Tri-Cities man was unarmed, with hands in the air when shot by police, says attorney
A 32-year-old Tri-Cities laborer had no weapon and was holding his hands up when a Richland officer shot him twice, according to his attorney.
Charlie Suarez’s attorney Scott Johnson told the Herald his client was complying with police commands and walking toward the officer with hands in the air when he was wounded five months ago near the Highway 240 bypass.
Johnson gave the Tri-City Herald more details about the Feb. 1 shooting currently being reviewed by a team of five prosecutors in Washington state.
The regional Special Investigations Unit (SIU) recently submitted the results of its investigation into the shooting by Officer Christian Jabri.
Benton County Prosecturor Andy Miller asked a panel of prosecutors from other counties to review the 5,000-page report for their opinion on whether the shooting was justified.
His concern was that Richland’s mayor, Ryan Lukson, is his assistant chief civil deputy prosecutor, and that gives the appearance of a conflict.
The panel is expected to schedule a meeting this week.
The SIU unit is called in to investigate officer-involved shootings in Benton, Franklin and Walla Walla counties. They do not include detectives from the agency involved in the shooting.
The Herald has requested a copy of the investigation report under the state’s public records law but it has yet to be released.
Investigators have released few details about what led to the shooting on the dark walking path that parallels the highway.
Johnson said Suarez was in the hospital for days after being wounded in the hip and leg, and just recently was able to return to work as a laborer.
Johnson said they are waiting until Miller decides if Jabri should be charged before a decision on a possible lawsuit.
“We believe that the SIU system is in place, and they’re doing their job,” Johnson said. “We want them to conclude their investigation and the prosecutor’s office to make a decision before we make any decisions.”
Highway 240 crash
Suarez was driving on Highway 240 in Richland about 7 p.m. Feb. 1 when he crashed and the car flipped near Wellsian Way about 7 p.m. on Feb. 1.
Witnesses saw Suarez running away and gave police his description, according to reports heard on a police scanner.
Officer Jabri was searching the walking trails parallel to the highway when he spotted Suarez.
Jabri — who is a seven-year veteran and has been with the Richland Police Department for two years — can be heard on the radio broadcast saying he was starting to pursue the driver.
Within seconds, Jabri reports, “Shots fired. Shots fired. Shots fired. Suspect is down.”
Police and firefighters provided aid to the wounded Suarez, including putting a tourniquet on his leg to stop the bleeding.
Johnson claims Suarez wasn’t trying to elude police at all. Instead, he was trying to find an officer to talk to following the crash and was heading toward them at the time he was shot.
“He wasn’t running from them,” Johnson said. “He was going to them to make contact with them.”
He didn’t have a weapon and was following police commands when he was shot, Johnson said, adding that Suarez has cooperated with the special investigators.
2019 police pursuit
Johnson said his client has a previous conviction for fleeing from a Pasco police, but that Officer Jabri didn’t know that at the time.
In 2019, Suarez went to a home where his ex was living, banged on her front door and bumped into the side of the house with his SUV, scaring her children.
She moved them to a relative’s home but Suarez tracked them down a second time. When he didn’t pull over for Pasco Officer Kierra Peoples, she eventually forced his car to spin out and he nearly crashed into other cars.
After more reckless driving, he drove through a fence and ran from his car before confronting the officer, challenging her and then fighting with her, according to court documents.
Suarez was convicted of second-degree assault, third-degree assault and attempting to elude police.