VANCOUVER, Wash. — The family of a Black man shot and killed by a Clark County deputy in early 2021 will be able to move forward with a lawsuit against the county, a federal judge in Seattle decided this week.
Jenoah Donald, 30, was killed during a traffic stop on Feb. 4, 2021. Deputies said they stopped Donald on the west side of Hazel Dell that day due to a broken taillight. One deputy reported seeing a sharp object in Donald's car — what turned out to be a screwdriver — and ordered Donald to show his hands.
The officer who ultimately shot Donald, Deputy Sean Boyle, reported running up to Donald's car and ordering him to get out. When Donald refused, deputies began physically struggling with him in an attempt to drag him out.
According to the attorneys for Donald's family, Boyle punched Donald in the face during the struggle, breaking his nose. While investigators concluded that Donald tried to turn his car back on, the plaintiffs argue that the gearshift got bumped during the struggle. Either way, the car began to roll forward.
“Although Defendants note, accurately, that officers are entitled to ‘use force’ to carry out an arrest or investigatory stop, they make no effort to address whether Deputy Boyle’s use of the punch as a ‘distraction strike’ was reasonable under the circumstances,” Judge Kimberly Evanson noted in her opinion.
Boyle later told investigators that Donald had kicked him and was holding onto his ballistic vest, leading him to fear for his life as the car began to move. But the plaintiffs allege that Boyle had stepped back and planted his feet firmly by the time he shot twice into the vehicle, striking the car once before shooting Donald in the head. Donald died in the hospital a week later.
“At oral argument, defense counsel conceded ‘Deputy Boyle has given two different statements. In one statement, he said the first shot went into the B-pillar. In his deposition, he said he didn’t know the sequence of the shots,’” Judge Evanson continued.
Attorneys for Donald's family have said that he was on the autism spectrum, struggled with ADHD and had a history of drug use. The family filed a lawsuit against the Clark County Sheriff's Office in February 2022.
The plaintiffs have argued that Donald's death was completely unnecessary — that the evidence does not support Boyle's claim that his life was in danger, and that the deputy should have tried to de-escalate the situation. But a review from the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys determined that Boyle acted in "good faith" and was justified in the shooting.
The shooting happened before Clark County deputies began wearing body cams. They launched a trial program in April 2023 before officially adopting them later in the year.
According to the plaintiffs, a newly discovered 2018 report shows that Boyle shot at a suspect in a similar situation once before but missed. While that investigation concluded that Boyle had been safely out of the vehicle's way and was not in danger of being struck, the sheriff's office took no disciplinary action because he believed the suspect posed a danger and the agency's use of force policy is "subjective," the plaintiffs said.
Judge Evanson denied summary judgment in the Donald case and tossed out the defense's motion to dismiss. Trial in the case was originally scheduled for April but was delayed by the motion. It will now be rescheduled for later this year, according to the plaintiffs' attorneys.
“I want a trial,” said Susan Zawacky, Donald's mother, in a quote provided by her attorneys. “I want our community to know what happened to my son. I want change for the good of the community.”
According to her attorneys, Zawacky was pleased with the ruling but expressed disappointment that Clark County hasn't taken responsibility for Donald's alleged wrongful death.
KGW has reached out to Clark County for comment on the ruling. A spokesperson said that the county does not comment on pending litigation.
Kevin Peterson and Donald Sahota shootings
Donald's death came amid a rash of deadly shootings involving Clark County deputies. Deputies shot and killed Kevin Peterson Jr., another Black man, during a botched drug bust in late October 2020. One of the attorneys for Donald's family, Mark Lindquist, is also representing Peterson's family in an ongoing wrongful death suit related to that case.
In late January 2022, a Clark County deputy unintentionally shot off-duty Vancouver Police Officer Donald Sahota outside of the officer's house during the pursuit of a robbery suspect. Deputy John Feller mistook Sahota for the suspect, who'd run inside Sahota's house after the two fought just prior to deputies' arrival. Feller was one of several deputies who'd shot Peterson in 2020.
While a group of prosecutors disagreed on whether Feller acted in "good faith" during the Sahota shooting, Clark County prosecutors declined charges.
“Clark County’s implied approval and ratification of wrongful shootings, and complete lack of accountability, emboldens rogue deputies," attorneys for Donald's family wrote in a court brief. "Citizens of Clark County will be safer when there is accountability.”