Police shooting story still unfolding

An investigation into an Olympia police officer’s shooting of two young black men on May 21 is over, and the officer won’t be charged with a crime.

Given that state law grants police a right to shoot if they feel their safety is at risk, this is not a surprise. But some in our community are expressing outrage that Thurston County’s prosecuting attorney, Jon Tunheim, is charging the injured men with felony crimes.

Andre Thompson and Bryson Chaplin face charges of second-degree assault for failing to stop when ordered to by Olympia police officer Ryan Donald and then allegedly raising their skateboards as if to hit and injure the officer. Chaplin also faces a fourth-degree assault charge for allegedly throwing a case of beer at a Safeway clerk in the shoplifting incident that first drew calls to police.

So far, the facts as recounted by police investigators from the Thurston County Sheriff's Office and other local jurisdictions fall in Donald’s favor and against the two suspects.

It appears that statements from the officer, who was not injured in the confrontations, stand as primary evidence for the felony charges. In Tunheim’s judgment, Donald had a reasonable fear of being assaulted and was justified in using force to defend himself.

What’s missing is Thompson’s and Chaplin’s version of events. As is their right, they declined to give statements to police. But investigators said Thompson initially denied either man was at a grocery store or used skateboards as a weapon.

As reported last week by The Olympian, investigative reports painted Donald as reacting in the dark about 1:15 a.m. to a perceived threat to his life after stopping the men on suspicion of beer theft and assault at the market. After Donald approached them along Cooper Point Road, one raised a skateboard as if to hit him; the other pulled his uniform sleeve, causing Donald to fear he could be pulled to the ground.

After Donald fired his gun they fled into a wooded area.

The men re-emerged as Donald awaited backup from other officers and charged at him one at a time. Each wielded a skateboard in a manner so menacing, in Donald’s view, he felt compelled to shoot in self-defense.

Donald fired his gun remarkably as many as 11 times, based on lab findings. One bullet passed through a window in a nearby home.

It’s fair to ask why Thompson and Chaplin didn’t stop when the officer ordered them to do so. Just as fair is to ask whether the two men, both in their 20s, were terrified of what might happen if they were taken into custody.

Also fair is to ask why Donald didn't use a lesser kind of force, perhaps a stun gun, to subdue at least one of the subjects.

All of this brings us to a riddle of our times: As we look across the nation at the high number of police shootings and the disproportionately higher incidence of shootings of black men by white police, we think it is — in many instances — reasonable for a black man to fear any interactions with police.

Yet at the same time, an officer confronted by an armed subject — and worse, one who might attack — must make split-second decisions about a subject’s intent and his or her own safety.

This isn’t the end of the story. Donald’s use of deadly force will be reviewed by an Olympia Police Department panel that includes two Olympia police officers, the city attorney and the leader of the state Commission on African American Affairs, Edward Prince. Chief Ronnie Roberts said this could take two weeks and would determine whether department policies were followed and whether Donald should be disciplined or even fired.

It remains to be seen whether the criminal charges stick. A civil lawsuit brought by Thompson and Chaplin is still a possibility, too. Donald’s private attorney, Saxon Rodgers, says the two suspects would lose if they sue the city, but such a lawsuit might clear the air, if the two men and Officer Donald were to testify about what they believe happened that night.

We’re going to wait, and ask our community to wait, too, before passing final judgment on this one. We favor a police strategy that uses lethal force only as a last resort, and we believe our police chief shares that goal.

– By Brad Shannon for the editorial board

This story was originally published September 8, 2015 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Police shooting story still unfolding."