Update: Bad Cop No Donut

Here's an update on a story from my neck of the woods. Last December, a Cop (that's him on the right) got pissed at the owner of a meat market for not putting hot pepper flake in his jerky. The argument escalated until the Cop pulled his gun on the store owner.

Anyone who tells you there isn't a double standard for Cops is lying. If I had done what he did, I'd be in jail right now...and so should he.

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Cop, butcher in clear after dispute

Thursday, February 28, 2008
By Stephanie Rice, Columbian staff writer

The Great Meat Fight of 2007 has been declared a draw.

Criminal charges will not be filed against Vancouver Police Officer Roger Evans or Top Choice Meats owner Mike Brannan, a special prosecutor said Wednesday.

The Dec. 21 altercation started when Evans, who went to the Orchards shop to pick up a venison order while off duty, became upset that market employees failed to add pepper flakes to his venison jerky.

According to witnesses, Evans and Brannan had a lengthy, heated exchange that ended with Evans drawing his gun, customers ducking for cover and a flurry of calls to 911.

Clark County Sheriff’s Detective Rick Buckner, who investigated the incident, found no fault with Evans. He recommended misdemeanor assault charges against Brannan based on Evans’ claim that the butcher shoved a heavy box of venison at the police officer’s chest outside the store.

The Vancouver city attorney prosecutes misdemeanors within city limits, but Charles Isely and James Senescu, a former assistant city attorney and a former deputy county prosecutor, respectively, were asked to review the case to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest since a police officer was involved.

Isely said there was a lack of credible and consistent evidence to support any criminal charges.

Therese Lavallee, Brannan’s attorney, received the special prosecutors’ report and said no witnesses corroborated Evans’ claim that Brannan shoved the box at him.

Witnesses did, however, say that Evans drew his weapon without provocation.

That could support a charge of second-degree assault with a firearm, prosecutors said in their report, but they declined to file such a charge because they said Evans could argue self-defense.

Evans has said he pulled his weapon because he feared Brannan was going to pull one out first.
The prosecutors reasoned that, as a police officer, Evans has a heightened sense about predicting what a person is going to do, Lavallee said.

But what about his SWAT training on how to defuse a situation? Lavallee asked.

“There’s no justification I can see to pull a loaded gun,” she said.

Lavallee said Evans should be charged.

“It should go to a jury. That’s what our system is for,” she said.

Any other person who pulled a gun on a store owner would have been arrested, Lavallee and Brannan said.

“He’s a city official. They’re just covering up to protect him,” Brannan said. “I’m just a citizen.”

Attorney Tom Phelan spoke on Evans’ behalf Wednesday but said he couldn’t discuss the situation because of a pending internal affairs investigation.

Evans, who remains on administrative duty, is a respected SWAT and K-9 officer. Evans also made the news last year when his German shepherd partner, Dakota, was shot and killed by a suspect in Brush Prairie.

When Evans drew his weapon Dec. 21, Brannan said he was dumbfounded.

“I’ve never had a gun pointed at me. Hey, it’s pretty scary.”

He and his wife, Patti, have lost sleep over the situation.

During Buckner’s investigation, a few people came forward and described Brannan as a hothead.
“None of them were there,” Brannan said.

Besides, “if I was a mean, rude person you would not want to come and buy meat from me, and I’ve been there seven years.”

He said his customers have teased him about the meat fight, either coming in with their hands up saying, “Hey, Mike, I don’t have a gun,” or inspecting their order and pretending to be upset about missing pepper flake.

But he hasn’t found too much to laugh about.

He said he has tried to conceal his stress at work.

“Like our sign says, ‘Customer service with a smile,’ ” Brannan said.

Stephanie Rice can be contacted at 360-735-4549 or stephanie.rice@columbian.com.

Bad Cop, No Donut!

Tell me again why cops and the military are the Only Ones who are supposed to have guns?

Butcher says officer's actions scared many

VANCOUVER, Wash. - The owner of a Vancouver butcher shop said he and his store full of customers were scared for their lives when a man who turned out to be an off-duty Vancouver police officer pulled out a gun during an argument there Friday.

Mike Brannan, who owns Top Choice Meat Market at 12313 N.E. Fourth Plain Blvd., told KATU News it all started when a man he identified as Roger Evans came into the shop upset about an order. Hot pepper flake hadn't been applied to jerky made from a small deer he'd brought in for processing, and Evans felt he should not have to pay for it, Brannan said.

Several employees tried to calm Evans, whom Brannan described as very loud and very rude. Eventually Brannan met the man outside with his order, handing the roughly 40-pound meat order over to him and telling Evans never to come back.

Brannan said he thought Evans had a hold of the order but instead it dropped to the ground. That threw Brannan off balance into a pickup truck, he said.

That's when Brannan claims Evans backed up, drew his pistol and told the owner not to come any closer or he would shoot.

Brannan ran back into the store and called 911.

"Nobody knew who he was or nothing about him," Brannan said. "You would assume he was a crackhead."

Evans just backed out into the parking lot, keeping his gun out, and made a cell phone call.

"I have to admit, you know, I don't care how big, bad, tough ... you are, someone pointing a big gun at you (at) real close range is a very scary situation," Brannan said. "I mean, I didn't get no sleep last night."

Officers arrived and calmed everyone down. Vancouver police turned over the investigation to the Clark County Sheriff's Office because it involved one of their own.

The sheriff's office has not officially confirmed that the officer involved was Evans. They have also not made any arrests - a spokesman said that is because detectives do not see the officer as a threat to the public. But the investigation is continuing.

The Vancouver officer told deputies he pulled out the handgun to defend himself because he felt threatened, according to the sheriff's office. He was put on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure in such incidents.

Brannan said he thinks the officer is receiving preferential treatment.

"I think he should be treated like anybody else," Brannan said. "And we all know if it was anybody else out there how they'd have been treated. They'd have been handcuffed and arrested and taken."