The New York Times - USA (2020-10-15)

A22 Y THE NEW YORK TIMES NATIONALTHURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020

tempted to escape arrest” and
“produced a firearm” during the
encounter. But a reconstruction of
what happened that night, based
on the accounts of people who wit-
nessed the confrontation and the
preliminary findings of investiga-
tors, produces a much different
picture — one that raises ques-
tions about whether law enforce-
ment officers made any serious at-
tempt to arrest Mr. Reinoehl be-
fore killing him.
In interviews with 22 people
who were near the scene, all but
one said they did not hear officers
identify themselves or give any
commands before opening fire. In
their official statements, not yet
made public, the officers offered
differing accounts of whether they
saw Mr. Reinoehl with a weapon.
One told investigators he thought
he saw Mr. Reinoehl raise a gun in-
side the vehicle before the firing
began, but two others said they
did not.
Mr. Reinoehl did have a .380-
caliber handgun on him when he
was killed, according to the
county sheriff’s team that is run-
ning a criminal homicide investi-
gation into Mr. Reinoehl’s death.
But the weapon was found in his
pocket.
An AR-style rifle was found ap-
parently untouched in a bag in his
car.
Five eyewitnesses said in inter-
views that the gunfire began the
instant the vehicles arrived. None
of them saw Mr. Reinoehl holding
a weapon. A single shell casing of
the same caliber as the handgun
he was carrying was found inside
his car.
Garrett Louis, who watched the
shooting begin while trying to get
his 8-year-old son out of the line of
fire, said the officers arrived with
such speed and violence that he
initially assumed they were drug
dealers gunning down a foe — un-
til he saw their law enforcement
vests.
“I respect cops to the utmost,
but things were definitely in no
way, shape or form done prop-
erly,” Mr. Louis said.

Official Response

The U.S. Marshals Service de-
clined to comment for this article,
citing the pending investigation.
The agency previously said that it
had attempted to “peacefully ar-
rest” Mr. Reinoehl and that he had
threatened the lives of law en-
forcement officers.
President Trump, who has de-
scribed the racial justice protests
that have roiled the nation as the
work of lawless criminals, praised
the operation.
“This guy was a violent crimi-
nal, and the U.S. Marshals killed
him,” the president told Fox News.
“And I will tell you something,
that’s the way it has to be. There
has to be retribution when you
have crime like this.”
Mr. Reinoehl had joined pro-
testers in Portland in the after-
math of George Floyd’s killing by
the Minneapolis police in May,

writing online that they were wag-

ing a necessary war with the po-

tential to “fix everything.” He de-

voted himself to the Black Lives

Matter movement and once

touted himself as “100% ANTIFA

all the way.”

Mr. Reinoehl, a 48-year-old con-

tractor and professional snow-

boarder, had run into trouble with

the law in June, when he was cited

for driving under the influence of

a controlled substance and having

an unlicensed firearm in the car.

Later, during the protests, the po-

lice arrested him and cited him for

carrying a loaded firearm in a

public place, but prosecutors

dropped the charges.

When the protests against the

police got underway in Portland,

he carved a niche for himself pro-

viding security, watching for trou-

ble. After a caravan of supporters

of Mr. Trump arrived in Portland

on Aug. 29 and began clashing

with the protesters, a security

camera showed Mr. Reinoehl

keeping an eye on one of them —

Aaron J. Danielson, a supporter of

the far-right group Patriot Prayer

who was walking with a can of

bear repellent and an expandable

baton.

Seconds later, a separate live-

stream video captured Mr. Dan-

ielson being shot, and The Ore-

gonian newspaper reported later

that Mr. Reinoehl was under in-

vestigation in the case. In an inter-

view while he was in hiding that

Vice News broadcast on Sept. 3,

Mr. Reinoehl said he had fired in

self-defense. “That shot felt like

the beginning of a war,” he said.

A Sudden Raid

On the day the interview aired,

officers with the U.S. Marshals’

Pacific Northwest Violent Offend-

er Task Force met for an intelli-

gence briefing.

The team, which included a mix

of federal, state and local law en-

forcement agencies, already

knew that Mr. Reinoehl was stay-

ing in a brick complex of apart-

ments in Lacey, Wash. The task

force had information from an in-

formant, passed on by the Port-

land police, about Mr. Reinoehl’s

location and possession of fire-

arms, said Lt. Ray Brady of the

Thurston County Sheriff’s Office,

who leads the team investigating

Mr. Reinoehl’s death.

