UPDATE: Driver, officer identified in Saturday’s police shooting in Kennewick

A driver accused of repeatedly ramming police cars on Saturday is expected to recover after being shot by a Kennewick police officer during the confrontation.

Richard E. Cook, 33, rammed several patrol cars, including the one being driven by Kennewick Officer Dylan Markley early Saturday morning, said Pasco police Capt. Jeff Harpster said in Monday afternoon news release.

Markley shot Cook in an attempt to stop the alleged drunken rampage that sent at least one officer to the hospital.

This is the second time the Kennewick officer has shot a suspect since starting with the department two years ago.

Cook was rushed to the hospital and later taken to a Seattle trauma center for treatment. He is expected to recover fully, Harpster said.

Harpster is leading the investigation by the Regional Special Investigations Unit.

The unit involves officers from Benton, Franklin and Walla Walla counties and is brought in to investigate officer-involved shootings.

They have finished investigating the scene and are conducting further interviews.

Police believe Cook was drunk when he was behind the wheel of a while Jeep Cherokee on Saturday.

Kennewick officers first encountered the Jeep earlier in the day after getting complaints about it driving recklessly and a hit-and-run collision.

When police tried to stop the Jeep then, the driver sped away. Kennewick police said in a release on Saturday. that they didn’t pursue him because of a state law put in place in July.

The law prohibits chases unless someone in the vehicle “has committed or is committing a violent offense, sex offense or escape offense,” or the officer believes the person is driving under the influence.

The pursuit also needs to be necessary to catch the person, and they present an “imminent threat to the safety of others.”

Police came across the Cherokee again around 4 a.m. Saturday after someone noticed a possibly drunk driver swerving in the road and running a red light at 10th Avenue and South Edison Street.

When the first officer encountered him, the man rammed his patrol vehicle twice before driving off. He continued to flee, ramming two other patrol cars and tried to hit another driver, said a police news release.

A Kennewick officer shot and wounded the driver, but the man tried to drive away.

He came to a stop on 10th Avenue between South Edison Street and South Union Street near Legacy High School. The Tri-City Regional SWAT team was brought in to help because he still wouldn’t cooperate with police.

SWAT officers took the man into custody and he was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

The officer in the first car that the driver hit was also taken to the hospital.

The investigation closed the intersection of 10th Avenue and Union Street for several hours on Saturday.

Previous investigation

This is the second officer-involved shooting Markley has been involved in during his two years with the Kennewick police.

On Feb. 9, 2020, the rookie police officer shot Gordon Whitaker five to six times after stopping to talk to him and another man on Fruitland Street.

Markley along with the the two other officers involved, Zach Moore and Becca Henry, said Whitaker kept trying to put his hands in his jacket pockets and appeared fidgety when they were talking with him.

When they told him he was going to be arrested, Whitaker jumped up and ran, according to the special investigations unit report. Henry grabbed him from behind and forced him to the ground.

As they struggled, Markley reported seeing a gun come out of Whitaker’s pocket, and he started pointing at the other officer. That is when he fired his gun.

Prosecutor Andy Miller later found the shooting was necessary to protect Henry from death or serious harm.

Markley was born in San Diego, Calif, and raised in Redmond. After working as a volunteer firefighter/EMT, he joined the U.S. Army, and spent four years as a combat medic. He was honorably discharged in 2018, and went to work for the Hanford Patrol

After nine months there, he joined the Kennewick Police Department.

This story was originally published October 18, 2021 at 12:52 PM.