On May 30, 2021, the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a possible domestic violence situation in the High Prairie area north of Lyle, Washington. The reporting party advised a friend’s boyfriend was having a mental health crisis, had armed himself with a weapon, and was coming to the residence to “get his girlfriend”.
Sergeant Erik Anderson responded to the call and learned the girlfriend was missing a .45 caliber pistol. The girlfriend showed Sergeant Erik Anderson a video the suspect had sent to his girlfriend where he was seen in the video holding the .45 caliber pistol to his head and was making threats to kill himself.
Sergeant Erik Anderson learned the suspect had 8 prior felony convictions that would have prohibited the suspect from possessing firearms. Sergeant Erik Anderson also learned the suspect had a no-bail felony warrant for his arrest.
Sergeant Erik Anderson was able to make phone contact with the suspect and attempted to negotiate his surrender. The suspect was unwilling to surrender. Attempts were made to “ping” or locate the suspect based on his cell phone’s location, but was ultimately unsuccessful.
On May 31, 2021, at around 0138 hours, Sergeant Erik Anderson received information the suspect had been observed driving past the girlfriend’s residence. A short time later, Sergeant Erik Anderson located the suspect driving westbound in the 300 block of Centerville Highway. Sergeant Erik Anderson followed the suspect and called for backup.
Sergeant Nate Hovinghoff with the Washington State Patrol responded and at around 0151 hours, Sergeant Erik Anderson initiated a traffic stop on the suspect’s vehicle. The suspect refused to pull over. Multiple attempts were made to use spike strips on the suspects’ vehicle. The suspect was pursued through Dallesport and eventually to the Wishram community. Several times during the pursuit, law enforcement officers could hear what sounded like gunshots. Deputy Mitch Kegley, Deputy Dusty Vorce, Officer Michael Stelljes with the City of Goldendale Police Department, and Officer Kate Daniels with the Bingen – White Salmon Police Department responded to assist with the situation.
Sergeant Nate Hovinghoff and Deputy Mitch Kegley set up spike strips across Highway 14 in Wishram Heights and were successful at spiking the tires of the suspects vehicle. The suspect collided with an Inter-Tribal Police Officers vehicle, before continuing down into the Wishram community. The Inter-Tribal Police Officer was not injured in the collision and the damage was minor to the Inter-Tribal Police Officer’s vehicle.
The suspect’s vehicle got stuck next to the railroad tracks on the east end of the railyard in Wishram, causing all Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad traffic to stop. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad Police Department responded to assist as well.
The suspect barricaded himself inside the vehicle, shooting a pistol out of the windows at times, and yelling at law enforcement to “back up”. The suspect made numerous statements about law enforcement killing him, and later told Sergeant Erik Anderson his only intention was to die.
Detective Robert Bianchi responded and attempt to negotiate with the suspect for a peaceful end to the situation. Detective Robert Bianchi is a trained negotiator for the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office.
A SWAT Team from the Washington State Patrol was called in to assist with the situation. Deputy Gaven Marble, along with K9 Profi responded to assist with the situation. 2 Inter-Tribal Police Department boats were deployed to assist with the situation. Sergeant Fred Killian, Detective Jason Ritoch, Deputy Erik Beasley, and Deputy Jim Leininger responded to assist with the situation. Washington State Fish and Wildlife Officers responded to assist as well.
After numerous deployments of chemical agents, impact munitions and flash bangs, the suspect fled from the vehicle into the Columbia River. The suspect had taped the pistol to his hand and was firing the pistol as he fled the vehicle, but not in the direction of law enforcement officers.
The suspect fled along the shore of the river up to a culvert that ran underneath the railroad tracks. The suspect entered the culvert and swam through the culvert, coming out on the north side of the railroad tracks.
Once on the north side of the tracks, the suspect no longer had the pistol in his possession and was given warnings that K9 Profi would be deployed if he did not give up. The suspect was taken into custody without incident.
The suspect was identified as Brandon Fallis 38 years old of The Dalles, Oregon. Fallis was booked into the Klickitat County Jail for “unlawful possession of a firearm 2nd degree”, “attempt to elude police vehicle”, “intimidating a public servant”, “malicious mischief 2nd degree”, “hit and run (attended vehicle)”, “unlawful discharge of a firearm”, “criminal trespass 2nd degree”, “obstructing or delaying train”, and “resisting arrest”.
Sheriff Songer would like to thank all of the law enforcement agencies and law enforcement officers that assisted in this challenging situation, and the Sheriff would like to commend the officers for their restraint and professionalism in how they conducted themselves under fire.