Vancouver police will not refer charges against former Vancouver mayoral candidate Steven Cox who shot and killed a suspected prowler in his backyard in the Burnt Bridge Creek neighborhood early Wednesday morning.
Investigators are wrapping up their reports and will then forward the incident to the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for review, said Kim Kapp, spokeswoman for the Vancouver Police Department.
The Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office announced Friday that the man killed, 30-year-old Ryan J. Anderson, died from a gunshot wound to the head. His death was ruled a homicide, meaning it resulted from another person’s deliberate action. The ruling does not make any judgments about criminal culpability.
Police said they were dispatched at about 5:23 a.m. to the 14500 block of Northeast 49th Circle, about a block north of Burnt Bridge Creek Elementary School.
Cox, 60, told police he was awakened by a suspected prowler in his fenced backyard. He said he armed himself and then confronted a man, later identified by police as Anderson, in his yard, according to the department.
A physical altercation ensued between the two men, and Cox fired one round, striking Anderson, police said.
The Ridgefield man was taken to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries, but later died.
Cox withdrew from the current race for Vancouver mayor on Sept. 26 after accusing Vancouver City Councilor Jack Burkman of telling him to “back off” at a neighborhood alliance meeting. Cox called it a violation of his First Amendment rights, but Burkman was not at that meeting.
Cox later apologized and dropped out of the race. He said his error was related to a mild traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from his time in the Army.
According to Columbian archives, Anderson was convicted in February 2016 of possession of a stolen vehicle, second-degree possession of stolen property, possession of an illegal access device and second-degree identity theft. He was sentenced to 14 months in prison.
He was also convicted in February 2011 in Clark County of possession of heroin and was sentenced to 90 days in jail.
