Video of attempted theft released in wake of officer's shooting of 2 suspects

OLYMPIA -- No protests or violence took place in Olympia Friday night, a day after demonstrations -- including minor violent eruptions -- broke out in the city in response to two black men being shot by a police officer.

An independent investigation was launched after police officer Ryan Donald, a three-year veteran of the force, shot two brothers who allegedly attacked him with a skateboard after he stopped them for an attempted shoplifting incident.

Video of the attempted theft was released to media Friday.

While police say there’s no indication that race played a factor in the shooting, the two wounded brothers, 21-year-old Bryson Chaplin and 23-year-old Andre Thompson, are black and Donald is white.

Chaplin's condition was upgraded from critical to serious Friday and Thompson was also in serious condition. Both were believed to have been shot in the chest.

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According to police, several incidents -- including some not related to the shooting -- occurred in the downtown Olympia area Thursday night. Police said the night began with fights outside of a couple of downtown bars.

Late Thursday night, a crowd of about 30 gathered in front of City hall, throwing bottles and trash cans at the building.  Protesters broke the windows of at least one downtown business.

Seattle Times reporters caught some of the uproar on video.



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No one was hurt in the nighttime melee. However, someone threw a flare into a cop car causing slight damage.

Police said a small group of demonstrators surrounded a group of pro-police demonstrators, and assaulted them. Police intervened and the crowd began to throw large rocks at the officers. Officers used "flash-bang" concussion instruments to disperse the crows.

No arrests were made.

No violence was reported late Friday night.

The Thursday night violent protests were separate of a peaceful march and rally in downtown around 6 p.m. Thursday. City officials thanked residents for showing, for the most part, respect at the protests and gatherings.

"Thank you community for last night's respectful gatherings and dialogue," city officials said on the city website.

Olympia Police Chief Ronnie Roberts and Olympia Mayor Stephen Buxbaum called for calm Thursday.

“Olympia is a community that cares deeply about social justice,” Roberts said. “It’s important that we stand together as a community during the investigation.”

The incident began when police received calls of an attempted shoplifting and assault around  12:52 a.m. Thursday at a Safeway grocery store near Cooper Point Road NW and 14th Avenue NW.

Officers arrived at the store, Roberts said, and learned that two young black men carrying skateboards attempted to steal a case of beer. When they were confronted by a store employee, one man tossed the case at the employee and ran from the store.

At 1:14 a.m., Donald radioed other officers to report he had encountered two men matching the suspects’ description. About two minutes later, at 1:16 a.m., Donald radioed in that he fired his weapon and the two men were shot.

It’s what happened between those two minutes after the officer radioed he had spotted the suspects and before he radioed again to report shots fired that remain largely in question, Roberts said.

According to a preliminary investigation, Donald said he was assaulted by the men at the rear of the patrol car with a skateboard. Donald then fired his gun and hit one of the men, Roberts said, and the two brothers ran into a nearby treeline.

The brothers emerged from the woods seconds later, Roberts said, and Donald fired his weapon multiple times. It is unknown if a second confrontation between Donald and the brothers occurred, Roberts said.

Olympia police do no wear body cameras or use dash cameras in patrol cars.

Video of the alleged Safeway assault was released Friday. The video shows a man believed to be one of the brothers tossing a case of beer as one store employee went to stop him. The store employee then called police.

To read the 911 call from the store employee, click here.

Following the shooting, the Thurston County Critical Incident Team — composed of multiple different law enforcement agencies — began investigating the shooting.

Donald was placed on administrative leave.

Roberts said there was no indication that race played a factor in the shooting.

The city of Olympia set up a website to keep people informed about the latest updates, as well as release audio and video recordings as they become available. That site is here.