Topics
Shonto Pete
Summary
Shonto Pete filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against a former Spokane police officer for shooting him in the head during a drunken chase in early 2007. Federal Judge Edward Shea dismissed the suit on March 2, 2011, after Pete was unable to find an attorney to represent him in the case.
Pete had also wanted to sue the city of Spokane, but Shea ruled March 12, 2010, that the city could not be held liable for the actions of James “Jay” Olsen, who was off-duty and drunk when he fired at Pete several times in Peaceful Valley. Pete was shot in the head; the bullet lodged in his scalp.
Olsen, who was a 16-year veteran of the Spokane Police Department, was charged with first-degree assault and two counts of reckless endangerment for shooting Pete on Feb. 26, 2007. After his jury trial was postponed five times, Olsen was acquitted in March 2009. The city had to pay him $153,000 for the time he was placed on unpaid layoff status following his arrest.
Olsen resigned from the police department in April 2009, shortly before he was to meet with Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick to discuss her decision to fire him from the force for departmental violations stemming from the shooting, including conduct unbecoming an officer and making an untruthful statement during a criminal investigation.
Olsen accused Pete of driving away in his truck after the bars closed in downtown Spokane. A jury in October 2007 acquitted Pete of criminal charges that he stole Olsen’s truck.
Pete said he’d asked Olsen for a ride and was rebuffed, and that Olsen started following him in the truck as Pete fled on foot. Olsen told investigators he feared for his life because he thought Pete had a gun.
In December 2009, Pete filed a $750,000 claim against the city, citing a violation of his civil rights. Federal judge Edward F. Shea ruled in favor of a motion brought by Assistant City Attorney Ellen O’Hara seeking to sever the city from the case.
Pete said he has about $20,000 in medical bills and $18,000 in attorney fees he must pay.
Summary written by Scott Maben
Key people
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Jay Olsen
Former Spokane Police Officer James “Jay” Olsen had been with the department 16 years when, after a night of drinking at a Spokane bar, he chased and shot Shonto Pete in the head on Feb. 26, 2007. Olsen was drunk at the time, and said he had been at a gay bar. In testimony during his trial, he described himself as a closeted gay man who hadn’t shared his secret with his police co-workers or his family. Olsen admitted he violated department policy by drinking while armed with a concealed weapon – his personal Glock pistol – but insisted he was defending himself from Pete, whom Olsen claimed stole his truck. Although a jury acquitted Olsen of first-degree assault and reckless endangerment for shooting Pete, he resigned from the police department prior to his expected dismissal for violating department policy.
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Shonto Pete
Shonto Pete survived a bullet wound to the head, and now he’s suing the former Spokane police officer who shot him during a drunken chase in February 2007. He hopes to prevail to help pay medical bills and attorney fees. Pete, a Native American born in Montana, is part Bitterroot Salish and also registered with his father’s Navajo tribe. He attended school in Pablo and after high school graduation went to work as a floor boss at the Northern Quest Casino in Spokane. Pete is married and has a son. He has produced four CDs of Native American drum and dance songs, some of which he posted on YouTube. His nickname on the popular Web site: “Bulletproof.”
Latest updates in this topic
Officer Olsen not guilty
Officer Olsen not guilty
Suspended officer found not guilty in shooting
Suspended Spokane police officer Jay Olsen was acquitted of first-degree assault and reckless endangerment for shooting Shonto Pete in the head and firing four other bullets in Peaceful Valley on …
Officer Olsen’s fate rests with jurors
The fate of suspended Spokane police Officer Jay Olsen, charged with shooting Shonto Pete in the head and sending a volley of bullets into Peaceful Valley two years ago, is …
Doug Clark: Case is clear as a muddy Peaceful Valley slope
Let’s get a few things straight. I don’t care that Jay Olsen is gay. Nor do I give a hoot that Olsen enjoyed spending some of his off-duty cop hours …
‘I knew this could be my whole career,’ Olsen testifies
After he shot Shonto Pete in the head on a February night in Peaceful Valley, suspended Spokane police Officer Jay Olsen said, he felt his life imploding. He didn’t call …
Shonto Pete’s revenge…
Shonto Pete’s revenge…
Shooting justified, expert says
The defense of suspended Spokane police Officer Jay Olsen relies on an erased 911 tape, an expert who said Olsen was justified in shooting Shonto Pete in the head, and …
Olsen hit with damages suit
In the midst of his assault trial, suspended Spokane police Officer Jay Olsen has been hit with a federal lawsuit seeking unspecified monetary damages for shooting Shonto Pete in the …
Olsen hit with lawsuit in midst of trial
In the midst of his first-degree assault trial, suspended Spokane police officer Jay Olsen has been hit with a new federal lawsuit seeking unspecified monetary damages for shooting Shonto Pete …
Competing stories emerge in Olsen trial
Sudden threat – or deadly pursuit? Two competing versions of the February 2007 incident that ended with Shonto Pete shot in the head and assault charges against suspended police officer …
Competing versions of police shooting emerge
Sudden threat – or deadly pursuit? Two competing versions of the February 2007 incident that ended with Shonto Pete shot in the head and assault charges against suspended police officer …
Witness saw ‘look of terror’
The young man pounding on his door at 3:30 a.m., blood streaming from a head wound, appeared “absolutely petrified,” a former Peaceful Valley resident told a Spokane jury Tuesday. Michael …
Resident says Pete had a ‘sheer look of terror’
The young man pounding on his door at 3:30 a.m. with blood streaming from a head wound was “absolutely petrified,” a former Peaceful Valley resident told a Spokane jury Tuesday.
