|
 The two brothers, aged 21 and 24, were hospitalized, one in
critical condition with multiple gunshot wounds, Olympia Police
Chief Ronnie Roberts told a news conference.
Officer Ryan Donald, who had been with the Olympia Police Department
for three years, told authorities the men had no weapons but
attacked him with a skateboard, and that he had issued a verbal
warning before opening fire.
The incident follows a series of fatal police confrontations across
the United States that have put law enforcement agencies under
scrutiny over the use of force, particularly against minorities.
After reports of the shooting, several protests took place in
Olympia, a city of about 48,000 people where only 2 percent of the
population is black, according to U.S. Census data.
Around 400 took to the streets on Thursday evening, meeting at a
park before marching to City Hall, according to local newspaper The
Olympian. Photos of the demonstration published by the paper showed
a racially mixed group, with many whites taking part.
The police chief said Donald, who is white, and other officers
responded to an assault call at a supermarket around 1 a.m. An
employee reported that two men who were trying to steal beer had
thrown the items at him and then ran away.
One man was shot in a confrontation with Donald, Roberts said, and
the two suspects then ran into the woods. When they re-emerged,
multiple shots were fired, Roberts said.
"There was some sort of confrontation there, and the officer felt
threatened and discharged his firearm," Roberts said.
[to top of second column] |
The men shot were identified as brothers Andre Thompson and Bryson
Chaplin. Thompson, the older brother, was stable while Chaplin was
critical but expected to survive, Chief Brad Watkins of the Thurston
County Sheriff's Office said.
Donald was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.
The Olympia police will not be involved in the probe, Watkins said.
Olympia police are not equipped with body-worn cameras and there was
no dashboard camera video of the incident, he said.
The Thurston County prosecuting attorney will review the
investigation to decide if the use of force was reasonable.
(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere; Additional reporting by Curtis
Skinner; Editing by Cynthia Johnston, Will Dunham and Lisa Lambert)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
