by Grace Deng, Washington State Standard
August 26, 2024
A settlement with the family of Tim Green, a 37-year-old Black man fatally shot by an Olympia law enforcement officer in August 2022, will require the city’s police to complete crisis intervention training within two years.
“We have been forever impacted by the death of a son, a brother, a father, an uncle. Tim did not deserve to die this way. And we do not want this to happen to anyone else,” Green’s family said in a statement.
The training officers will undergo is already required under Washington law due to a sweeping police reform ballot measure passed by the state’s voters in 2018. However, the state’s entire police force is not required to undergo training until 2028, the deadline set by state lawmakers.
As of July 2023, less than a third of the state’s law enforcement had undergone the 40 hours of mental health and deescalation training mandated for officers every three years or the 200 hours of training for new hires. According to the city of Olympia, “nearly all” of its officers have already completed the 40 hour course, except for the newest officers hired since April. Olympia Police Department has required this certification for more than 20 years, the city said in a statement.
Green had bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, according to his family, and was in crisis when Officer Jordan Anderson shot him three times near a Starbucks drive-through on Aug. 22, 2022. Green died in a hospital, succumbing to his injuries.
“As a mother I will never forget that day. And nor does any other mother forget the day their child was taken because of a mental health crisis,” said Millie Green, mother of Tim Green.
Green’s family called 911 three days before the shooting to ask for assistance related to Green’s behavior and both Anderson and Sergeant Joseph Bellamy, the on-scene commander, recognized Green from that call and knew his diagnosis.
Green was holding a folding knife and a Bible, retrieved from his backpack, when he was shot, and police said afterward that it was “too dangerous to call the Olympia Crisis Response Unit,” a community response team staffed with outreach specialists, according to the family’s release.
The Clark County prosecutor ruled the shooting lawful on Dec. 1, 2023 after a review of an independent investigation team’s report on the incident by request of the Thurston County prosecutor.
The city of Olympia has also agreed to require patrol officers to take an additional eight-hour crisis intervention training class designed to teach “appropriate force options when dealing with someone in a behavioral health crisis.”
The settlement further mandates Olympia police chief Rich Allen, his deputy chiefs and officers who were at the scene when Green was killed to complete the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission’s training on the historical intersection of race and policing within a year, another requirement from the 2018 law.
The city of Olympia said its police department is committed to completing both course requirements and is on track to meet the Legislature’s 2028 deadline for race and policing training. But the city said “there are currently no classes” available for the course focused on use-of-force options during crisis interventions. The city said its law enforcement will work with the training commission to ensure patrol officers will have “this training or comparable training” within two years.
Anderson provided first aid to Green at the scene while wearing gloves with a “thin blue line” American flag. The flag is a symbol of police pride. But it has also become controversial due to how it’s been displayed in defiance of police reform efforts and the Black Lives Matter movement, and in some cases embraced by white supremacists. “Thin blue line” flag gloves used by Officer Jordan Anderson. (Leslie Cushman)
As part of the settlement, Olympia’s police department will adopt a policy prohibiting employees from personalizing the agency’s equipment.
Green’s family will also receive $600,000 as part of the settlement.
Police reform advocate and Green family attorney Leslie Cushman filed a complaint on July 22 to the Criminal Justice Training Commission against each of the four officers at the scene, calling for an investigation. Cushman also requested on Aug. 23 that the Thurston County prosecutor reevaluate the decision to not file any criminal charges.
“Throughout this process, the City of Olympia and the Olympia Police Department have remained supportive of and committed to a thorough and transparent investigation of the shooting,” the city of Olympia said in its statement, referencing the out-of-county review.
“While this settlement agreement aims to bring some closure for those affected by this tragedy, we ask the community to hold the Green family, who are grieving a lost loved one, in their thoughts and give them your continued support,” the city’s statement continued.
The Olympia Police Department is expected to release an internal review of the shooting next month, the city of Olympia said.
This story has been updated with additional information and a statement from the city of Olympia.
Washington State Standard is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Washington State Standard maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Bill Lucia for questions: [email protected]. Follow Washington State Standard on Facebook and X.