By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – An attempt was made to settle their differences through mediation but instead, Lewis County and the family of the unarmed man fatally shot by a deputy in Napavine two and half years ago will meet up in federal court.
The trial is on track to begin the end of this month in Tacoma in the case involving Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Matthew McKnight and the death of 33-year-old Steven V. Petersen.
Steven V. Petersen
An attorney representing Petersen’s family claims that despite the fact backup was mere seconds away, the deputy made a reckless decision to engage in an unnecessary confrontation.
The attorney representing the county and McKnight called the claims baseless when the lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in October 2012. Michael A. Patterson stated McKnight made the split-second decision to shoot out of fear for the safety of himself and neighboring residents during a rapidly unfolding situation.
It happened on June 20, 2011 in Napavine, when police and deputies responded to an approximately 2 a.m. call that Petersen left stab holes in the door of his ex-girlfriend’s mobile home while trying to get inside and then left on foot.
Deputy McKnight found Petersen a few blocks away, got out of his patrol car and after Petersen refused to take his hand out of his pocket and began to charge McKnight, the deputy fired four shots, according to the account given by local authorities. Petersen had no knife.
The Napavine resident left behind a 10-year-old son.
The complaint seeks an unspecified amount of damages, but the claim that preceded it asked for as much as $10 million.
Lewis County RIsk Manager Paulette Young said the two sides met with a mediator in early January in an attempt to avoid a trial. The effort was mandated by the court, according to Young.
Still to be decided by a judge is a motion for a summary judgement which, if the county prevails, would mean dismissal of the case.
“We’re moving forward as if there is going to be a trial, because we have to prepare for it,” Young said yesterday.
It’s scheduled to begin Feb. 24 and run for seven to 10 days.
McKnight, who had been with the sheriff’s office a little more than four years, was cleared by an internal review and the county prosecutor concluded his use of deadly force was justified, based on an investigation conducted by outside law enforcement officers.
Last year, McKnight took a job with the Chehalis Police Department.
Yesterday, Young approached the Lewis County Board of Commissioners to request the county pay his wages while he attends the trial because he has no time built up with the city.
The amount would go toward the county’s deductible for its liability insurance with Washington Counties Risk Pool, she said.
The suit names Lewis County and former Deputy McKnight. It was filed by the father of the deceased, Steven O. Peterson as representative of the estate and on behalf of the younger Petersen’s son.
The plaintiffs are represented by John R. Connelly Jr. of the firm, Connelly Law Offices in Tacoma.
The Seattle law firm of Patterson, Buchanan, Fobes, Leitch and Kalzer represents the defendants.
Patterson said in a news release previously that McKnight properly complied with sheriff’s office policies and procedures, which provided adequate guidance.
Attorneys for the Petersens said when the suit was filed their investigation would focus on the sheriff’s office training, supervision and decision-making in the field when using deadly force.
They called it a ‘shoot first and ask questions later’ approach to law enforcement.
The jury trial will be presided over by U.S. District Court Judge Ronald B. Leighton.
•••
For background, read “Multi-million dollar lawsuit coming in deputy-involved shooting in Napavine” from Wednesday June 6, 2012, here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
Now all you bleeding hearts go out there and try it.With all of your
These people are not worth your . shoot first that is all theiimeYouhave
This kind of reminds me of what the film maker Micheal Moore did too the police, when a Black man was shot for getting out his wallet. Micheal Moore had hundreds of black men from the community turn there wallets in for Fluorescent Orange wallets. Then he took all the wallets he collected and dumped them in front of the police station.
Also just because someone reports that a man has a knife doesn’t make their statement true. Thousands of false police reports are filed each year by vindictive spouses just to escalate the situation. Lets think about this situation, McKnight had the upper hand, he was in the safety of a vehicle the suspect was not harming anyone when he was first seen by law enforcement. Officer McKnight did not have to confront the suspect, but instead he chose to exit his vehicle, didn’t wait for back up and was pumped up on adrenaline from the alleged man with a knife 911 call. McKnight’s life was never in danger he could of taken a defensive position and followed the suspect until back up arrived. Instead the police Gang Member chose to murder an unarmed man in cold blood, because he knew there was no dash camera and no witnesses to collaborate the truth. The Investigation that was conducted was by the same Gang Members that McKnight works for. I hope and pray that the victims family gets the 10 million dollar law suit against Lewis County. Maybe they will outfit their police with body cameras and dash cameras. The price to outfit our police with this technology will be a lot less than 10 million. McKnight should also be facing murder charges and the same people that cleared McKnight of this murder should be on trial for obstruction of justice and trying to hide a crime that did in fact take place. When will a Monument be constructed for Citizens murdered by Police Gang Members? Thousands of Americans are killed by Police Gang Members each year and the American people have no way to mourn them. It’s time the American people erect a Shrine like the police have to Mourn the Innocent killed by Police Gang Members. Fair is Fair…..
