City and police both learn from a shooting

Ten months ago, Olympia Police Officer Ryan Donald shot Andre Thompson and Bryson Chaplin on Olympia’s west side after a shoplifting complaint, an altercation and an early morning pursuit. Both young men survived, but Chaplin is paralyzed. It can happen here and it did — not in Ferguson, Cleveland, Chicago, or Baltimore — in Olympia.

It’s been an education for us as a community. About what we already knew: Young men of color are incarcerated, shot and killed by police officers at a disproportionate rate. And about what many of us didn’t know: that Washington’s law on deadly force, requiring proof that the officer acted “in bad faith and with malice,” makes it virtually impossible to prosecute a police officer who uses deadly force.

It’s why King County’s prosecutor, Dan Satterberg, didn’t prosecute Ian Birk for the 2010 shooting of John T. Williams when he gave Williams, a deaf Native American woodcarver, just four seconds to drop a knife before shooting him in the back. And it’s why Thurston County Prosecutor Jon Tunheim did not prosecute Officer Donald for shooting Thompson and Chaplin, stating that Donald was “acting without malice” and had a “good faith fear” when he shot them.

Is Olympia different from other communities facing this kind of problem?

It is different in at least one way: In the short time between last May and today, a new organization — the Black Alliance of Thurston County — has become the catalyst for statewide conversation, and legislation, around policing.

Alliance members also engaged our community in a deeper conversation about race, bias and institutional racism, including extended discussions with the city of Olympia and its police department. The Black Alliance has been working with the city and police department on developing a training program around implicit bias — bias that affects people on an unconscious level.

Here’s something else that’s different: The city and the police department are giving real thought to trust, transparency and accountability — and that, as the Black Alliance says, “makes good government.”

Six months ago, the city convened a citizen-led ad-hoc committee on Police and Community Relations, which held a series of community conversations around race and policing. The February forum focused on the city’s plans to implement body cameras in policing. In April, the committee will give its recommendations to the city.

In a statement on the city’s website, Police Chief Ronnie Roberts has called for a more transparent, more open and more accountable police force. If he and his staff are truly committed to these goals, we could see real change. But it won’t be easy.

There’s a reason that the Alliance is calling these discussions “courageous conversations.”

Changing the laws regarding deadly force is a critical first step. Using body cameras should help, too; evidence suggests that they improve the behavior of police and citizens.

But changing the culture of policing is much harder. Rethinking police training is key, and Washington state has been a leader, turning away from a “boot camp” approach and devoting more time to topics like communication and emotional intelligence.

Shifting Olympia police from warriors to guardians, as former King County Sheriff Sue Rahr and Seattle University professor Stephen K. Rice describe this change in approach, will require continued police engagement with the people of Olympia — particularly those groups that have the least reason to trust them.

The Olympia Police Department’s willingness to take stock after the shooting of Thompson and Chaplin is commendable, and its focus on community input over the past few months is a great start.

But putting new policies and practices in place is just the beginning. It will always be important for Olympia police to return to the people and ask, “How’s this working?”

And the people of Olympia will always need to be there to hear them and to respond. It will take continued effort — and a continuing courageous conversation — to make sure Olympia really is a different kind of town, one where we all feel safe.

This story was originally published March 20, 2016 at 11:00 AM with the headline "City and police both learn from a shooting."