3 Pasco officers on leave after deadly shooting — 2 recovering from stab wounds

Three Pasco police officers have been placed on paid leave following Saturday’s violent confrontation with an 18-year-old.

Officers Jason Griffin, Kierra Peoples and Ben Boykin were the first to respond to 2111 N. 18th Drive following a call from a resident at 8:09 p.m.

It is not clear why police initially were called to the house.

However, 15 minutes later, Peoples and Boykin were on the way to the hospital with knife wounds while their colleagues performed CPR on Alejandro Betancourt-Mendoza.

The teen died later that evening from at least one gunshot wound.

Pasco police issued an update Monday on the agency’s Facebook page announcing that Griffin, Peoples and Boykin will be on leave until the investigation is finished. That is standard procedure for an officer-involved shooting.

The multi-agency Tri-City Special Investigations Unit is overseeing the investigation, independent of the Pasco Police Department’s own internal review of what happened.

A Broadcastify recording of communications with emergency dispatchers has one officer asking for additional units. He followed that with, “We have shots fired. We have suspect down. Everyone should be en route here.”

The house on 18th Drive is a block from Richardson Park and a mile east of Robert Frost Elementary.

Monday’s Facebook post said Peoples received multiple cut and stab wounds on her face during the alleged attack.

Officers drive themselves to hospital

Boykin had a more serious cut to his forearm that caused arterial bleeding.

Peoples — bleeding on her face — applied a tourniquet to Boykin’s arm and drove the two of them to Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco.

During the nearly 2-minute drive, Boykin relayed that both of them had been stabbed and needed medical attention.

He asked dispatchers to have Lourdes emergency room staff prep for the two officers, and to have another police officer sent to the hospital to assess the situation.

Peoples was treated for her wounds and released later Saturday night. Boykin underwent emergency surgery and was home by Sunday morning, according to Pasco police.

As the two were rushing to the hospital, fellow officers were back at the scene giving CPR to Betancourt-Mendoza, who had a chest wound, according to Broadcastify.

Paramedics arrived to stabilize and transport the teen, who died that night.

An autopsy is scheduled for later this week.

The Facebook post released the following details on the three officers on leave:

▪ Griffin is a 12-year veteran with the department. He currently is a K9 handler.

▪ Peoples joined the department 3 1/2 years ago. Last spring, she became one of Pasco’s newest members on the Tri-City Regional SWAT team.

▪ Boykin has been on the Pasco force for two years, and in law enforcement for a total of six years. He currently is a training officer.

Special Investigations Unit

Chief Ken Roske requested the SIU, which involves investigators and supervisors from outside agencies who are specially trained in officer-involved shootings.

Kennewick police Commander Randy Maynard is heading up the investigation, and will turn over the final report to the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office for review and determination if any criminal charges are warranted.

The investigation entails “processing the scene, preserving evidence, interviewing the involved parties, comparing lab results to physical evidence, consulting experts as needed and reconstructing not just the event but any relevant lead-up to it,” Pasco said in the Facebook post.

At the same time, the department will be reviewing the facts once available and comparing them to established policies and procedures. A policy violation could lead to disciplinary action or re-training for an officer.

“The process will be relatively long, weeks not days, and the Pasco PD will not be in a position to give updates about a case we are not investigating for ourselves,” the post said. “We realize that this event will be of great interest to Pasco residents, and we wish to remain transparent about the process.”

This story was originally published December 16, 2019 at 5:16 PM.