Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency is conducting its own review of an incident that resulted in police shooting a 911 caller mistaken for a wanted gunman.
The agency, which includes dispatchers and emergency managers, is reviewing all the reports and information associated with the Oct. 31 officer-involved shooting.
CRESA is a supporting agency for Clark County’s response to fire, law and medical emergencies.
In documents filed with the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, investigators paint a picture of confusion that they called a “major operational error.”
Though investigators don’t directly point to any one person or agency at fault, the documents do point to certain errors that seemingly led to the incident.
Brent A. Graham, a 55-year-old Vancouver man, called 911 to report a suspicious vehicle but was shot in the leg by police minutes after hanging up with the dispatcher.
The call came during a countywide manhunt for attempted murder suspect John Kendall, who had shot his neighbors at Northeast 63rd Street and Andresen Road at about 8:30 a.m. that day. Kendall, who had sped away, was quickly identified by law enforcement as the suspect. Police saturated media with a photo of Kendall, warning that he was armed and dangerous, and also provided a description of his car: a silver Buick with Washington plates ANX6459.
His neighbor, Abigail Mounce, was shot in the eye. She survived the incident.
Graham was on his way to work about an hour later when he spotted a silver Buick parked in a gravel turnout on Blandford Drive about 20 yards off the roadway. He parked behind the car, got out and noticed a rifle case in the backseat, according to documents filed in the case.
He called 911 and reported the abandoned vehicle, giving the dispatcher the license plate, which indicated it belonged to Kendall.
When dispatchers first spoke with Graham, “he was never asked to give a description of himself; he was never asked to give a description of his vehicle; he was never advised of the potential danger he was in; and he was never directed to leave the area,” according to court documents.
The records also indicate that officers sent to the area were never advised that Graham had stayed at the location.
Three SWAT officers responded to the Evergreen overpass at Blandford Drive and saw a person whom they believed was Kendall exit a vehicle in the turnout. Together they fired eight shots, one of which hit Graham in the thigh. Graham, whom investigators said believed he was being shot at by the man who owned the abandoned car, fired his own weapon during the incident.
The officers involved in the shooting were cleared of any wrongdoing last week after Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Tony Golik reviewed the case.
In a PowerPoint presentation submitted to prosecutors, detectives point out a breakdown in communication, labeling one of the slides “Communication and Chaos.”
The investigator’s report in the case, CRESA spokesman Eric Frank said, takes a snapshot of the incident through one angle.
“After a full review, if we find a better way to handle something like this, of course, we’ll adopt that,” Frank said.
“The incident command is making decisions and we are there helping to coordinate those decisions that they make,” he said. After the agency is done with its review, Frank said it will release more information.
“Public safety is always our first priority, and we want to ensure any lessons learned or areas of improvement are collected and incorporated into future training,” he said.
