Fallen Clark County deputy identified; shooting suspect remains at largeFree

“This is a difficult time for the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, law enforcement agencies in Clark County and the surrounding Clark County, Portland metro area,” a sheriff’s office statement issued late Friday said. “Clark County law enforcement appreciates the support and understanding of the community in these tough times.”

During his service with the sheriff’s office, Brown also worked as a corrections deputy and patrol deputy, the sheriff’s office said Saturday afternoon. He served with the Washington State Department of Corrections and as a reserve officer with the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office in Montana. He was a military police officer in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1993 to 1995, according to investigative records.

Brown was one of three Clark County deputies who fatally shot Kevin Peterson Jr., a 21-year-old Black man, during a planned drug sale in Hazel Dell on the evening of Oct. 29.

Shot during surveillance

Friday’s shooting — which prompted a large law enforcement response and manhunt — occurred shortly before 7 p.m. at The Pointe Apartments, in the 3500 block of Northeast 109th Avenue and just east of Interstate 205 in Vancouver.

Brown was in his vehicle conducting surveillance at the complex, when other law enforcement units in the area were unable to reach him on the radio. Around the same time, someone heard what sounded like gunshots and saw a man bleeding inside a vehicle. The person called 911, according to an investigation update issued Saturday evening.

Two men and a woman were seen fleeing the area and were pursued by officers. The fleeing vehicle crashed near Padden Parkway and I-205, and the three suspects ran, investigators said.

The county’s 911 dispatch center and local law enforcement issued bulletins Friday night asking residents to stay away from the area of I-205 and Northeast 87th Street because of the search. Area residents were encouraged to stay inside their homes, keep doors locked and report any suspicious activity to 911.

Multiple law enforcement agencies responded for the manhunt and later located Raya-Leon and Misty Raya, the update states.

He said he saw a red car that appeared to have been shot at with an unconscious man inside. The man was placed in an ambulance and transported to a hospital. Joyner said a minivan parked next to the car had also been struck by bullets.

Shortly after 8:30 p.m., officers detained a woman who came out of one of the buildings in the apartment complex with her hands up. She walked across the parking lot to officers armed with a shield and tactical gear. She was handcuffed and taken to a Vancouver Police Department car.

At about 9 p.m. Lower Columbia SWAT arrived in an armored vehicle and began calling out to people inside that same building, demanding they come out with their hands up.

SWAT remained outside the apartment building for over two hours, calling for anyone else inside to come out. At 11:15 p.m., the officers approached the building and broke out a unit’s front window. They then entered through the front door. After several minutes, they exited with no one in custody and left the scene.