EVERETT — Marysville Police Officer pleaded not guilty to the charge of second-degree manslaughter in Snohomish Superior Court on Tuesday, June 5, as his attorneys echoed previous statements they’d made to the press about the shooting death of Carlile’s 7-year-old daughter, Jenna.

Seattle lawyer David Allen deemed it a tragic accident that Carlile’s 3-year-old son fatally shot Jenna with a loaded handgun that Carlile himself had left within reach, while Carlile had also left his four children, aged 1 to 7, alone in the family van during a brief stop in Stanwood on March 10. Allen nonetheless denied that this qualified as criminal negligence, contrary to the charges filed by Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorneys Mark Roe and Lisa Paul.

Paul did not ask the judge at the June 5 hearing to impose bail on Carlile, whose trial date was set for Aug. 24. The June 5 hearing marked Carlile’s first court appearance since he was charged by prosecutors on May 22 in connection with the shooting.

While Paul alleged in charging documents that Carlile’s actions constituted “a gross deviation from the standard that a reasonable person would exercise in the same situation,” Allen argued that Carlile’s carelessness did not qualify as gross negligence. Carlile himself reportedly told detectives that he hadn’t used the ankle strap of the gun’s holster or a locking compartment in the van where the gun could have been placed, as he usually did, because he was in a hurry that day.