Lawsuit alleges police shooting of 2 people on a UTV in Roy was unjustified
Two men shot and injured by a Roy police officer last year while they were riding a utility vehicle have sued the city.
“They simply drove into town and then drove back on the railroad tracks, whereupon they got shot,” their attorney, Douglas R. Cloud said. “... It’s a blatant violation of the constitutional rights of my clients, and it’s a classic example of an excessive use of force.”
The lawsuit he filed on behalf of the men, David Rice and Seth Donahue, alleges that the shooting by officer Chris Johnson “was entirely unjustified and was an unreasonable and excessive use of force.”
The Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office said recently it was still reviewing the officer’s use of force and whether to charge Rice or Donahue.
The City of Roy said Friday it would not comment about the case because it is in litigation.
A press release from the city last year said the officer was recovering from injuries after being hit head-on by the vehicle.
“Officer Johnson attempted to contact a vehicle driving recklessly and at excessive speeds through city streets and on SR 507,” the press release said. “While trying to contact the driver, Officer Johnson was struck by the suspect vehicle and thrown upward onto the right portion of the still speeding vehicle. Officer Johnson fired his weapon in an attempt to stop the threat to his life and was struck a second time and thrown to the ground.”
The lawsuit, filed last month in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, gives a different account:
Rice, 48, was driving the utility vehicle in February 2019. Donahue, 24, was sitting next to him in the passenger seat as they rode along railroad tracks that run through the city.
“The City of Roy was virtually deserted that evening as a snowstorm had occurred, and no other traffic was on the road as a result of snowfall and hazardous driving conditions,” the lawsuit says.
Officer Johnson was allegedly waiting for them by the tracks near 295th Street South.
“Officer Johnson had turned off all of his vehicle’s lights, including his running lights and emergency lights, in an effort to conceal his vehicle’s location as the UTV approached his position,” the lawsuit says. “As the UTV approached and was approximately 50 feet from Officer Johnson’s blacked-out car, Officer Johnson suddenly lit up his vehicle’s spotlight, blinding Rice and Donahue, and then began shooting at the UTV.”
Rice and Donahue allegedly didn’t know who was shooting or why and did not see the officer before or just after the shooting.
“At the time of the shooting, neither Rice or Donahue presented any danger to Officer Johnson,” the lawsuit says. “Officer Johnson was located on the east side of the railroad tracks away from the UTV when he shot his service weapon at Rice and Donahue.”
There’s video of the incident from a security camera at a nearby home, the lawsuit says.
Cloud said both his clients were seriously injured. He said he believed Donahue was shot in the wrist and that Rice was shot in the pelvis and shoulder.
“He simply had no justifiable reason for shooting into a vehicle when there was no threat of imminent danger to anybody,” Cloud said. “The officer claims that he was in danger, but if he was in any danger, it was of his own making.”
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. Claims for damages filed as a precursor to the suit sought $6 million on behalf of Rice and $3 million on behalf of Donahue.