It was in 1919, not 1911. Armistice Day (which is now celebrated as Veteran Day) began Nov. 11, 1919 on the first anniversary of the end of WWI. What happened in Centralia was a battle between members of the American Legion and Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) members.
As Monuments said, you get conflicting reports of how it all began. Even today, who you choose to believe started it seems to depend on your political leanings: If you’re from the left, it was the Legionnaires; if you’re from the right, it was the Wobblies. Nobody came away looking good, including the police. However, I don’t think I’d equate what happened to Steven Petersen with the Centralia Massacre.
I may be old, but Dang I’m not that old!
I refuse to hold the current local law enforcement personal of this county responsible for the 1911 Armistice day riot.
If that’s your evidence, on why our 2014 local enforcement is corrupt, then we have no common ground of logic to build a consensus on.
Furthermore, there are two narratives concerning the Centralia Massacre…there is A.) The truth and there is B.) the lies the cops told.
I’m assuming you’ll just side with the false version of events since you enjoy aligning yourself with murderous lewis county law enforcement.
Free Air: just because you are too lazy to pick up a book and read about the history of your precious lewis county is not my fault.
You can claim a lack of evidence, but you OBVIOUSLY haven’t been to the library.
im not a big supporter of LC law inforcment. and ive had my civil rights denied by them several times. but Petersn had threatn the life of the gf byusing a deadly weapon in a threating way. once there a deadly weapo involed theres no rubber bullets, or pepperspray it strait to deadly force. there no dout that was a “Clean Shoot”. That bullshit the if that fatherwants 10 mill. for what the orphen f that hell get social sec.
Well, due to the overwhelming evidence you have presented here in response to my questions, I’m forced to agree with your logical conclusion that the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office is corrupt.
Thank you for presenting such irrefutable evidence. It’s truly been an education.
Free Air: the only troll here is you.
And as far as your precious little Lewis County law enforcement is concerned, they’ve been corrupt longer than anybody can remember and they will always be corrupt until the federal government can do an audit and convene a grand jury to deal with it.
Until then, the only reasonable defense Lewis County law enforcement has is you; a bigoted, self righteous troll.
Sorry to all the readers for feeding the troll, but I just have to ask about this.
“So many citizens are awake to the corruption here in Lewis County, yet no one ever does anything about it.”
When I read the word “corruption” I think about organized crime like Pierce County suffered under when George Janovich and others were involved in illegal drug activates. He was arrested, tried, found guilty and put in prison for a very long time.
Do members of the police agencies commit crimes? Yes. Just as members of any organization commit crimes. That’s what happens when you expect a human to be perfect; they fall short. We all (as humans) commit crimes both by accident and for some of us on purpose. We saw a deputy get a DUI and had to resign, another was disciplined and back on the job on probation. Were this a corrupt agency both deputies would never had been disciplined.
Deputy McKnight answered a call to help locate an armed attacker. The caller said the attacker had a knife. The responding Sergeant radioed that there were knife marks through the door to the house and through the hood of the car.
What McKnight knew was only the attacker had a knife and had used it to thrash a car and punch their way through a door. When a suspect was located that suspect (with many Citizens of Napavine listening or even watching through windows) disobeyed his orders to show their hands and choose instead to charge McKnight. The suspect was shot twice in the body including a hand or wrist yet kept coming. Only after being shot at least twice in the body, did McKnight shoot the suspect in either the neck or head area which stopped the charging attack.
