2 fatal Tacoma police shootings remain unresolved years after they occurred. Here’s why
The outcome of two fatal Tacoma police shootings from 2017 and 2018 have yet to be decided.
Officials say a backlog at the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab and the complexity of evidence in the cases are to blame for why one investigation was just turned over last week and the other has yet to be given to prosecutors, who will decide whether the 10 officers involved were legally justified in the deaths of two men.
The timeline varies for when investigators turn over police shootings to be reviewed by the Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office, but police officials and prosecutors say a delay of three to four years is particularly long.
“As a police department we would like our evidence back from the lab as soon as possible,” Tacoma police spokeswoman Wendy Haddow said in an email to The News Tribune. “We also must recognize that the lab is responsible for ALL cases in the entire Western Washington.”
The crime lab has nine employees who examine firearms evidence, three of whom work in Tacoma. Three of those nine were recently hired and have spent most of their time training.
Firearms examiners complete an average of 460 cases each year, said Gene P. Lawrence, crime laboratory division commander for the State Patrol’s Forensic Laboratory Services Bureau.
At the end of 2020, the crime lab had a backlog with 501 cases.
The Tacoma cases
The oldest pending police shooting in Tacoma happened Sept. 10, 2017.
Officers were called about 2:30 p.m. to the 5600 block of South Lawrence Street for a man who was acting erratically. Although few details about the incident have been released, police said 58-year-old Frankie Santos was armed, yelling and making agitated movements.
Police said they ordered Santos to drop his gun just before gunfire was exchanged.
Officers William Johnson, Matthew Watters and Jeffrey Robillard fired their department-issued weapons. Santos was pronounced dead at the scene.
Bullets struck at least two houses.
The second pending case occurred Jan. 7, 2018.
Firefighters were called to a home in the 400 block of South 59th Street and found a garage fully engulfed in flames. They notified police that a man had walked out of the burning home and was crawling across the lawn with a rifle.
Neighbors called 911 to report a man who appeared to be drunk and acting bizarrely. Several reported hearing explosions or gunshots.
When officers arrived, 27-year-old Michael Bender was found walking back toward the home from Pacific Avenue. Police said they ordered him to put down his rifle, but he allegedly refused. Gunfire was exchanged, and Bender was killed, according to the Police Department.
The officers who fired their weapons were Leah Buckler, John Correa, Djervatius Dobbins, Rodney Halfhill, Chris Martin, Brent Roberts and Garrett Walk.
Both shootings were investigated by Tacoma police since they occurred prior to the passing of Initiative 940, now known as the Law Enforcement Training and Community Safety Act, which requires independent investigations.
Why the delays?
The shootings generated a lot of evidence because each involved multiple officers who fired their guns, which contributed to the delay at the crime lab, officials said.
There were 106 pieces of evidence submitted in the Santos case. In the Bender case, police turned over 90 items for the crime lab to analyze.
“The complexities of these cases involving multiple firearms, and large numbers of fired bullets and casings require a high level of attention to detail and require time to process while maintaining our high standards of quality,” Lawrence said.
Detectives sent Santos’ case evidence to the crime lab Oct. 5, 2017. Evidence in the Bender case was sent Jan. 25, 2018. Ballistics reports were provided to Tacoma police late last year. Detectives met last week with prosecutors to present the Santos case; the Bender case is still pending.
The average turn-around time for firearms examinations last year was 255 days, Lawrence said, but factors like staffing, caseload and case complexity can affect that.
In each case, a microscopic comparison of bullets and cartridge cases is done to figure out whether the submitted guns fired the bullets or cartridge cases in question. That exam is meant to determine the caliber of fired ammunition, type of firearm, whether the gun malfunctioned, how far away the muzzle was from the person shot and entrance and exit bullet holes in clothing.
A second examiner reviews the findings before they are written up and submitted to investigators.
Officials say more complex cases can sometimes be delayed as new cases pop up.
“We recognize that every case is important, but we have limited personnel resources in the firearms section which necessitates sequencing cases with trial dates and other deadlines ahead of other cases,” Lawrence said. “As we receive and complete cases requiring more immediate attention, sometimes other older cases unfortunately have to wait.”
In Tacoma, three fatal police shootings have been completed, reviewed and closed after the Santos and Bender shootings.
What are the impacts?
The case delays don’t seem to have much effect on police proceedings.
After a police shooting, officers are placed on paid administrative leave. They can return to work after meeting several protocols, like being interviewed by investigators and completing a psychological evaluation and firearms refresher training.
There also must be “the absence of any information or reason to believe there was wrongdoing on the part of the officer,” Haddow said.
The Santos shooting happened Sept. 10, 2017. Johnson was the first officer to return to duty 12 days later. Robillard returned Sept. 24, 2017, and Watters came back Sept. 28, 2017.
In the Bender case, the seven involved officers were on administrative leave for about 10 days.
Local Union 6, which represents sworn officers, did not respond to questions emailed by The News Tribune about whether the case delays affect the involved officers.
Family for Santos or Bender could not be located.
Little is known about Santos.
Bender was a Marine who deployed twice to Afghanistan. He enlisted in 2009 and was discharged in 2012 as a combat engineer.
This story was originally published March 11, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
