The Vancouver police officer who fired his gun at a man in February was justified in opening fire, according to a review by the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Officer Ken Suvada was afraid for his life when Vancouver’s Dominic Tovar, 24, quickly reversed his parked car toward the officer, prompting Suvada to open fire, County Prosecutor Tony Golik wrote in the review.
“Based on the entirety of evidence in this case, it is clear that when Officer Suvada used deadly force in this case, he did so because he was in fear for his life,” Golik wrote.
The incident unfolded late in the morning on Feb. 25, when an off-duty state Department of Corrections officer spotted Tovar at Walgreens, 2521 Main St., according to court records.
A warrant had been issued for Tovar’s arrest after he failed to report to the Department of Corrections. The corrections officer requested assistance, and Suvada, who was on patrol, responded to the store parking lot.
When he responded, Suvada didn’t know anything about who he was looking for beyond the location and an associated vehicle, a dark blue Ford Crown Victoria, the prosecutor’s office said.
Suvada told investigators he approached Tovar’s vehicle on foot and from the rear. He could see the engine was running but could not see inside due to the car’s tinted windows. Suvada said he expected that the car was unoccupied and the driver would have already left.
When he got closer, he could see a woman in the passenger seat and a man in the driver’s seat.
Suvada told the driver to turn off the engine, then saw the backing lights come on. As the vehicle started to move backward, he thumped on the trunk.
According to the prosecutor’s office review, Suvada said the car then stopped, and he initially thought the driver was shifting the vehicle into park.
As he went to talk on his radio, Suvada heard the engine rev, then saw the vehicle begin to back up toward him. He said he thought the car was about to run him over.
Thinking the driver was trying to kill him, he opened fire through the rear window at the driver while trying to move out of the way.
Suvada fired his gun five times. When Tovar stopped backing up, and when Suvada was out of the way, Suvada stopped firing and holstered his pistol. Suvada said the car struck his leg, but he moved out of the way before being seriously injured.
Tovar then drove off. He hit a car near the intersection of East 16th and Broadway, according to court records.
Tovar’s vehicle also struck the Not Too Shabby boutique, a business at the corner, according to police.
Suvada ran to the crashed vehicle and found Tovar nearby. Suvada and another officer arrested him and started first aid. Tovar was bleeding from the back.
Tovar had a pistol on him, as well as OxyContin pills, which he later said he was in the lot to sell.
Tovar pleaded guilty to second-degree assault on Sept. 21 for backing into Suvada. He also pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, possession of a controlled substance, attempting to elude officers and hit-and-run. His sentencing is set for Oct. 27.
Video from a bystander’s cellphone, along with nearby store surveillance cameras, corroborated Suvada’s telling of what happened, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Furthermore, there was no evidence Suvada acted with any malice, the review said.
“Review of the evidence in this case shows that Officer Suvada’s fear was reasonable,” Golik wrote. “All evidence in this case indicates Suvada acted reasonably, in good faith and without malice.”
The passenger in Tovar’s car, his mother, Tavi Tovar, was sentenced in March to four months in jail after pleading guilty to attempted drug possession.
