Seven Vancouver police officers involved in recent shootings are back to full duty this week.
Vancouver patrol Officers Brent Donaldson, Christopher Douville, Eric McCaleb, Timothy Pfeifer and Colton Price returned to full duty status Wednesday.
The five officers fired their weapons at Sebastian T. Lewandowski, 31, of Vancouver on Nov. 25 after they were called just before 11 p.m. to the Alder Creek Apartments, 11716 N.E. 49th St.
An argument between a man and a woman escalated and the man, who was reported to be armed, had set an apartment on fire, according to police. Lewandowski was carrying what appeared to be an AR-15 rifle-type weapon, but what police later determined was an Airsoft-type replica.
Police fired at Lewandowski, who died of multiple gunshot and shotgun wounds, according to the agency.
Two Vancouver police officers in a separate officer-involved shooting also went back to work Wednesday. Vancouver police Cpl. Chris LeBlanc and Officer Brian Frances have been on administrative leave since Oct. 31.
They and Clark County sheriff’s Deputy Anthony Spainhower are part of the regional SWAT team that was involved in the manhunt for John Kendall, who shot his neighbor with a rifle earlier in the day.
During the manhunt, police received a 911 call from a man who reportedly found Kendall’s car in a wooded area along Northeast Blandford Drive. The man who called 911, however, parked his vehicle next to Kendall’s and remained on scene after hanging up. When SWAT arrived, they saw from a distance a white man in his 50s and, believing the man to be Kendall, police fired multiple shots at him to stop the perceived threat, police said.
One round hit the man in a leg. Police have not released his name.
Kendall was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Spainhower remains on administrative leave, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will review whether the officers’ use of deadly force was justified under state law. The Vancouver Police Department and the Clark County Sheriff’s Office will conduct separate internal investigations.
