KENNEWICK — A deputy has been cleared in the shooting and killing of a southern Washington man who authorities say refused to drop a shotgun and leveled it at officers.
The Tri-City Herald reports that Benton County Prosecutor Andy Miller says deputy John Clary was justified in the shooting of 46-year-old Douglas West in July.
Authorities say the wife of West barricaded herself in a bedroom of their residence and called police. When Clary arrived at the West Richland residence, West walked out wielding a shotgun. Police commanded him to drop the gun.
Miller says Clary made the correct decision to shoot, and “it is impossible to know what Mr. West would have done if he had been allowed to either return inside the residence or remain on the porch.”