That is called Suicide by Cop, or at the least someone completely out of their mind. Who takes two hits and keeps on coming? That he had already ditched the knife does not change what McKnight knew. You can only judge his actions on what he knew at the time; he was being charged by someone matching the description of a suspect armed with a knife who disobeyed his orders to show his hands.
I fail to see how this shooting is somehow and example of “…corruption here in Lewis County…”
The only corruption I see here is a legal system eager to try to turn the worst human tragedy into quick cash by praying on those who lost a family member.
Monument: Who cares about privacy issues? That is equal to saying who cares about the 4th amendment. You are so blind to your thinking about police that you are not open to anything else. We can agree to disagree here but citizens who come into contact with police have a right to privacy where body cams are concerned.
Officers have a right to privacy when in the potty and victims have a right to have certain topics kept private in regards to the crimes against them.
There is ano easy answer. If cops are going to be corrupt or do illegal things they would find ways to disable the body cams.
What really needs to be done is to instill professionalism and ethics in people at a young age and carry that through to when they join law enforcement agencies.
Whatever.
I have one more post and I will quit wasting my time trying to prove that the police have become criminals, this is for you “Steve” The police are infact known gang members, the Huffington Post has an Article about the “Jump Out Boys” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/police-corruption
The facts are in people, Police today are a reflection of our society. Who cares about privacey issues when it comes to the police, we need our Law Enforcement officials to be outfitted with Dash Cameras and body cameras. After all the Police are supposed to be Transparant. Remember when the Police Cars used to say serve and protect? And further more when the police claim their an accreditted agency how can that be true if they have no Dash Camera? The facts are the Police need to be policed and until this happens its us against them. In case you couldn’t find that article about police ghang members I placed it for you here Steve. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/police-corruption
Educate yourself about the police you will see that they are often the criminals and need to be stopped by we the people. Until then enjoy your Fluoride and Gmo foods. Everyone loves Bone Cancer and Crohns disease, It’s Trendy
So many citizens are awake to the corruption here in Lewis County, yet no one ever does anything about it. Fans gather in mass when it’s a Football game, but if it has to do with our freedoms or our city leaders nothing is done. Millions of Seahawk Banners were on display all over Washington State, yet when the age of Social Security was raised grown men and woman did nothing. If We the People would gather in mass like it’s a Seahawks game, this corrupt Government would be on the run.
Ousting corrupt leaders is easy, we out number the officials 100 to 1 all we have to do is show up in numbers and we win.
“Second – I am curious why the former Lewis County Deputy is now working for the Chehalis Police Department. That is not a move that would enhance a career.”
I’m pretty sure McKnight is not the only former Sheriff’s Office employee at Chehalis – who wouldn’t want to work at an agency with professionalism and accountability at all levels, rather than an agency run by a corrupt self-serving Sheriff with staff that are a bunch of kool aid drinkers? Do you know how many Deputies have fled the Sheriff’s Office whether it be to Chehalis or another LE agency? Those that are strong enough, have enough morals and values to escape the clutches of an evil and wicked regimen. Best of luck to all who have chosen to break free of the dysfunction that is the Sheriff’s Office.
Police gang members? You my friend should quit smoking dope. I cant believe some of the things i read on here. Folks; police rely on the info they have at the time of the incident, it was reported the guy had a knife. If he would have just stopped and obeyed the officer he’d still be alive, its that simple.
steve says:
Thursday, February 6, 2014 at 9:13 am
“BET CHEHALIS PD WOULD LIKE MY VIDEO AND MATTS REPORT THAT HE LIED IN JUST SAYING……….”
Nothing of any use so far. If you have anything specific, then share it. These sort of innuendos serve no purpose outside of the writer’s ego….
I agree with the sanctimonious Susie on this one. Whether the parents could “help” him or not, if they abandoned him due to his mental illness, they they should abandon any financial benefit that illness may or may not be worth. You dont have to “fix” your loved ones to help them. Love and support IS helping them.
The caller stated the man had a knife. That would indicate he was armed, and that is all the officer knew. I am no fan of the police, but it would appear that the officer acted reasonable under the circumstances.
And those screaming about body cameras, are probably the same ones screaming about the government getting in their business. You cant have it both ways. Just remember, the next time you get pulled over, you will be on candid camera!
