Prosecutor: Spokane Police justified in shooting, killing Robert Bradley in 2022

Two Spokane Police officers were justified in shooting and killing a man who they say pulled a handgun on them when they were attempting to serve a court order in September 2022, Spokane County Prosecutor Larry Haskell announced Friday.

The family of Robert Bradley, 41, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Spokane Police Department last year, alleging Bradley was unloading his van from a camping trip when police ambushed him, shooting him within seconds of approaching the van parked at the family’s home in Hillyard.

Haskell wrote that when Police Cpl. Chris Johnson and Det. Trevor Walker approach the van, “Bradley looked at them and immediately lunged into the van in an obvious attempt to seize a rifle, which was clearly visible to the Officers.”

Johnson then shouted: “Spokane Police! Let me see both your hands!” according to Haskell’s report. “Bradley failed to comply and continued to reach for the rifle. Both officers fired at him. Though Bradley went to the ground, he pulled a handgun from a holster on his hip and pointed it at the officers which resulted in Officer Johnson firing again.”

Haskell found that because of those facts, the officers were in fear for their lives and fired in self-defense. He declined to file charges against them.

The attorney representing Bradley’s family, Rondi Thorp, said Friday she was not surprised at Haskell’s finding, calling the investigation a “quid pro quo situation filled with the potential for corruption,” in a statement.

“Robert Bradley’s death was completely avoidable,” Thorp wrote. “All he was doing was unloading his van from camping, minding his own business on his own property. Police cannot shoot people in their own yards simply because they have a gun with them.”

Officers’ description of events

At about 8:45 p.m. on Sept. 4, 2022, Bradley’s neighbor, Scott Scott, called police for help serving a civil anti-harassment order and a firearm surrender order to Bradley over previous conflicts. Scott said he was concerned Bradley was trying to evade service, and that he wanted help from the police.

At 9:56 p.m. Scott texted a Spokane Police Officer that Bradley was in the backyard at his home on the 2900 block of East Wabash Avenue and carrying a rifle.

The officer requested several other officers to help serve the civil order and developed a plan that included Walker, Johnson and Officer Tricia Leming approaching from the alleyway north of Wabash, according to the statement and body camera footage.

At about 10:15 p.m., the three officers approached Bradley as he was next to the van.

After the officers shot Bradley, he went to the ground and pulled a handgun from a holster on his hip and pointed it at officers, according to the press release from Haskell. Johnson shot at Bradley again.

Bradley was treated on scene but died at a local hospital.

Ballistic testing on Bradley’s handgun showed that it was loaded and had a round in the chamber, Haskell wrote. A bullet fragment from a police-fired round clipped the barrel tip of Bradley’s gun and went down the barrel, pushing a chambered round almost completely inside the shell casing, Haskell said.

The Spokane Independent Investigative Response Team, led by the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, investigated the shooting. Haskell did not respond to a request for comment after announcing his decision late Friday afternoon.

This marks the fourth time Johnson has fired his weapon as a Spokane police officer since 2020. Three of the shootings, including of Bradley, were ruled justified by the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office. One is under investigation.

The ongoing investigation is into the shooting death of Craig Anglisano, who police say raised a handgun at officers multiple times on the South Hill. Johnson is one of nine officers who fired their weapons.

The Bradley shooting is the first time Walker has fired his weapon on duty, according to Spokesman-Review records.

Bradley’s family pushes back

Bradley’s children and their mother alleged negligence and a pattern of police violence in their wrongful death suit filed last year.

“Mr. Bradley did not have to die and his kids did not need to be left fatherless,” Thorp wrote.

If police had calmly approached the front of the house without their weapons drawn to knock on the front door to serve a temporary civil order in a non-emergency, the shooting wouldn’t have happened, Thorp said.

Instead, Thorp said officers rushed to violence.

“The police at the back of the house, which included Walker and Johnson, pulled their AR-15 style weapons and rushed up on Mr. Bradley who was looking in his van and unloading his guns from a camping trip,” she wrote. “The SPD officer fires within three seconds of announcing their presence.”

They did not allow him enough time to register their presence, let alone comply with orders, according to the family’s lawsuit.

Bradley was shot nine times, according to the lawsuit.

Thorp noted Johnson has been involved in numerous shootings. She said the system used to investigate police shootings is rife with the potential for corruption. Officers are allowed to meet with attorneys before drafting a statement to give to investigators.

“They can watch the body cameras and fabricate a story that enables them to escape accountability. Many police department’s that are transparent with the public require an immediate on-camera interview of a police officer involved in a shooting,” Thorp wrote in a statement. “Spokane City continues to invite corruption with their policies after police shootings.”

Thorp also noted that prosecutors have not found issue with deadly uses of force for years, such as in the case of David Novak in 2019, in which Thorp represented the Novak family. The city agreed to a multimillion dollar settlement with the Novak family.

The Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office has not found issue with any deadly use of force in more than two decades.

“We believe the truth will come out at trial,” Thorp said.

The lawsuit is set to go to trial in November.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Officer Tricia Leming’s name.