Though the Portland police had

yet to issue a warrant for Mr. Rei-

noehl’s arrest, the task force pre-

pared to move in.

That evening, outside the apart-

ment complex where the police

say Mr. Reinoehl had been stay-

ing, the neighborhood was quiet.

Mr. Louis, a carpenter and for-

mer U.S. Army medic, watched his

son ride his bike with his younger

brother and a neighborhood

friend. Around the corner, Chad

Smith and two friends, Chase Cut-

ler and Jon Chastain, were wrap-

ping up an afternoon spent work-

ing on cars.

Mr. Reinoehl left the apartment

and walked toward his Volks-

wagen, parked along the street

roughly 100 feet away. Two offi-

cers positively identified Mr. Rei-

noehl, who proceeded to get into

the car, said Lieutenant Brady,

who shared some of the initial

findings of the investigation with

The New York Times. They de-

cided to make an immediate ar-

rest, the officers told investiga-

tors, in part to avoid a high-speed

chase.

Mr. Smith said he and his

friends turned their heads to the

sound of a vehicle accelerating

rapidly, headed southbound to-

ward the street where Mr. Rei-

noehl was walking. A second law

enforcement S.U.V., which had

been parked across from Mr.

Smith’s house, moved in with such

speed that the friends thought

they were witnessing a road rage

incident or a gang shooting.

Mr. Smith and Mr. Cutler ran af-

ter the unmarked S.U.V.s, watch-

ing as they turned onto Mr. Rei-

noehl’s street, one cutting the cor-

ner and speeding over the grass.

Nate Dinguss, who according to

Lieutenant Brady lived in the

apartment where Mr. Reinoehl

was staying, said Mr. Reinoehl

was chewing a gummy worm as

he approached his station wagon,

with a phone in one hand and a

bag in the other.

Mr. Dinguss said in an inter-

view that officers began jumping

out of the vehicles before they had

come to a complete stop, and that

one of them opened fire immedi-

ately, before any commands had

been given. Another man who was

walking his dog nearby said that a

burst of about 10 gunshots began

almost immediately after the

S.U.V.s came to a halt, and that he

did not recall hearing any com-

mands. Mr. Louis, who was on the

other side of the scene, some 140

feet from Mr. Reinoehl, also said

the police opened fire immedi-

ately, without giving any warn-

ings — as did Mr. Smith and Mr.

Cutler.

“There was no, ‘Get out of the

car!’ There was no, ‘Stop!’ There

was no nothing. They just got out

of the car and started shooting,”

Mr. Louis said.

Mr. Smith described it simi-

larly: “There was no yelling.

There was no screaming. There

was no altercation. It was just

straight to gunshots.”

Of the 22 people interviewed by

The Times who said they were

near the shooting when it oc-

curred, only one man reported

hearing any shouting before the

gunshots began.

That man, Quentin Gruner,

whose apartment is about 75 feet

away, said he was letting his dog

out when he heard shouting that

he thought was neighbors having

a fight, followed by a popping

noise.

Conflicting Accounts

The four officers who were rid-

ing in the S.U.V.s said in their

statements to Thurston County

sheriff’s investigators that they

shouted “Stop! Police!” before

opening fire, Lieutenant Brady

said.

But the officers gave conflicting

stories about what led them to be-

gin firing. One reported that he

saw Mr. Reinoehl, inside the vehi-

cle, raise “what they perceived to

be a gun,” Lieutenant Brady said.

Two other officers said they only

saw Mr. Reinoehl make “furtive

movements” toward the center

console, he said.

Lieutenant Brady said the first

shots appear to have struck Mr.

Reinoehl inside the vehicle, and

videos of the aftermath show bul-

let marks in the driver’s side of the

windshield. Though apparently

wounded, Mr. Reinoehl began

moving away from the officers on

foot.

In an updated account released

on Wednesday, the Sheriff’s Office

said Mr. Reinoehl “continued to

reach around his waistband and

was attempting to manipulate his

firearm.”

Officers continued to fire, and

as Mr. Reinoehl stepped into the

street from behind a nearby truck,

a final burst took him down, Lieu-

tenant Brady said. He most likely

died immediately, said the

Thurston County coroner, Gary

Warnock.