Here is an idea. Dont put yourself into the position of a confrontation with the police. Then, you will not be on camera, nor will you end up in a court battle that becomes your word against law enforcement. Chances are, you will lose that battle~
Susie . . . you sound like a nice lady, but you’re living in a dream world. Don’t you think that his family would have done something to save him if they’d had ANY control or influence whatsoever over his actions or behavior?
He was a drug addict with mental problems and he had probably burned that bridge long ago. When the officer pulled a gun on him and told him to stop, he should have stopped. Personally, I think he committed suicide by cop.
Family or not, you can only take so much shit off someone. At some point you need to be smart enough to know when to cut your losses and save your own ass.
There is nothing respectable about martyrdom or sacrifice in the name of love when someone repeatedly abuses your soft spot for them and takes advantage of the fact that you care about them by continually making bad decisions that not only hurt them, but drag you down with them.
If he had been home taking care of his child, WHERE HE BELONGED, instead of running around at 2:00 AM chasing after someone (and leaving STAB marks in their front door) who wanted nothing to do with him – he’d still be alive today.
Peterson was a stupid POS who got exactly what he deserved and his family shouldn’t receive a fucking dime. I hope this case gets thrown out of court.
All of what the officer said the suspect did, was by the officers own words. If the suspect did indeed have his hands in his pockets, you don’t run very good that way. Who are the witnesses that collaborated the Deputies story? Other officers? Or were there civilians that witnessed the so called attack on the deputy by the suspect. It high time that Washington State have a totally independent investigative team that investigates officer involved shootings in our State. And those investigators should have no law enforcement experience. They should be trained and hired as investigators so that those investigations can be truly non bias. I can hear all the cop lovers screaming now that it would be unfair to Law Enforcement. On the contrary, it would be very fair to both parties and would not be beholden to Law Enforcement.
Monument: The use of body cams has been brought up many times. It does raise an interesting question about privacy.
If the cam is on and the officer cannot turn it off then does the officer have a right to have privacy when they go to the bathroom?
They work 8-10 hours and during that time they might have to go.
Also who would have the right to review the cam footage? Would it be a simple public records request?
If that is the case then any citizen could request to view footage where on officer is interviewing a female victim who has been brutally sexually assaulted and relating graphic details.
A suspect could request to view footage of the officer interviewing a witness.
I know exactly what your motive is and that is to have police officers who are doing their jobs the right way with oversight. I agree that police are held to a higher standard and need to act professionally at all times.
Acting the way you should is something that needs to be instilled in officers right from the moment they are hired and continued throughout their careers.
Body cams are one way to ensure officers are acting professionally at all times but there is a huge privacy issue with them.
Officers need to be taught to act as if they are on camera 24 while on duty and mostly they are with all the cell cams out there.
BET CHEHALIS PD WOULD LIKE MY VIDEO AND MATTS REPORT THAT HE LIED IN JUST SAYING……….
The guy had a knife per the caller. That’s all that McKnight knew when he arrived and located Petersen. Waiting for back up would have done what while being charged by this man? It would have meant twice as many bullets being fired and 2 deputies being sued. Police have an obligation to protect and serve all citizens. Petersen was allegedly armed per the caller and a threat to all. Sue the caller if there was never a knife.
There are no winners here: A man is dead…a ten-year-old boy is now fatherless…his family was legally powerless to force him into getting whatever help he needed, were they indeed seeking that…a former deputy’s reputation is ruined even if it’s determined the shooting was justified…and Lewis County taxpayers may be on the hook for trial costs and potentially millions of dollars. There is nothing positive to take away from any of this.
When Police start getting the jail time they deserve for committing crimes against the citizens of America, then all of this police corruption and brutality will sharply decline. If the police were properly outfitted with video equipment then we could see what really happened. 10 million dollars at stake on each insurance claim, yet the police and the insurance company have no safeguards in place to protect the officers and the community from corruption and police officer mistakes. Demand your police department to be outfitted with body video cameras and dash cameras, this will end the police corruption problem we have here in America. Police are no longer trusted and the proof is out there that they lie time and time again. Why support the police when all they do is harm our community. It’s time Mansfield find a new job, maybe he could take his kidnapping skills and use them in Mexico.
