VANCOUVER, Wash. — The Clark County Sheriff's deputy who shot and killed a Vancouver police officer in a case of mistaken identity nearly one year ago will not face criminal charges, according to a memo from the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney's Office released Thursday.
Deputy John Feller was one of many officers in pursuit of an armed robbery suspect, 20-year-old Julio Cesar Segura, on the night of January 29, 2022. Segura fled toward a home in rural Battle Ground, one that he seemed to choose at random after ditching a stolen vehicle as he was being pursued.
The home happened to be that of off-duty Vancouver police officer Donald Sahota. According to investigative reports, Sahota confronted Segura in the driveway of the home. Though Sahota was armed with a gun, Segura managed to grapple with Sahota and allegedly stabbed him multiple times, causing the off-duty officer to drop his gun.
As the first Clark County deputies arrived on the scene, Segura ran into Sahota's house. Sahota's wife was inside. Sahota went to recover his gun and run toward the front door of his home. That's when Feller opened fire, thinking that Sahota was the robbery suspect, Segura. Sahota died at the scene.
A panel of five Washington prosecutors tasked with an independent review of the shooting were unable to "reach a consensus" on whether the deputy acted in "good faith" when he opened fire.
The disagreement between members of the panel was over whether it was necessary for Feller to use deadly force, even if he believed the man he was shooting at was the robbery suspect.
Despite the mixed result, a one-page Clark County Prosecuting Attorney's Office memo dated Jan. 11 determined that Feller should not face criminal charges. The office said that it had conducted a "careful review" of the independent investigation and the prosecutorial review.
The Clark County prosecutor's memo cited Washington state law that states an officers should not be held criminally liable if deadly force is used in good faith.
"We find when the facts of this case are applied to the legal standard set forth above, it is likely a 'similarly situated reasonable officer' would have believed the use of deadly force was necessary," the memo says. "The result of Deputy Feller’s use of deadly force in this case was incredibly tragic. However, the facts support a finding that Deputy Feller made a mistake that a reasonable officer could have made in the same situation. Therefore, per Washington State law, Deputy Feller shall not be held criminally liable."
The Clark County prosecutor's office said that a deadly force review letter of this could would normally discuss the facts of the case in much greater detail, but said that the letter was truncated due to the ongoing criminal charges against Segura.
Because of Segura's pending trial, the prosecutor's office said it would make no further comment on the case.
