Officer testimony wraps up week for Thompson, Chaplin trial

The trial of Andre Thompson and Bryson Chaplin wrapped up for the week with testimony from Olympia police officers who responded to the 1200 block of Cooper Point Road minutes after the May 21, 2015 officer-involved shooting.

Deputy prosecutors called officers Kimberly Sieg and Luke O’Brien as witnesses Thursday, during the trial’s second day of testimony.

Sieg responded following the shooting, and O’Brien was one of the officers who responded to a theft and assault call at the west Olympia Safeway. He was also one of the first officers to arrive on scene following the shooting.

However, O’Brien only gave part of his testimony Thursday — court ended for the day before he described responding to the scene of the alleged assault and officer-involved shooting. Sieg was able to give her whole testimony.

The trial will be on pause for the week of April 3 to 7, the week typically observed for spring break by Thurston County schools. Trial will resume at 9 a.m. on Monday, April 10.

Brothers Chaplin Thompson face assault charges resulting from an alleged May 21, 2015, attack on Olympia police Officer Ryan Donald, who was attempting to apprehend the brothers after responding to a report of thefts and an assault at the west Olympia supermarket.

Both men were shot during the altercation with Donald, who was cleared of wrongdoing by the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office and the Olympia Police Department.

The Prosecutor’s Office also filed theft charges against Thompson and Chaplin last October. Chaplin pleaded guilty on March 27 to three counts of third-degree theft. Thompson still faces one count of third-degree theft.

Each man is charged with two counts of second-degree assault for the alleged attack on Donald. Chaplin also faces one count of fourth-degree assault for an alleged assault on a Safeway employee.

During her testimony, Sieg told the court that Chaplin was lying on the road when she arrived, and her supervisor asked her to make contact with him. She said she asked Chaplin his name, and he responded that he was Bryson Chaplin.

He was handcuffed, but Sieg said the handcuffs were removed within minutes of her arrival.

“We knew the medics were coming, and we thought it would be best to take (the handcuffs) off so that he could be treated,” Sieg said.

She said that Chaplin had some labored breathing. When questioned by attorney George Trejo, who represents Chaplin, she said Chaplin appeared to be in pain.

Trejo questioned Sieg at length about how much blood was on the ground surrounding Chaplin. Sieg said she wasn’t paying attention to that — she noticed three wounds on Chaplin’s chest and back, but she was focused on keeping him alert until medics arrived.

Sieg said she followed Chaplin’s ambulance to Providence St. Peter Hospital.

Deputy Prosecutor Wayne Graham asked Sieg about her relationship with Donald, now and at the time of the incident. She said that at the time of the incident, they were coworkers. She has been in a relationship with him since August 2015.

Sieg said she hasn’t discussed the incident with Donald because doing so would be unprofessional.

This story was originally published March 30, 2017 at 6:41 PM with the headline "Officer testimony wraps up week for Thompson, Chaplin trial."