Olympia officer shoots unarmed suspects after beer theft attempt

OLYMPIA – Two stepbrothers suspected of trying to steal beer from a grocery store were not armed with guns when they were shot Thursday by a police officer who confronted them, authorities said.

The officer reported he was being assaulted with a skateboard early Thursday before the shooting in Olympia that left a 21-year-old man critically injured and a 24-year-old man in stable condition. Both were expected to survive.

“We are committed to helping our community work through this difficult circumstance and help us understand this tragic event,” Olympia police Chief Ronnie Roberts said at news conference.

Brad Watkins, chief deputy of the Thurston County Sheriff’s Department, said two skateboards were recovered from the shooting scene and an investigation will likely take three to six weeks.

Officer Ryan Donald was among those who responded around 1 a.m. to a call from a Safeway store, Roberts said. Employees said two men tried to steal beer and then threw it at workers who confronted the pair.

Officers split up to search for the men. Donald encountered two men with skateboards who fit witnesses’ descriptions, and moments later he radioed in that shots had been fired, the police chief said.

The police chief said Donald wasn’t injured but an officer “has the right to defend himself” if a suspect wields an object that could be used as a deadly weapon.

The two men were identified as Andre Thompson, 24, and Bryson Chaplin, 21, both of Olympia.

They are black, and Donald is white, but Roberts said, “There’s no indication to me that race was a factor in this case at all.”

Hundreds gathered Thursday near a police substation, holding signs that read “We Are Grieving,” “Race is a Factor” and “Black Lives Matter.”

Merritt Long, a retired chairman of the state Liquor Control Board, attended the news conference Thursday.

“Does the punishment fit the crime?” he later asked. “Given the seeming epidemic of this happening not only here but in our country, it makes you pause and wonder what’s going on.”