Olympia City Council puts deadly police use of force case behind it with final incident report

On Tuesday, the deputy chief of the Olympia Police Department and a community representative presented the City Council with a review the 2022 fatal shooting of Timothy Green by a police officer in 2022, reminding the public of the officer's justified actions and the changes OPD has to make moving forward.

Mayor Dontae Payne said he, along with City Manager Jay Burney and Police Chief Rich Allen, recently met with Green's family. He said in the midst of their grief, they still have been willing to work with the city to change things and advocate for others who come into contact with police.

"I just want to hold them up and tell them publicly that I thank them for coming forward and still being willing to come to City Hall and advocate for others, and I thank our police chief for coming to the table and being open to suggested changes and for listening to them. So thank you," he said.

Shelby Parker, deputy chief of OPD, reported on the department's internal review process and summarized the Aug. 22, 2022, use of deadly force.

"On Aug. 22, 2022, at approximately 10:09 a.m., Olympia police officers were dispatched to a disorderly person inside a business located on Martin Way East. Officers responded to the scene and located the subject of the 911 calls. A deadly force encounter occurred. Officers immediately provided medical aid. The community member did not survive his injuries."

She said the Capital Metro Independent Investigative Team responded to the scene and assumed the investigation as is spelled out by state law, policy and procedure. OPD members didn't participate in the investigation, and two non-law enforcement community representatives responded to the scene to observe the investigation.

Officers involved were placed on administrative leave.

She said the CMIIT completed the investigation in January 2023. The case was forwarded to the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney's office for review, and their review was provided in December. They concluded that the officer's actions were reasonable, justifiable and lawful.

The Thurston County prosecutor informed the chief of police that the Thurston County prosecutor's office would not be pursuing criminal charges .

OPD's own use of force review board was convened.

The board's composition is dictated by policy and includes a lieutenant and involved members' chain of command, a training sergeant, a patrol sergeant, an officer selected by the involved officer, a sworn peace officer from an outside law enforcement agency, a department instructor and a community representative.

The board convened over two days this past February. The CMIIT presented the investigation to the board and answered questions, and each officer who was involved in the case appeared in front of the board. Board members asked questions of each officer to further their understanding of the incident.

The board concluded that the officer's actions were in line with department policy and training, and the department continually seeks opportunities to improve policy. The City of Olympia paid Greene's family $600,000 in August in response to a tort claim the family filed.

The board made a number of recommendations to improve OPD policy and procedure. The first is to examine policies where police response intersects with behavioral health entities and find ways to increase referrals to resources people need.

They also recommended OPD explore how an incident may be flagged in a data system for the Crisis Response Unit to follow up on to increase the chances of prevention and decrease the chances of later law enforcement intervention.

The board recommended OPD explore how the Crisis Response Unit is staged at an active scene.

"Board members recommend OPD explore having the Crisis Response Unit stage or stand by for calls involving community members who are believed to be in crisis, who also present a threat," she said. "Board members recognize that there are challenges associated with this recommendation. Additionally, board members recommend OPD examine the current structure of the Crisis Response Unit and make space for exploring different models."

Parker said the board recommends OPD supervisors continue to carry an OPD public safety statement card with them to ensure they have information easily accessible. OPD has also been asked to explore using a printed OPD public safety statement form to ensure information is formally gathered and documented.

Public safety statements are obtained from officers after deadly force is used, Parker said. They're used to ensure the department knows the directions rounds were fired, if they were fired, and if any community members were injured. They also include information on evidence and witnesses.

The public safety information was obtained in Green's case, but it was not formally documented.

The board also made recommendations to more frequently train on verbal de-escalation, behavioral health and crisis situations, including the Crisis Response Unit, movement drills and use of less lethal platforms.

A community perspective Elizabeth Drake was one of two community representatives on the use of force review board. She serves as the executive director of the Dispute Resolution Center of Thurston County and has lived in Olympia for more than 20 years.

Drake said she's a social scientist by trade, with degrees in Criminal Justice and Criminology, including her Ph.D.

"I've spent a lifetime studying violence and non violence and how to improve community outcomes," she said. "I worked as a non-partisan researcher for the Washington State Legislature for 16 years, so I bring an evidence-based policy perspective, and my research experience spans across many disciplines, including behavioral health."

She said her role on the board was to ask questions and to better understand the circumstances of the deadly use of force incident. That included exploring what tactics have been tried and failed; the decisions and events that led to the moment that the officer fired his weapon; understanding what the officer had seen, heard and believed; and what information he didn't know at the time of the incident.

Drake said she was in consensus with the review board's determination, yet the death of someone in the community isn't an outcome that anyone wants.

"A mother and a father lost their son that day, and our community was impacted, whether we are aware of it or not," she said. "I was very steeped in trying to understand how and where the system could improve and to avoid this result."

Drake said there's one witness statement that still sticks with her. A woman was in the drive-thru nearby when she saw Green get shot. Between tears, she told an officer the first thing she did was call her mom.

"This profound impact on a witness could have been any one of us in that drive-thru that day," Drake said. "Even though the officer's actions were rightly justified, the ripple effect reverberates throughout our community, including the police and others, and that impact will be carried into the future by those who are involved in some way, shape or form."

Drake said there are opportunities to continue exploring best practices and how to better implement the Crisis Response Unit, Familiar Faces program and other designated crisis responders.

Drake acknowledged that OPD has come far in its recent efforts to address behavioral health and how it intersects with the criminal justice system.

"Olympia is at the forefront of best practices, sometimes where data do not yet exist," she said. "So there's more to learn and try to continue down the pathway of incorporating research and evidence into policy."

Drake said she understands the complexities around de-escalation, and that not every case is the same. She said the key question to her is, how can police officers safely de-escalate a person in a behavioral health crisis who may or may not have a weapon and may be deadly?

"Mental health and substance abuse elevates the potential for harm of the individuals themselves and of our police officers, and as we just saw a moment ago, learning that 66% of the police use force incidents are happening with some crisis element attributed to the individual, the highest priority that officers have is securing the safety of the scene, before bringing in CRU or a designated crisis responder onto the scene," she said.

Drake said it's important for the community to understand that de-escalation, from the police point of view, is often tactical and not necessarily verbal. Continued verbal de-escalation training will need to be a priority for the department moving forward.

Drake said her experience in this process has taught her that Olympia's police officers are highly trained and care about those they are serving, but there's always room for improvement.

"They care about our community, and they're working hard to lean on the community board processes to increase trust," she said. "My own levels of trust have increased from participating in this process and learning more about OPD, their practices and their policies."