SEATTLE — The man who fatally shot an Everett police officer last year was sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Richard Rotter, 51, apologized during his sentencing for killing Officer Dan Rocha, 41, in a Starbucks parking lot as Rocha tried to arrest him on suspicion of unlawful possession of a firearm and an unrelated arrest warrant.
“I will continue to pray for everyone’s continued healing,” Rotter said while addressing the court, according to The Everett Herald. “I ask that you and everybody please forgive me. I am a Christian and I have fallen.”
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Bruce I. Weiss called the fatal shooting a “brutal execution” after handing down Rotter’s sentence.
Rocha’s sister, Morgen Henry, said in court that her brother’s name “would live on through legacies” and described her brother as a dedicated, supportive and natural protector who played competitive air hockey and lovingly teased others for their taste in movies, the Herald reported.
Jurors on April 3 found Rotter guilty of first-degree aggravated murder, as well as gun, drug and attempting to elude police charges, according to court documents.
Rocha’s deadly encounter with Rotter began when the officer noticed Rotter transferring weapons from one vehicle to another in a Starbucks parking lot March 25, 2022, court documents say.
Rocha, who was waiting for a coffee while on duty, turned on his body camera, approached and calmly engaged with Rotter, and asked for his identification, according to court documents. Rocha learned Rotter had previous felony convictions and wasn’t able to lawfully possess guns — and that he had a warrant out for his arrest, the documents say. Rocha tried to take Rotter into custody, according to court documents, but an altercation ensued and Rotter shot Rocha five times with a handgun he had concealed in a shoulder holster.
Rocha had conducted a routine pat-down of Rotter’s waistband but had not found Rotter’s firearm, according to court documents.
Rotter then fled the scene in his car, backing over Rocha’s body, according to court documents. Police arrested Rotter the same day after he caused a three-car crash while evading police, according to court documents.
A search of Rotter’s vehicle resulted in the seizure of nearly 2,000 fentanyl pills and large amounts of heroin and methamphetamine.
“It is hard to imagine somebody that deserves the life without [parole] sentence more than the defendant,” deputy prosecutor Craig Matheson said in court, according to the Herald.
Weiss said police officers have become targets and that actions like Rotter’s dissuade some from joining law enforcement. He said he hopes police agencies revise their pat-down trainings to prevent similarly deadly encounters.
Rotter’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