Officers also offered conflicting

accounts of those final shots. One

said that Mr. Reinoehl, while in the

street, pointed a gun. Other offi-

cers said he appeared to be trying

to “retrieve” one from his pants

pocket.

In their updated statement,

sheriff’s investigators said that as

officers searched Mr. Reinoehl’s

body, they found a gun in his

pocket. His hand was on it, they

said, as he fell to the ground.

The Aftermath

In all, four officers fired 37

rounds from two rifles and two

handguns, the investigators said.

A visit to the scene by a report-

er, as well as videos and photos

from the aftermath, showed that

at least eight of the officers’ bul-

lets struck civilian property.

Angel Romero, who lives di-

rectly adjacent to the shooting,

said at least five bullets hit a brick

wall and a wooden fence at his

home. One traveled through an

exterior wall and passed above his

dog kennels and through his din-

ing room — narrowly missing his

brother before lodging in a

kitchen wall. Mr. Romero’s neigh-

bor found a smashed bullet in his

backyard grass. “They literally

found ricochet bullets where my

kid was,” Mr. Louis said.

Lieutenant Brady said it would

be several months before it was

determined whether the casing in

the Volkswagen matched the

handgun found in Mr. Reinoehl’s

pocket, and it may never be

known whether it was fired that

day. There is no evidence that Mr.

Reinoehl touched the rifle found in

the bag in his car, the chief investi-

gator said.

None of the officers said they

saw Mr. Reinoehl fire his hand-

gun, and investigators have found

no other evidence that suggests

he did. No .380 bullets or casings

were found outside the vehicle.

In the aftermath, some news ac-

counts quoted witnesses describ-

ing Mr. Reinoehl firing shots. One

of them, Mr. Smith, said he was

misquoted. Another woman also

described Mr. Reinoehl firing

shots, but in another account said

that she was not present when the

shooting began. Mr. Cutler said he

heard a pistol that he thought

might have been Mr. Reinoehl’s

firing first, but Lieutenant Brady

said the officers fired pistols as

well as rifles.

Six minutes after the shooting

started, Jashon Spencer, a resi-

dent of the apartment complex,

began filming a live video from the

scene. In it, roughly eight and a

half minutes after Mr. Reinoehl

was likely killed, an officer could

be seen beginning chest compres-

sions on Mr. Reinoehl’s motionless

body. They were undertaken al-

most perfunctorily, from a stand-

ing position, and soon ended.

Death in Hail of Shots Is Under Scrutiny

Witness Nate Dinguss

Witnesses Chase Cutler

and Chad Smith

Witness Garrett Louis

Two unmarked cars

carrying four U.S. Marshals

Anonymous witness

REINOEHL’S CAR

HOME OF NATE DINGUSS

GOOGLE EARTH/THE NEW YORK TIMES

REINOEHL’S CAR

DAMAGED GLASS

JASHON SPENCER VIA FACEBOOK

Four U.S. Marshals

Fifth officer arriving

on the scene

REINOEHL’S BODY

REINOEHL’S CAR

GOOGLE EARTH/THE NEW YORK TIMES DEREK KNOWLES

Members of a U.S. Marshals task force tracked Michael Reinoehl, who was suspected of
killing a Trump supporter at a protest, to Lacey, Wash. On Sept. 3, as Mr. Reinoehl was get-
ting into his car, two unmarked S.U.V.s accelerated rapidly up the street to block him.

Apparently wounded, Mr. Reinoehl then left his car and moved down the street, away from
the S.U.V.s. One officer said Mr. Reinoehl was pointing a gun; others said he was trying to get
something from his pocket. After another burst of gunfire, Mr. Reinoehl was dead.

A number of witnesses said that officers jumped out before the vehicles came to a complete

stop and opened fire without any warning. One man, who was with his children just down the

street from Mr. Reinoehl’s car, said, “They just got out of the car and started shooting.”

In the end, the police found Mr. Reinoehl’s gun: It was in his pocket. It’s not clear whether he

fired the gun on that day. Investigators said that the marshals had fired about 30 rounds,

many of which struck nearby homes. One man said a bullet ended up in his kitchen wall.

QUICK STRIKE FIRST SHOTS

IN THE STREET INVESTIGATION

From Page A1

Michael Reinoehl at a protest on July 18 in Portland, Ore. He had

provided security at demonstrations, watching for trouble.

