Vancouver police Officer Donald Sahota was killed by a county sheriff’s deputy in January 2022. Sahota was off-duty, at home. A robbery suspect stopped at Sahota’s home. Sahota came out, there was a fight, and the suspect went into the home. When deputies arrived they assumed Sahota was the suspect and, within four seconds, shot him dead.
Prosecuting attorneys and law enforcement are co-workers and there is an inherent conflict of interest in local prosecuting attorneys making charging decisions when law-enforcement officers kill. Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Tony Golik deferred to a panel of prosecutors from five other counties who reported last week. They could not reach a consensus. Some said “the action was not unreasonable.” Others believed that the deputy “should have taken the time to verify his intended target before firing his weapon.”
The first principle of a 2015 presidential task force on policing was “sanctity of human life.” Law-enforcement officers must slow down, de-escalate themselves, and give their brains a chance to think. Also, many are working for the 2023 Legislature to create a statewide office of independent prosecutor to make charging decisions regarding serious use of force by law enforcement, another critically needed step.
