King County Prosecutor's Office Hired Attorney Who Was on Brady List for Falsifying Documents
The former juvenile detention officer did not disclose her status, which makes officers ineligible to testify in court, to the county.
By Erica C. Barnett
Last year, the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office hired a new prosecutor with an unusual professional pedigree: Before she was hired as a prosecutor, in 2023, the prosecutor, Ayana Hawk, was a juvenile corrections officer for the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention.
In December 2018, the DAJD was investigating Hawk for an allegation of serious misconduct (later found to be unsubstantiated) when it came across video showing Hawk committing a different offense: Falsifying government documents. According to Hawk's internal investigation file, she falsely reported she had done bed checks while working an overnight shift at the juvenile jail; in reality, the video showed, she was chatting with coworkers at the main desk.
Ultimately, Hawk received a five-day suspension that was "held in abeyance for two years from the date of occurrence," according to DAJD spokesman Noah Haglund—effectively, a suspended sentence. But the findings of the investigation landed Hawk on the King County Prosecutor's Brady list—a list of law enforcement officers whose testimony in court is suspect because they have a history of dishonesty, calling their future testimony into question.
The allegations against Hawk were more significant than they might seem at first blush. In jail, security checks are required not only to make sure no one escapes, but to ensure the safety and health of people locked up in jail. Last year, a guard at the adult jail falsified a security check less than two hours before a man committed suicide; although that officer avoided discipline by quitting, the DAJD disciplined at least eight other employees for falsifying security checks between 2021 and 2023.
Hawk's investigation file shows four alleged violations of DAJD policy and state law, all of them sustained, or found to be true: Falsifying government records, "causing loss or injury," conduct unbecoming, and violating the law by "fraudulently document[ing] security checks which she did not perform."
Despite this setback, she retained her job as a juvenile corrections officer; earned a law degree; won admission to the state bar; and was hired by the King County Prosecutor's Office last year—the very agency that put her on its Brady list.
The prosecutor's office was unaware that Hawk was on their Brady list, and spokesman Casey McNerthney said the office does not have a policy of checking attorneys' Brady status. "[Hawk]"is in good standing with the State Bar Association, which also handles a background check and requires attorneys to meet ethical obligations under the Rules of Professional Conduct," McNerthney said.
Hawk had positive recommendations from her supervisor and a coworker, and former DAJD director John Diaz wrote after an internal hearing, addressing Hawk, that he “appreciated your honesty during the hearing and for taking ownership of your conduct” and believed she had “learned from the incident.”
Contacted with questions about Hawk's Brady status, WSBA spokesman Jessica Olegario said the WSBA's applications "do not specifically request disclosure of inclusion on a 'Brady list,'" although this "could be disclosed if related to an answer otherwise provided in response to an application question."
Hawk did not respond to a request for comment.
In an interview with investigators in April 2019, Hawk said she learned on the job that it was was okay to falsify bed checks. Describing a culture of laxity at the youth jail, she told investigators, "Generally... you are told [that] if the kid is in there and you miss one [bed check], then just fill it in, because that's easier. I'm not sure if I sought out to intentionally not do the checks. I think that the time passed and the checks weren't done."