By Janine Unsoeld
www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com
The Thurston County Prosecutor's Office released today
a large portion of the documents related to the investigation into the Olympia
police officer involved shooting on May 21st of two African-American men in
Olympia.
That information can be viewed at www.co.thurston.wa.us/pao/critical-incident-report.htm
and includes transcriptions of witness statements and Olympia police officer
Ryan Donald, who shot Andre Thompson and Bryson Chaplin.
A statement today on the Olympia Police Department
website says:
In
our promise to be transparent with our community we are relaying this
information and link. The Prosecutor has told us that this is the majority of
the information, although a few pieces of the investigation are still under
review. Please note that this is not the Prosecutor’s decision or resolution on
this case. The Prosecutor’s Office will publicly announce when his office has
completed the review and made a decision.
The
Olympia Police Department, like our community, is reading and digesting the
investigative reports that were just released. We are all patiently waiting for
this process to be completed. We appreciate the thoughtful and detailed work
that the independent investigative team and the Prosecutor’s Office is
conducting with this important matter for our community.
If
you have questions about this material, please contact the Thurston County
Prosecutor Office at 360.786.5540.
Jim Johnson, a resident in the Olympia area near
Cooper Point Road and Langridge where the shooting of Andre Thompson and Bryson
Chaplin took place on May 21, heard the shots that evening. He was present at
tonight’s first meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on Police and Community
Relations.
Johnson was one of many community members who spoke
out at a May 26 Olympia City Council meeting devoted to the shooting.
His testimony to the council was transcribed by
this reporter in a May 26 article at Little Hollywood, www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com/2015/05/olympia-community-speaks-to-city.html.
In that testimony, five days after the shooting, he revealed that neither he or his
wife or neighbors had yet been interviewed by the police.
Speaking with Johnson after tonight’s Ad Hoc
Committee meeting, Johnson said he was aware his witness report was part of
what was released by the Prosecutor’s Office this afternoon, but has not had a
chance to read it yet. He said that the
day after he gave his testimony to the city council, the police came to his
house and he was formally interviewed.
Asked what he thought of tonight’s meeting of the
committee, he showed this reporter his public comment sheet. It said, “This is
appalling – two hours and you did not even schedule the next meeting (the
purpose of which is to schedule the first opportunity for the public to
comment).”
Above: Ad Hoc Committee on Community and Police Relations Member Curt Pavola introduces himself to the audience. In his day job, he works for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, and served on the Olympia City Council from 2001-2005. He said he came to Olympia when he about 25 years old as a gay man, at a time when there were no laws for the protection against discrimination in housing and employment. He felt welcomed here and worked with others for the passage of those laws, but also recognizes that the spirit of a law is not necessarily implemented. He said that the city’s comprehensive plan, particularly the chapter on policing, is a good platform for implementing and expressing our community values.
Ad
Hoc Committee on Police and Community Relations
The first meeting of a city organized committee of
five citizens was held tonight at Garfield Elementary School in the
multi-purpose room. The group is composed of Reiko Callner, Kerensa Mabwa, Curt Pavola, Clinton Petty, Alejandro Rugarcia, and ex-officio member Lt. Aaron Jelcick of the Olympia Police Department.
Hearing the speakers was difficult at times for many
audience members. A loud fan went on intermittently throughout the meeting, and
some members of the group had their backs to the audience. About 40 people were
in attendance at the beginning of the meeting. The meeting was audiotaped by
the City of Olympia.
The group was tasked by the Olympia City Council with
receiving information from the community about methods for engaging
underrepresented and minority groups on policing practices and to seek input on
a process for engaging the public on implementing police-worn body cameras.
The two hour meeting this evening focused on introductions,
a review of the open public meetings act and public records act, a review of the
committee charter, and discussion about future meeting dates and locations.
It was very late into the meeting that the Ad Hoc
Committee co-chair Reiko Callner acknowledged the elephant in the room: the
shooting of Andre Thompson and Bryson Chaplin by an Olympia police officer.
“We’re the
only group asking these (police-related) questions right now…we need to listen
to all of it even if it’s not on task with our charter,” said committee member co-chair Curt Pavola.
The group anticipates meeting again in about a week
and a half but did not set a date, time or location. Pavola said he hoped the
group could meet in different locations around the community and get different
people to drop in from area neighborhoods.
Callner acknowledged at the end of the meeting
that the acoustics of the room were difficult, and microphones were needed for
future meetings. She said that city hall can accommodate those needs as well as
televising meetings through Thurston Community Television.
It was also suggested that the public should be
asked their thoughts about locations and future forum topics.
Community
Members Take The Lead
A group called Unity in the Community was
organized in response to the shooting and will have a meeting on September 10, 6:00
p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at the Olympia Center, Room A. The purpose of the meeting is to provide the community an opportunity
to react to and discuss the outcome of the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office
findings, anticipated in early September.
“If this had happened to a couple of blonde, blue
eyed kids, this (the shooting) probably wouldn’t have happened, so that started
(the group), but it’s also an opportunity to have a series of conversations
about institutional racism and oppression,” said Kathy Baros Friedt, a member of Unity in the Community.
“....It’s past time,” she continued. “There are so many
things right about having this conversation about race that didn’t exist
before….and the faith community is socially engaged and more inclusive than
ever before.”
For more information about the Olympia Police Department, the Ad Hoc Committee on Police and Community Relations, and community conversations about the shooting in Olympia on May 21, go to Little Hollywood at www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and type key words into the search engine.
