Men shot by Olympia officer didn’t have guns

OLYMPIA — Two stepbrothers suspected of trying to steal beer from a grocery store were not armed with guns when they were shot Thursday by a police officer who confronted them in the state’s capital city, authorities said.

The officer reported he was being assaulted with a skateboard early Thursday before the shooting in Olympia that left a 21-year-old man critically injured and a 24-year-old man in stable condition. Both were expected to survive.

The shooting, which is being investigated by a team of detectives from several agencies, prompted some protests.

“We are committed to helping our community work through this difficult circumstance and help us understand this tragic event,” Olympia Police Chief Ronnie Roberts said at news conference.

Brad Watkins, chief deputy of the Thurston County Sheriff’s Department, said two skateboards were recovered from the shooting scene and an investigation will likely take three to six weeks.

Officer Ryan Donald was among those who responded around 1 a.m. to a call from a Safeway store, Roberts said. Employees said two men tried to steal beer and then threw the alcohol at workers who confronted the pair.

Officers split up to search for the men. Donald encountered two men with skateboards who fit witnesses’ descriptions, and moments later, he radioed in that shots had been fired, the police chief said.

In radio calls released by police, Donald calls dispatchers once he spots the men, and again to report that he fired shots.

“I believe one of them is hit, both of them are running,” Donald said.

He tells dispatchers that one of the men “assaulted me with his skateboard.”

“I tried to grab his friend,” Donald said. “They’re very aggressive, just so you know.”

He says he has one man, then both, at gunpoint and asks for help.

Seconds later, he shouts, “Shots fired! One down,” and asks for more backup units. He then says the second man has been shot.

The police chief said Donald wasn’t injured but an officer “has the right to defend himself” if a suspect wields an object that could be used as a deadly weapon.

The two men were identified as Andre Thompson, 24, and Bryson Chaplin, 21, both of Olympia.

They are black, and Donald is white, but Roberts said, “There’s no indication to me that race was a factor in this case at all.”

Donald, 35, who is on administrative leave pending the investigation, has been with the department for just over three years. No residents have filed complaints against him, and he was recently recognized by the agency for being proactive on investigations, Roberts said. He worked previously as an Army police officer, the chief said.

Hundreds gather to protest shooting

OLYMPIA — Hundreds of people gathered Thursday night in Olympia to protest a police shooting that wounded two stepbrothers suspected of trying to steal beer from a grocery store.

Police say the two were not armed with guns when they were shot earlier in the day by a police officer who confronted them.

Protesters rallied first at a park, then marched about a mile to a building that houses the Olympia police headquarters and City Hall. They chanted “Black Lives Matter,” “No Justice No Peace” and the names of the young men who were shot.

The young men are black and the officer is white.

The officer reported he was being assaulted with a skateboard early Thursday before the shooting that left a 21-year-old man in critical but stable condition. A 24-year-old man was in stable condition.