No charges for Kelso officer who fatally shot suspect

KELSO, Wash. -- Charges will not be filed against a Kelso officer who shot and killed an assault suspect inside a Kelso gas station food mart in August.

Cowlitz County Prosecutor Ryan Jurvakainen says 27-year-old Omer Ali attacked a clerk, a customer and the officer with a 4-foot-long wooden staff and did not respond to the officer's orders to drop the pole.

He told the Daily News of Longview Friday that his decision not to charge officer John Johnston, a 22-year veteran, was "clear cut."

The prosecutor said Johnston properly asked Ali to drop his weapon and it was clear that Ali was committing crimes.

Ali, of Spokane, died at the scene, and a coroner later ruled that he had died from a gunshot wound to his chest.