The Washington State Auditor’s Office found only a few faults with investigations into local deadly force shootings in recently-released reports.
On Feb. 23, the auditor’s office released its report on the investigation into the Feb. 4, 2021, shooting of Jenoah Donald, a 30-year-old Black man, by a deputy from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. The report found the Southwest Washington Independent Investigative Response Team (SWIIRT) “complied with all requirements” in their investigation per state law.
The audit, however, found one instance where sheriff’s office supervisors could improve their documentation. The auditor’s office was not able to find whether supervisors directed officers not to discuss the case before being interviewed by the investigative team.
The release of the audit report follows a similar probe by the office into the investigation of the shooting death of another Black man in Clark County months before. On Dec. 29, the auditor’s office released its report on the death of 21-year-old Kevin Peterson Jr., who was shot by three deputies after a drug bust on Oct. 29, 2020.
That audit found the Lower Columbia Major Crimes Team (LCMCT), alongside SWIIRT, “complied with most requirements” in their investigation per state law.
The audit found LCMCT did not post public updates every week during the investigation. It also found a signed conflict of interest form was missing for one of the community representatives that was part of the investigation. Lastly, an officer who was not part of either investigation team accessed electronic case files during the investigation.
One of the findings was a result of the investigation changing teams during the process, according to a response included in the report.
On the fifth day of the investigation, Clark County Prosecutor Tony Golik requested the switch from SWIIRT to CLCMCT due to the “public perception and the appearance of a conflict of interest,” the report stated. The SWIIRT commander is married to a deputy from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and the lead investigator was good friends with one of the officers who witnessed the shooting, according to the report.
LCMCT continued to use the public release account that SWIIRT used after the switch for the weekly updates, Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Chief Criminal Deputy Troy Brightbill wrote in the response. In one instance, a required update stating there was no new progress was not seen by the person who should have posted the information with the prior team, leading to the missed posting, Brightbill wrote.
Brightbill responded the other findings were when the prior investigative team was in control.
Both audits were about the investigation process and not the shootings themselves. In both cases, outside prosecutors ruled law enforcement’s use of deadly force was justified.
