SALMON CREEK, Wash. — Newly released body cam footage shows the moment when Clark County deputies shot and killed an armed carjacking suspect at a crowded American Legion hall in Salmon Creek on Saturday.
Prior to the deadly confrontation, shortly after 10 a.m. that morning, a deputy spotted a "suspicious vehicle" near the Regal Cinema 99 in Hazel Dell, according to the Clark County Sheriff's Office. The deputy saw a bald man and a woman with reddish hair walking away from the vehicle.
The deputy tried to talk to the pair, the sheriff's office said, but they walked away.
Less than a half-hour later, a man called 911 to report that a bald man and a woman with reddish hair stole his van near 88th Street and 15th Avenue. He said that the bald man was armed with a handgun.
Just before 11 a.m., deputies responded to Goodwill in Salmon Creek, where witnesses said that a man and a woman had tried to carjack someone. Their descriptions matched those from the Hazel Dell carjacking, the sheriff's office said.
As deputies were searching for the suspects around Goodwill, they found the stolen van parked behind the American Legion hall at 14011 Northeast 20th Avenue. As they were talking about what to do next, they saw a man emerge from behind a shipping container in the parking lot.
The body cam footage released by CCSO picks up during this encounter, as deputies begin shouting commands, then drawing a mix of Tasers and guns. The suspect — bald with a beard and sunglasses, wearing a black tank-top and jeans — briefly puts his hands up before beginning to quickly back away, fishing in his pockets.
Authorities have since identified the suspect as 41-year-old Benjamin Steven Woods of Prineville, Ore.
Deputies, including one with a K-9, begin shadowing Woods as he ducks behind vehicles in the parking lot behind the American Legion, still shouting commands and holding weapons.
"He's got something in his h- ... gun in his hand!" one of the deputies shouts. "I do not have a shot."
On the video, deputies can be seen following Woods through a door leading into the American Legion kitchen with the K-9 in the lead, then into the main section of the building before heading toward a set of bathrooms on the back wall. It's possible to see on the video at least a dozen people seated throughout the American Legion hall.
Almost immediately as the deputies reach the bathroom vestibule, Woods can be seen emerging from the men's room with the K9 just ahead of him. He appears to be holding a handgun pointed directly at the officers.
Multiple deputies open fire, and Woods quickly drops to his knees — evidently having been shot several times. Behind him on the tile floor is the gun, a small revolver. While he continues to move in slow, stilted motions for a time, Woods does not appear to go for the gun again and makes no attempt to move from his kneeling position.
The video shows deputies keeping their guns trained on Woods for a time as other officers attempt to clear the building and call in medical crews. They eventually drag him out onto the floor and cut off his clothes to begin giving first aid. Woods has several visible gunshot wounds and appears to have gone limp.
When an ambulance crew arrived, they pronounced Woods dead at the scene. According to CCSO, no officers or bystanders were injured in the shooting.
Later that afternoon, Vancouver police arrested Lyndsey D. Jones, believing her to be the redheaded woman who was involved in the carjackings. She was booked on a residential burglary charge while an investigation into the case continues.
Four CCSO deputies were placed on critical incident leave. The two identified as having fired their weapons are 23-year-veteran Jim Payne and seven-year-veteran Michael Gonzalez. The other two deputies who are named as witnesses to the shooting are Sergeant Fred Harrison and Deputy Enrique Cordero.