Deputy fatally shoots off-duty officer he mistook for suspect, Washington police say
A deputy shot an off-duty police officer he mistook for an armed robbery suspect in Washington, police said.
Donald Sahota, 52, died at his home in Battle Ground after a Clark County Sheriff’s Office deputy shot him on Jan. 29, the Vancouver Police Department and sheriff’s office said in a news release.
Deputies were responding to an armed robbery at a Chevron gas station in Vancouver around 8:14 p.m., the Lower Columbia Major Crimes Team said in a news release. The team is leading an independent investigation of the shooting.
The suspect drove away from the gas station in a stolen Mercedes with hundreds of dollars, authorities said. When officers stopped the man’s vehicle with spike strips in Battle Ground, authorities said he ran from deputies.
Then the man pounded on Sahota’s door asking for help, saying he had just been in a crash, authorities said.
Sahota’s wife called 911 and told the operator her husband was an off-duty Vancouver police officer. She said her husband was armed in their driveway attempting to detain the man, authorities said.
As Sahota struggled to detain the man, he was stabbed several times, authorities said. The suspect then ran toward Sahota’s home and tried to get into the residence, where his wife was still on the phone with the emergency dispatch, authorities said.
The officer started to run after the man with his gun in his hand, authorities said, but he was shot by a deputy within seconds after law enforcement arrived at his home.
Authorities said the deputy shot his weapon several times at the injured officer.
Sahota “collapsed on his front porch,” authorities said, and he died.
The suspect was arrested “moments” later.
“My heart goes out to Officer Sahota’s family and friends and those of us in his VPD family as well. His death is a tragic loss, and he will be deeply missed by many,” Vancouver Police Chief James McElvain said in the news release.
Sahota had been a Vancouver police officer since 2014. He also worked for the Gresham Police Department and Port of Portland Police Department.
He leaves behind his wife and two children.
Battle Ground is about 16 miles north of Vancouver.
This story was originally published January 31, 2022 at 1:51 PM with the headline "Deputy fatally shoots off-duty officer he mistook for suspect, Washington police say."
