Video footage of the June 8 police shooting near the Vancouver waterfront shows a man point what appears to be a gun at an officer before the officer exits his car and fires four shots at him.
The Vancouver Police Department released the footage Friday from the in-car cameras and body cameras of Officers Brandon Riedel and Stuart Drynan. Investigators released the officers’ names earlier in the day.
Riedel shot and killed 43-year-old Vadim V. Sashchenko while responding to a call about an aggressive dog. Drynan did not fire his gun, but he witnessed the incident, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office is investigating the shooting as part of the Southwest Washington Independent Investigation Team.
Vancouver police were called about 1:45 p.m. to the 100 block of Southeast Columbia Way, just east of the Interstate 5 Bridge. A caller said a man was letting his German shepherd dog run loose, and the dog had already bitten one person. The caller also said the man appeared to have a firearm.
The video compilation released Friday shows Riedel and Drynan drive toward a man, identified as Sashchenko, whose dog was trailing behind him with its leash dragging on the ground. Riedel approaches from the north and Drynan approaches from the south about 3 p.m. in the 300 block of Columbia Street.
Riedel can be heard saying over the police radio that Sashchenko was walking and giving them the middle finger. Sashchenko then pulls out what appears to be a gun and points it at Riedel while the officer is still in his patrol SUV, the video shows.
Riedel can be seen putting his SUV in park, exiting it and immediately shooting Sashchenko. After the first shot, the apparent gun falls from Sashchenko’s hand, the video shows. He can then be seen falling to the ground.
The officers can be heard requesting backup and a less-lethal 40 mm device. Once more officers arrive, they approach Sashchenko. His dog barks at the officers and appears to lung at one of them. An officer uses a less-lethal round on the dog to get it away from Sashchenko so they can render medical aid. Investigators said officers secured the dog to a large garbage bin.
Once the officers begin placing bandages on Sashchenko’s wounds, Riedel can be heard saying, “Why’d you have to point that gun at me, man? Come on.” Officers can also be heard on the video yelling at a bystander to stay back. Vancouver police said the agency muted portions of the audio when the bystander was swearing at the officers.
Sashchenko was pronounced dead at the scene, a police news release said. The Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office said Sashchenko, of Vancouver, died from multiple gunshot wounds to the torso.
“The Vancouver Police Department values the sanctity of human life and the dignity of all persons, and any loss of life is tragic,” the department said in a statement with the video release.
Investigators said dispatch was notified that one person was seeking medical treatment from bite wounds. The video says the dog was transported to the Humane Society for Southwest Washington.
The officers
Columbian archives show Riedel has been involved in at least two prior fatal police shootings: the 2020 shooting of Andrew A. Williams, 41, and 2023 shooting of Joshua James Wilson, 43. Prosecutors ruled both shootings were legally justified.
Riedel was one of two officers who shot Williams while responding to a domestic violence stabbing at the Parc Central Apartments in Vancouver’s Rose Village neighborhood. He was also part of a group of officers who shot Wilson when the man pointed a gun at them as they chased him through a central Vancouver shopping center parking lot. That incident was captured on Vancouver officers’ body cameras.
Riedel has been with the police department since July 2018 and is assigned to patrol; he is also a member of the Southwest Washington Regional SWAT team. Drynan has been with the department since January 2023, and he is also assigned to patrol, the sheriff’s office said.
