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Olympia community sounds off about shooting of 2 brothers
Olympia community sounds off about shooting of 2 brothers
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Hundreds of people showed up for an Olympia City Council meeting Tuesday night. Some listened inside, while others protested outside.
They're all looking for answers, after a police officer shot two brothers carrying skateboards last Thursday.
The meeting was a full house, and an overflow room had to be utilized.
Before the council meeting got started, dozens of protesters gathered outside of Olympia City Hall, with the majority calling for an end to police brutality and what they call blatant racism.
This controversy stems the shooting by Olympia police officer Ryan Donald of two brothers, Andre Thompson and Bryson Chaplin, after responding to a shoplifting call at a nearby Safeway.
Donald said the brothers assaulted him with a skateboard.
At least one man stood in the sea of protesters Tuesday to support the officer.
The majority of those who spoke before city leaders argued that had the brothers been white, the situation would have never escalated.
Also at the meeting was Olympia Police Chief Ronnie Roberts, who gave a brief update on the investigation, confirming that Donald gave his statement to authorities earlier Tuesday.
He said he won’t know what the officer said until the investigation by other law enforcement agencies is completed.
The Thurston County Sheriff's Department is the lead on this investigation and said it was in its final stages, but Roberts said once the investigation is complete, a use-of-force review board will do an additional investigation.