Tribal member shot by off-duty cop in Spokane

By Sam Sandoval

SPOKANE — One bullet to the head and, strangely fortunate, two version of how it happened.

Shonto Pete, a tribal member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes, was shot by an off-duty police officer in the early morn of February 26. The bullet struck Pete in the head, but did not penetrate the skull. Pete escaped serious injury and was released the next day.

The fact that Pete was shot in the head is factual and unmistakable. The question still under investigation by the Spokane Police Department via the Spokane County Sheriff's office is which story to believe.

James "Jay" Olsen, a 16 year veteran of the SPD claims that at around 3:40 a.m. he witnessed Pete stealing his truck. He chased Pete in Olsen's female friend's car. Pete abandoned the truck and tried to escape on foot. When he refused to stop, Olsen fired his gun...five times. One of those times struck Pete.

Pete then ran to nearby homes, waking the residents who then called 911.

Pete, on the other hand, tells a different story. Pete was dropped off by a friend who couldn't take him all the way home. Noticing Olsen nearby, Pete approached him and asked for a ride. Olsen told him to go away and then followed Pete in his truck, 'harassing' him all the way. When they reached an embankment, Pete maintains he tried to get away. That's when Olsen jumped from his vehicle and fired on Pete.

Pete was struck in the head and ran for help. He banged on the door of one house, but the resident wasn't home. Failing that, he went to the next house where the housemates called the authorities. Michael Dale and Carol Blackburn said Pete kept saying, "All I wanted was a ride home."

Unfortunately, security cameras set up near Dempsey's Brass Rail, the bar where Olsen attended an Academy Awards party earlier that night, didn't capture the incident. Olsen has given his truck to the investigators and is cooperating.

Casings were found at the site show where Olsen fired his weapon. Likewise, blood and footprints show where Pete had been shot and the path he took looking for help.

A statement from the Spokane Police Department says that Olsen is on paid leave until the investigation by the Spokane County Sheriff's office is complete.

One of the questions arising from this incident is, 'Did off-duty officer Olsen have his gun with him the entire night?' Police departmental rule says, "an officer should not carry a handgun to a place or event where he/she anticipates consuming alcohol," which the bartender said Olsen did, though he claims Olsen wasn't 'drunk.' Regardless of whether or not Pete stole the truck, fact remains; Olsen had the gun in both versions of the story. An officer of the law is only to use his weapon in self-defense and if the criminal poses a physical threat and/or wields a dangerous weapon. Pete was armed with a keychain-sized pocket knife which, according reports, Pete still had in his pocket when police and paramedics arrived.

Olsen is reportedly an upstanding police officer with letters of commendation and thank-yous from the community. However, Olsen owned a home in 2005 where drugs were being dealt. Olsen stated he knew nothing of the drug activity. Spokane police Officer Jennifer DeRuwe said an investigation was looking into whether Olsen had done anything improper, but as of this writing, it's unclear what that investigation revealed.

Olsen fired five bullets which casings were found. Nichole Burrell, a resident of Peaceful Valley where the shooting occurred, found a bullet in her kitchen; it shattered the leg of her kitchen island. On her screen door: bloody handprints where Pete pounded and called for help.

As for Pete, details of his record hit the Spokesman Review and KREM television stations airwaves. Pete's lawyer in the matter, David Partovi, noted that Pete's record of arrests and traffic violations didn't show a proclivity for theft. Partovi said to the Spokesman Review, "I am trying to keep him from getting accused of a crime he didn't commit." As of this writing, the investigation is still ongoing.

Sources:
http://www.spokesmanreview.com
http://www.krem.com