OLYMPIA, Wash. — The family of a man who was shot and killed by an Olympia police officer says he was dealing with a mental health episode at the time of the shooting.
The man, who family identified as Timothy Green, 37, was killed Aug. 22.
Green was allegedly drinking beer and damaging the restroom inside a Starbucks in Olympia. Police arrived, and Green went into the parking lot. When officers tried to arrest Green, police said Green pulled out a knife and “attacked officers.”
In a statement released Monday, Green’s family said they “dreaded” the possibility that Green would be killed by police. Green, who was Black and a member of the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma, had ongoing mental health issues that made his life difficult, according to his family.
“We have read the accounts of other individuals in mental health crises,” Green's family wrote. “We know that people who have mental health issues are at a higher risk of being killed by police and this is even more so for Black men like Tim. We have lived with the fear and a deep understanding of the vulnerability of Tim and others like Tim.”
Green’s family urged a transparent and independent investigation into Green’s death and called for a “full accounting” of laws and policies in place.
“Only until then can we inch closer towards a measure of justice,” Green’s family said.
The shooting will be investigated by the Capital Metro Independent Investigations team.
Mark Robinson, a Tractor Supply Company employee who witnessed the shooting across the parking lot, said he saw a man charge at police, appearing to hold a knife in his raised hand.
The officers tried tasing Green before firing at him, according to Laura Wohl, public information officer for Tumwater police, who is acting as the investigation team's spokesperson. Two discharged tasers were found at the scene.