Prosecutor: Lakewood police officers' fatal shooting of unarmed man in lumber yard 'justifiable'

TACOMA -- Pierce County prosecutor Mark Lindquist concluded Thursday that the shooting death of an unarmed man in a Lakewood lumber yard by two police officers was "justifiable homicide under state law."

Daniel Issac Covarrubias, 37, died from gunshot wounds inflicted on April 21 by Lakewood police officers David Butts and Ryan Hamilton, who had responded to the Pinnacle Lumber Co. when callers said there was a suspicious man on the property.

Covarrubias was found hiding on top of a stack of lumber 25 feet high. Police said the man reached into his pocket and pulled out a dark object and pointed it at them, so they opened fire. The object turned out to be a black cell phone.

“The officers’ actions were in response to a perceived deadly threat,” Lindquist said, alluding to investigations by the prosecutor's office, the medical examiner's office, the Cooperative Cities Crime Response Unit and the Lakewood Police Department.

“The loss of life here is regrettable and apparently due to a combination of circumstances, mental health issues and drugs, including methamphetamine," Lindquist said.

The prosecutor added that on the morning of the shooting, Covarrubias went to St. Clair Hospital in Lakewood and told the staff he had cameras in his eyes and would like them taken out. Lindquist said he also told a social worker at the hospital he had used meth, had been awake for three days and had not eaten.

According to the medical examiner's office, Covarrubias died from a gunshot wound to his head. The office found Covarrubias had benzodiazepines and methamphetamine in his system at the time of his death.

In May, Covarrubias’ family said they didn't buy the police department’s timeline of events, and they’ve hired an attorney to conduct their own investigation.