Watch | Body cam video shows shooting and chase along one of Tri-Cities busiest streets

Kennewick police and Benton County sheriff’s officials released a 14-minute video this week detailing a dangerous daylight encounter with an armed suspect on a busy Tri-Cities street.

The video, which outlines the Washington state law and procedures for investigating officer-involved shootings, includes footage from several officers’ body cameras on Aug. 22.

The video shows various angles from the moment they wake him up in the driver’s seat parked at a gas pump to a chase of the armed suspect by officers with their guns drawn along Columbia Center Boulevard with cars passing by.

Then, James Dean West’s gun fires.

The 35-year-old pauses for a moment as he is running and looks down at his hand and the ground, the video shows.

Soon after, a deputy fires two shots at him before he finally surrenders in the parking lot of the Village at Grandridge Apartments.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he can be heard saying as officers put handcuffs on him. “Please forgive me. God. Please forgive me.”

West is being held in the Benton County jail on $200,000 bail as he faces charges of illegal gun possession and being in control of a car while intoxicated.

The Tri-Cities Regional Special Investigations Unit is investigating the shooting to determine if Benton County Deputy JP Benitez acted within the law when he shot at West, who wasn’t hit.

The final report will be forwarded to the Benton County prosecutor to determine if any charges should be filed agasint Benitez.

And Kennewick police and the sheriff’s office also plan internal investigations to determine if officers followed their department policies, said Chief Chris Guerrero and Sheriff Tom Croskrey on the video.

“Deputies and officers often respond to rapidly evolving and dangerous situations and overwhelmingly (in the) majority of those incident deputies and officers resolve them peacefully,” Croskrey explains.

Passed out at the pump

The video starts after Kennewick officers and Benton County deputies arrive at the Circle K station, where West is passed out behind the wheel of his car at a gas pump.

Police have previously said extreme drowsiness can be a sign of fentanyl use.

He’s dressed in a white tank top, leaning back in the front seat of a green sedan with the window open.

Even as one officer speaks to wake him up, West is unresponsive. He doesn’t wake up until the officer touches him. When the officer announces they are “Kennewick police,” and asks, “You all right man?”

West responds with, “I’m fine.”

“You were passed out at the pump for a little bit. Will you go ahead and turn the car off?” the officer says.

West responds, “No,” and after more conversation West says he won’t get out of the car.

West reaches for a screwdriver and puts it in the ignition.

After the police officer opens the car door, West appears to reach for a gun tucked in the back of his shorts.

“He’s reaching for a gun. He’s reaching for a gun,” shouts another officer standing on the passenger side of the car.

All the officers then draw their own weapons and try ordering him to get out of the car and onto the ground.

“I have a condition.” West yells as he climbs out. “I have a condition. Leave me alone.”

But then he starts running north across Deschutes where cars are stopped at a red light and along a sidewalk next to Columbia Center Boulevard.

Chase to apartment complex

As West crosses out of the gas station parking lot, video shows Sgt. Kenny Melone fire a taser. West doesn’t react and continues running.

It’s unclear whether either of the taser probes connect and shock him.

As the chase crosses onto the sidewalk in front of the apartment complex, West yells, “I have a gun.” He then reaches into the back of his pants and pulls out the weapon.

Officers repeatedly shout for him to drop the gun as they give chase with guns drawn down along the busy street.

He’s running north when a shot is heard. One officer can be heard asking another if West fired.

It’s unclear whether West intended to fire the gun, but he takes a step to the side after it goes off and then veers into the parking lot of the large apartment complex.

One officer reports that West has the gun to his head as they follow him into the lot. The video from another officer shows him walking into the parking lot with the gun aimed at himself.

Then two shot can be heard as West ducks behind a dumpster. Soon after, he’s seen on his stomach on the ground with his arms out.

Officers approach cautiously, asking each other where West’s gun is and ordering him to crawl away from his weapon.

They rush in and handcuff him.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he says, as the officers ask if he’s been hit by the shots. But he was not wounded.

He was checked at a hospital before being taken to the jail.

This story was originally published September 9, 2022 at 10:25 AM.