OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) – Hundreds marched peacefully in Washington state’s capital city to protest a police shooting that wounded two unarmed stepbrothers suspected of trying to steal beer from a grocery store.
The officer reported he was being assaulted with a skateboard early Thursday before the shooting that left a 21-year-old man in critical condition and a 24-year-old man in stable condition. Both were expected to survive.
The stepbrothers are black, and the officer is white, but Olympia Police Chief Ronnie Roberts said, “There’s no indication to me that race was a factor in this case at all.”
Protesters who turned out Thursday evening held signs that read “Race is a Factor” and “We Are Grieving.”
The two men were identified as Andre Thompson, 24, and Bryson Chaplin, 21, both of Olympia.