It’s so easy to second-guess a soldier or policeman. Or a family, for that matter. Maybe the root problem is a society that prefers to buy SUVs, boats, and purses in lieu of treatment and placement facilities for the mentally ill. I have a schizophrenic brother and know first, second, and third hand that it’s not within anyone’s reach but the very wealth to get them much help at all, far less adequate, effectual help.
Having said this, I believe this suit should be dropped. Prob everyone is somewhat at fault. It won’t bring him back and it was primarily his doing.
First – Susie, how dare you blame his parents for his mental illness! If you truly believe all it takes is for someone to have “been there for him in his hour of need”, then haul your sanctimonious self down to the local mental health facility and start curing those clients. The law as is stands DOES NOT ALLOW a parent to do anything to or for a mentally ill child if the mental illness is so bad the kid refuses. And the law does not allow force or confinement UNTIL he hurts someone else. He can be crazy as a cat, threatening everyone in the house and have access to weapons and NO ONE can force him to do anything.
Second – I am curious why the former Lewis County Deputy is now working for the Chehalis Police Department. That is not a move that would enhance a career.
Third – The ONLY way to force a bureaucracy to take responsibility for negligent behavior is to sanction them in a manner to which they can respond – in the pocketbook. If they had sanctioned this officer for negligence, the taxpayers would not be footing the bill for this trial and possible award.
Susie – I just wanted to tell you that, to me, what you said was the most insightful thing I have read on this page in a long time. Now onto the other comments, as far as him being unarmed – it was safe to assume that after he was stabbing holes in a door, for whatever reason, that when confronted by police he probably still had it on him. If I had been in Matt’s shoes I would have assumed it was in his pocket since he would not remove his hands from his pockets when ordered to do so then he ran at me. I probably would have shot him too. Backup on the way would not have changed it because 10 seconds is a long time when someone you think has a knife is running at you and not listening to orders to begin with.
So Susie says “If only.” and “BleeBloo” says stop drop and roll. I say that LC needs to have proper training and more intense background checks and psychological evals. before they are hired to patrol the streets with guns. After all what are the billy club, and the taser for if the officer isn’t even going to use them. These are obvious first steps before shooting a person that in plain sight, has not got a weapon. Sure, maybe he had a weapon in his pocket, a razor blade, pocket knife, any other weapon would have been obvious I would think. I am pretty sure that if the perp was going to throw it, that at that point Mcknight would have been justified to shoot, but not 4 shots. I by no means think that what the perp did was okay, but it concerns me to think that a lot of citizens are alright with what Mcknight did, and that the County is consciously good with calling it justifiable. There was, and is not any thing about this incident that is justifiable. Why is it that when an officer does a wrong, the people call it justifiable? but, when a citizen acts or reacts, it is called a crime? Cops are human, it is okay for them to fuck up, but not for an every day person? We are all HUMAN, not one of us is PERFECT! I guess the difference is behind the BADGE……………….sad, sick, and wrong.
To me, it wasn’t a justified shooting. There was no weapon found on the young man. His girlfriend had locked him out of the house, withholding his items including medication…then claimed she didn’t know who was trying to break in. This case reeks of bs. And now McKnight is a Chehalis police officer…
While my heart goes out to anyone who looses a child regardless of the situation, I can not help but feel his family are truly the ones at fault here. They had known for years of their sons mental illness, drug abuse and violent tendencies, yet still threw him out of their home and effectively out of their lives instead of using their influence and resources to get him the help he so desperatly needed. If only they had gotten their son the kind of help he needed. If only they had been there for him in his hour of need. If only they hadn’t felt like he was someone else’s problem. If only they could see what their neglect and indifference was doing to their son. If only they had been as passionate about getting him the help and care he needed as they are about their revenge in the form of monetary compensation. If only…
The police need to be outfitted with dash cameras and body cameras. Police have been caught lying thousands of times. I’m not saying that the officer is guilty, but video equipment is needed to protect both parties. If ten million dollars is at stake, it would be law enforcements benifit to outfit all officers with recording devices. I have seen hundreds of videos on the internet that show police officers that are out of line and they are the aggressors in most situatations. It’s hard to support the police when you see the videos that show what these armed, uniformed gang members do when they think their not being recorded.
When a cop tells you to stop and drop to the ground, do it. Running towards him will only make things worse.