Olympia police officer says he feared stepbrothers would kill him

SEATTLE -- An Olympia police officer told investigators that he feared his life was in imminent danger the night he shot two stepbrothers he claimed attacked him with skateboards.

The May 21 shooting led to large protests, with some accusing Officer Ryan Donald of police brutality.

In a lengthy interview with investigators, Donald said he contacted 21-year-old Bryson Chaplin and 24-year-old Andre Thompson on a dimly lit stretch of Cooper Point Road while searching for two assault suspects matching their description.

Chaplin and Thompson were later positively identified as the two men accused of stealing beer from a nearby Safeway store and assaulting an employee who tried to confront them.

In his statement, Donald described an immediate and aggressive confrontation with the stepbrothers as Chaplin ran toward his patrol car with a skateboard.

“He was gripping it with both hands and he ran toward the front of my patrol car,” Donald said.

Donald told investigators he fired an initial round of shots when Thompson grabbed the sleeve of his uniform, pulling him toward the ground while Chaplin held a skateboard over his head as if preparing to swing.

The stepbrothers fled into a nearby wooded area, Donald said, but reappeared and rushed toward him. Once again, he said, Chaplin was holding a skateboard above his head.

“I gave him several commands: ‘Stop, get on the ground, I’m gonna shoot.’ Several times. And he keeps coming toward me,” Donald said.

“… so I fire an unknown number of rounds, until he stops coming toward me. The skateboard drops, he stumbles back a few feet from where he is and falls…”

Donald said Thompson ran to his stepbrother’s side, before turning back toward him.

“… he starts becoming really angry, starts yelling and screaming, pointing his finger at me,” Donald said.

“He’s coming back at me, walking really fast. He’s not running. But, he’s walking like he’s got a purpose.”

Donald said Thompson ignored several commands to stop, before he fired.

“I feared that he was gonna take my firearm and assault me with is, shoot me with it,” Donald said. “And either kill me or cause serious bodily harm with it.”

When asked by investigators if he believed his life was in imminent danger that night, Donald replied, “Absolutely. No doubt.”

Witnesses who live near the scene of the shooting seemed to support aspects of Donald’s story. Although none saw the shooting firsthand, several said they heard an officer give loud commands before opening fire.

The investigation, released by the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office amid several public disclosure requests, also revealed that the two stepbrothers may have been drinking heavily that night.

Prosecutors have yet to decide whether criminal charges will be filed in the case.