MATTHIEU LEWIS-ROLLAND, VIA REUTERS

The New York Police Depart-

ment’s highest-profile Latino offi-

cial resigned abruptly on Tuesday

after complaining to colleagues

that Mayor Bill de Blasio had in-

sulted him, two police officials

said.

The official, Fausto Pichardo,

told his superiors and members of

his staff that he would retire in No-

vember after less than a year as

the department’s chief of patrol,

according to the officials, who

spoke on the condition of ano-

nymity because they were not al-

lowed to discuss personnel mat-

ters publicly.

Chief Pichardo, 43, could not im-

mediately be reached for com-

ment.

A police spokeswoman con-

firmed in a statement that Chief

Pichardo, considered a rising star

in the department, planned to re-

tire, but efforts were apparently

underway to try to persuade him

to change his mind. He visited

City Hall on Tuesday, the police of-

ficials said.

In a statement issued later in

the day, Bill Neidhardt, a spokes-

man for Mr. de Blasio, said that

Chief Pichardo was “a deeply re-

spected leader in the N.Y.P.D. and

City Hall is continuing to have

conversations with him regarding

his future.”

His departure comes at a turbu-

lent time for a department that is

contending with, among other

things, a sharp rise in shootings;

cuts to its budget and pressure to

rein in some of its tactics; continu-

ing unrest over police brutality;

and the enforcement of con-

tentious restrictions in some

neighborhoods because of the co-

ronavirus pandemic.

Chief Pichardo has played a key

role in confronting those and

other challenges since Dermot F.

Shea, the police commissioner, ap-

pointed him last December to lead

the Patrol Services Bureau and

oversee about 17,000 uniformed

officers across the five boroughs.

For Chief Pichardo — a product

of the city’s public schools who im-

migrated to the United States

from the Dominican Republic as a

child and grew up on Manhattan’s

Lower East Side — the promotion

was the latest step up the ladder

for a 21-year department veteran

widely seen as a potential candi-

date for commissioner one day.

It was also reason to celebrate

for his fellow Latino officers, a

group of whom waved Dominican

flags and cheered him on from a

balcony at his promotion ceremo-

ny.

Last week, though, his career

took a turn.

Chief Pichardo, the two police

officials said, was infuriated by an

exchange with Mr. de Blasio that

came after he had been putting in

long hours managing the police

response to protests in Orthodox

Jewish enclaves in Brooklyn over

the pandemic-related restrictions.

After working for more than 36

hours at one point, the officials

said, he went home for some rest.

When he woke up, he realized that

his phone was not working prop-

erly, causing him to have missed

some messages from the mayor.

Mr. de Blasio later summoned

Chief Pichardo to City Hall to ex-

plain why he had not responded to

the messages, the officials said.

Chief Pichardo left the meeting

feeling angry and insulted, ac-

cording to the officials.

He became even more irritated

over the weekend when the mayor

contacted him repeatedly about a

late-night block party in the

Bronx, the officials said. Such

calls would typically be directed to

Commissioner Shea, they said.

“He’s sort of being treated like a

chew toy, which he doesn’t appre-

ciate,” one of the officials said.

“The guy’s been working for 11

months straight.”

On Wednesday, Mr. de Blasio

disputed that account, saying that

he and Chief Pichardo had “rarely

disagreed in these months.” The

mayor acknowledged “there was

some miscommunication” in re-

cent days, but he denied it had

prompted the chief’s resignation.

“The bottom line here is he’s mak-

ing a personal decision,” Mr. de

Blasio said.

Chief Pichardo is the second top

Latino official to quit the de Blasio

administration in recent months

amid the pandemic and out of

frustration with the mayor. Dr.

Oxiris Barbot resigned as health

commissioner in August after Mr.

de Blasio stripped her agency of a

key virus-tracing program. Three

other three-star chiefs, Lori Pol-

lock, Theresa Shortell and Nilda

Hofmann, have also decided to re-

tire from the Police Department

since the summer.

Chief Pichardo’s departure will

also coincide with that of Mr. de

Blasio’s top criminal justice advis-

er, Elizabeth Glazer, who is set to

leave her job in the coming weeks,

said an official with knowledge of

her plans. Ms. Glazer’s reasons

for leaving were unclear.

Latino Chief

Exits N.Y.P.D.

After Clashing

With de Blasio

By ASHLEY SOUTHALL

Alan Feuer, Emma G. Fitzsimmons

and Edgar Sandoval contributed

reporting.