Protesters cancel march to Olympia officer’s home

One day after hundreds gathered in downtown Olympia to protest the police shooting of two shoplifting suspects, the streets were quiet.

A plan to march to the officer’s house Friday evening was proposed by a self-described anarchist group on Facebook, but was canceled after other groups objected.

A small group of people, less than a dozen, gathered in a parking lot near the officer’s home, and said they planned to stop protesters, if they showed up.

KayVin Hill, 27, said he participated in the downtown march Thursday, but he disagreed with the idea of protesting the officer’s home.

“We don’t condone that at all,” he said. Hill said he thinks the police department needs reform, but he felt the planned protest was crossing a line.

Meanwhile, brothers Bryson Chaplin and Andre Thompson are in separate hospitals recovering from gunshot wounds after being shot by Olympia Officer Ryan Donald about 1:15 a.m. Thursday after allegedly throwing beer at employees of a Safeway who confronted them about shoplifting.

Thompson was in serious condition at Tacoma General Hospital. Chaplin was initially transported to Providence St. Peter Hospital, but he was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle about 5:30 p.m. Thursday. He was also in serious condition.

Prosecutor Jon Tunheim said it’s too early to tell what charges Donald, Chaplin and Thompson could face.

“Potentially (Thompson and Chaplin) are both suspects and victims,” Tunheim said. “We won’t know for sure until we see how the investigation goes.”