so have we,” said Stacy Graven, executive director for Meydenbauer Center, “and also we have the obligation to be the communities kind of living room.” More than 7,000 events have been held at the center since its construction, and Graven said the meeting rooms, lobby and theater there have gone relatively untouched over the past 20 years. “It’s time for a remodel to keep up with the competition,” she said. “… It’s time for us to just go in there and renovate those rooms.” With Sound Transit planning to construct its Bellevue Transit Center Station for its East Link extension on Northeast Sixth Street and the city working to expand its City Hall Plaza, renovating the Meydenbauer Center makes sense, Graven said.
Hosting of events at Meydenbauer Center is estimated to have generated more than $390 million in economic impact to Bellevue. COURTESY PHOTO “The station being built right across the street from us is huge, and we’re thrilled,” she said, adding that means easier access to the center through public transportation. “We look at that as a huge plus, and the development that goes
along with that.” The Meydenbauer Center estimates its hosting of events SEE MEYDENBAUER, 8
Bellevue couple's estate gifts $10M to Swedish hospital BY BRANDON MACZ BELLEVUE REPORTER
The Swedish Medical Center Foundation knew Robert and Jean Reid to be great philanthropists here in the Puget Sound area, but were surprised to find they'd been gifted $10.1 million from the Bellevue couple's estate following their deaths.
Robert Reid started Reid Sand and Gravel in 1958 with his wife helping to run the Bellevue business for nearly 30 years. They were well known for their philanthropy, establishing an endowment fund for the UW School of Nursing and supporting community causes. Another posthumous gift by the Reids was to the Seattle Children's Hospital Bellevue Clinic. “The Reids had been one of the most philanthropic
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couples in all of the Puget Sound area,” said Randy Mann, vice president of campaigns for the Swedish foundation. “Their real increase in giving and supporting Swedish did occur later in life when they became aware of their own health issues.” SEE SWEDISH, 4
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