MARYSVILLE — Marysville Police Officer Derek Carlile was charged with second degree manslaughter by the Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday, March 22, in connection with the accidental shooting death of his 7-year-old daughter, Jenna, in March.

While court papers filed by Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorneys Mark Roe and Lisa Paul accuse Carlile with criminal negligence that they say caused Jenna’s death on March 11, due to a gunshot wound that she sustained in Stanwood on March 10, Carlile’s attorneys issued a statement expressing what they called their “disappointment” with the prosecutor’s office.

“This is a double tragedy for the Carlile family that not only lost Jenna, but now also faces the possibility of losing Derek to prison if the prosecution is successful,” Carlile attorneys David Allen and Cooper Offenbecher wrote in their joint statement. “While he takes full responsibility for this tragic accident, his actions were not criminal and he intends to vigorously defend the charges.”

In the affidavit of probable cause filed by Paul, Carlile was accused of creating a substantial risk of death by leaving his loaded, unsecured handgun in his vehicle in clear view and reach of his four children. Carlile’s 3-year-old son picked up the gun and fatally shot Jenna, and according to the affidavit, Carlile and his wife knew the boy was fascinated with guns. Although Carlile began lifesaving efforts immediately after hearing the shot and rushing back to the van to discover Jenna bleeding, she died at the hospital the following day.

“Though the undeniable tragedy that has stricken the defendant and his family is staggering, compassion must be balanced with accountability for the acts which caused it,” Paul wrote in the affidavit.

The Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office is not seeking for Carlile to be taken into custody, due to the standard determining factors of a defendant’s ties to the community, his criminal history (if any), his likelihood of flight and the risk that he will commit a violent offense or otherwise interfere with the administration of justice. While the prosecutor’s office does not object to Carlile being release on his personal recognizance, they are asking the Court to order him not to possess firearms pending trial, to turn over any firearms he has to a responsible third party, and not to discuss the facts of this case with his children pending trial.