VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) - Investigators have released an initial account of an officer-involved shooting in Clark County last week, indicating that the officer fired as he was grappling with a driver who refused orders to get out of his car and who instead put the vehicle in motion.
Jenoah Donald, the driver, was the second Black man shot by Clark County sheriff’s deputies in a span of about three months. On an online fundraising page, a family representative wrote Thursday his condition had not improved and that the family had “made the difficult decision to put him on comfort care until he passes.”
The Vancouver Police Department, which is leading the investigation into the shooting, released an initial account Wednesday, after investigators completed interviews with the involved deputies, The Columbian newspaper reported.
Attorneys for Donald’s family said the account made clear that Donald, 30, was not armed and posed no serious threat to the deputies.
“Deadly force should be a last resort - legally and morally,’ said one, Mark Lindquist. “There were three tactically trained officers on the scene in full gear. They have Tasers, pepper spray and other non-lethal weapons. There was no good reason to shoot Jenoah in the head.”
According to the account, deputies were responding to a call Feb. 4 about two cars that were suspiciously circling a Hazel Dell neighborhood. Deputy Sean Boyle, a 21-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, pulled over a bronze-colored Mercedes Benz for what he described as a faulty rear light.
As Boyle checked Donald’s identification, another deputy, Holly Troupe, stood by the passenger side of Donald’s car, the synopsis said. She reported that she saw a “ball-handled” object with a sharp 3- to 4-inch “stake” in the car, and that instead of keeping his hands visible as requested, Donald moved them behind his back and pulled out a cellphone and pliers.
Boyle returned to Donald’s car, opened the door and asked him to get out, but he declined, investigators said. Boyle and Troupe tried to pull him out, but he resisted, they said. A third deputy was also on scene by this point.
Boyle said he punched Donald in the nose, to no effect, and Donald pulled him into the vehicle after grabbing his outer ballistic vest. Troupe told investigators she was concerned Donald was going to grab the sharpened item in his vehicle and assault Boyle.
Donald reportedly turned on the vehicle’s engine, and the deputies said they heard the engine revving and “wheels spinning.” Boyle continued to try in vain to free himself, according to investigators.
“Deputy Boyle felt the vehicle begin to move forward, and fearing he was going to be killed, he drew his firearm,” the investigators said, “and gave Mr. Donald a verbal warning to stop or he would be shot.”
Boyle fired two shots, striking Donald once. The deputy then pushed away from the vehicle, which traveled until it hit a fence in a neighboring yard. All three deputies approached the vehicle, removed Donald and began rendering aid.
Investigators said a Clark County judge has signed a search warrant for Donald’s vehicle. They plan to start processing the car for evidence in the next few days.
Donald was shot less than a mile from where Clark County deputies shot and killed Kevin Peterson Jr., a 21-year-old Black man, about three months ago. That killing prompted protests. NAACP Vancouver said Donald’s family does not want any public demonstrations at this time, and it instead encouraged residents to submit comments to the sheriff’s office and police department demanding transparency and urgency in the investigation.
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