Washington state police officer shoots two men accused of stealing beer

[Jazzy]

A police officer in the Washington state capital of Olympia shot and wounded two unarmed black men suspected of trying to steal beer from a supermarket on Thursday, law enforcement said, prompting protests in the city.

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.

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.

Do you think these shootings were justified? Why/Why not?

 

[+paradox]

depends if you believe the cop's story, or if there's actual video so we can see what actually happened...

it was in a store? then where's the video?

 

[Dee]

America: Where stealing beer is grounds for being shot multiple times.

 

[Lizzy]

What about cops that get killed? Cop gets killed whole talking to a domestic violence suspect.. I get there are bad cops, but all cops that shoot someone aren't bad. They don't have time to take ten minutes and think... OK, I told him to stop, now he's running in my direction, now he's reaching for something.. It may be his wallet or maybe he has an itch? Let's wait a sec see what it is.

 

[seasidemike]

I normally sympathise with the police in a big way, especially in the USA where anyone could be carrying a gun and it seems that so many are strung out on drugs these days, but recently some of the shooting and their treatment of people is just horrible.
This incident is yet another over-reaction, and also this one where the driver was doing nothing at all, and could not move because he was having a stroke for God's sake yet the pepper spray and taser the poor guy:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...uits-after-pepper-spraying-stroke-victim.html

What the hell is going on over there???

 

[Lizzy]

They need more training. I don't think they get enough. Also better psych evaluations.

 

[+paradox]

What about cops that get killed? Cop gets killed whole talking to a domestic violence suspect.. I get there are bad cops, but all cops that shoot someone aren't bad. They don't have time to take ten minutes and think... OK, I told him to stop, now he's running in my direction, now he's reaching for something.. It may be his wallet or maybe he has an itch? Let's wait a sec see what it is.

it sucks that cops get killed, but they know the dangers of the job, like any other dangerous job...

and just because some people kill cops doesn't mean everyone is out to get cops... but the thing is cops are letting things get to them, they think everyone is out to get them so they use lethal force as their first option and ask questions later, like it's nothing to kill someone...

and what about the times cops beat up or kill someone unjustly? and at times in people's backs? not every case is the same and not everyone threatens the cops when they get shot in the back or get beat up by a cop when someone is in handcuffs...

it's the cop's responsibility to be professional and use their training to not use deadly force as much as possible, but they don't, they use it as a first and only option because there's so many pussy cops out there that get scared if someone looks at them wrong, and how their minds are being brainwashed into military cops that think the public is the enemy...

cops are public servants, not the public's bosses and bullies...

 

[Jazzy]

Get those body cameras on all officers, NOW!

We the people demand to have the bad officers prosecuted and the good officers exonerated.

The leftist media is up to no good in these matters and cannot be trusted with the truth.

An infinite number of scenarios can be formed from this weak article. Was the officer faced with an ambush? Were the two brothers surrendering? We'll never know because no video or audio of the incident exists.

It's time to demand that police brutality not be tolerated. It's also time to demand that media outlets quit smearing all police as racist and trigger happy.

 

[Lizzy]

I agree Jazzy! Its is time to weed the garden. Lucky for here that officers are equipped with body cams. The media also needs to be more biased. I see too many news agencies siding anymore with politics.

 

[+paradox]

the leftist media is up to no good?

i think all media is up to no good just like 99% of politicians and a lot of cops out there...