Olympia residents speak out on racism, charges against Thompson and Chaplin

Olympia residents spoke out overwhelmingly against racism Thursday night at a Unity in the Community forum at The Olympia Center.

About 70 people attended the event, and dozens took the microphone to denounce charges filed last week against Andre Thompson and Bryson Chaplin, the two men shot May 21 by Olympia Police Officer Ryan Donald.

The two young men are black, and the officer is white. Many expressed belief that the incident was the result of racism.

Local public defender Larry Jefferson kicked off the event by walking the audience through the charges Chaplin, 21, and Thompson, 24, face. Chaplin is charged with two counts of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon for an alleged attack on Donald, and fourth-degree assault for an alleged attack on a Safeway clerk earlier that night. Thompson also is charged with two counts of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly attacking Donald.

Donald has not been charged.

Jefferson said that if convicted of the second-degree assault with a deadly weapon charges, Thompson and Chaplin would likely face prison time.

“They’re not looking at life sentences,” Jefferson said. “But that’s an automatic prison sentence.”

Many of the speakers questioned whether white men placed in the same situation would have been shot and then charged. Linda Andrews said her two sons, both white, are about the same age as Chaplin and Thompson, and she said she believes that they would have been dealt with more gently.

“It’s really hard for me to imagine that my kiddos would have been dealt with the same way,” Andrews said.

Others questioned why Donald placed himself in a position in which he feared for his life. Thurston County Assessor Steven Drew spoke outside of his official capacity, and said he was disappointed in Donald’s action.

But he said he hopes that there is still a chance the officer will face justice through the internal review being conducted by the Olympia Police Department.

“I hope that what awaits him is a different form of justice,” Drew said.

Of all the audience members, only one stood up to defend Donald and his actions. Rich Buechel said the shooting would never have happened if Chaplin and Thompson had followed Donald’s orders.

“If they had taken the direction that the officer made, this wouldn’t have been an event,” Buechel said.

He also questioned whether the event was racially motivated.

“Is every interracial interaction a racial event?” he asked.

Thurston County Prosecutor Jon Tunheim, who made the final charging decision, was present at the meeting, but did not speak.

This story was originally published September 10, 2015 at 9:32 PM with the headline "Olympia residents speak out on racism, charges against Thompson and Chaplin."