Shot man takes stand as officer’s trial opens
All he wanted was a ride home. But he ended up getting shot in the head by a mysterious pursuer, Shonto Pete told a Spokane jury Monday in the opening …
Pete testifies in Olsen trial
All he’d wanted was a ride home. But he ended up getting shot in the head by a mysterious pursuer, Shonto Pete told a Spokane jury Monday in the opening …
Officer’s shooting trial to begin this week
The early-morning shooting of a fleeing man in Peaceful Valley took place two years ago. The trial has been postponed five times. But suspended Spokane police Officer James “Jay” Olsen …
Olsen trial set to begin Monday
The early-morning shooting of a fleeing man in Peaceful Valley took place two years ago. The trial has been postponed five times. But suspended Spokane police Officer James “Jay” Olsen …
Man shot by off-duty cop files claim against city
Shonto Pete, shot in the head by an off-duty Spokane police officer during a drunken, late-night chase, has filed a $750,000 claim against the city of Spokane – a necessary …
Man shot by off-duty cop wants Spokane to pay
Shonto Pete, shot in the head by an off-duty Spokane police officer during a drunken late-night chase, has filed a $750,000 claim against the city of Spokane — a necessary …
Our View: Torture report illuminates American atrocity
To paraphrase one of the more ignominious comments from the Iraq war, “We go to war with the defense secretary we have, not the one that we want.” A bipartisan …
Senators: Spokane psychologist key in expansion of torture
Dr. Bruce Jessen, a senior military psychologist with offices in Spokane, had a key role in expanding the controversial use of torture against enemy combatants, according to a report released …
Man fabricated tale of robbery, police say
A elderly man lied about being attacked and robbed of his groceries, according to Spokane police. Kenneth Koch, 87, triggered an outpouring of community support after police said he was …
Olsen trial delayed again
The trial of James “Jay” Olsen, the off-duty Spokane cop charged with first-degree assault for shooting a young man in the head during a drunken nighttime chase a year ago, …
City won’t represent officer in shooting
The city of Spokane will not represent the police officer who was off duty and legally drunk when he chased a man and shot him in the head last year. …
Pete, family must wait longer for trials
Shonto Pete and his family will have to wait a little longer for two trials involving alleged crimes against them. A Montana man’s plea on charges he murdered Pete’s sister, …
Pete found not guilty
Shonto Pete, shot in the head in a dispute with an off-duty police officer, was found not guilty by a Spokane County Superior Court jury of stealing the truck of …
Trials weigh on mother
Two family calamities 250 miles apart have burdened Diana Cote’s life. Shonto Pete, her 28-year-old fourth child, is standing trial in Spokane County Superior Court for allegedly stealing a police …
Pete, accused of theft, says he sought ride
Shonto Pete, the man shot in the head last February by an off-duty Spokane cop, took the stand Tuesday in his trial for second-degree auto theft – denying he stole …
Officer takes Fifth in Pete trial
Suspended Spokane police Officer James “Jay” Olsen has invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in the trial of Shonto Pete, the man Olsen accused of taking his truck before …
Lawyers spar over Pete interview
Shonto K. Pete was shot in the head by an off-duty Spokane police officer in the early hours of Feb. 26 after a confrontation that started outside a downtown bar …
Car theft charge will go to trial
A judge Thursday denied a motion to dismiss the car theft charge against Shonto K. Pete stemming from an incident earlier this year in which Pete was shot in the …
Kirkpatrick discusses Peaceful Valley issues
Peaceful Valley residents weren’t the only ones awakened by gunshots in the middle of the night Feb. 26 – so was Spokane’s chief of police. From her apartment on Riverside …