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Click on links below to view News Articles - A man died and a Tacoma police officer was shot - No one has been identified in the South End shootout - A man killed Saturday in a shootout with police was Neil Triana - Two Washington Police Officers on Leave Following Fatal Shooting - Inquest to examine shooting - Man Whose Arrest Was Filmed By 'Cops' Sues Officers For Brutality - It shouldn't’t take inquest to explain lethal force - Police union going to far to protect its members -Coroner’s inquest examines shooting -Officers defend fatal shooting -Inquest jury finds Tacoma police shooting justified -Officers cleared in killing -From the webmaster Copyright The McClatchy Company May 29, 2005 A man died and a Tacoma police officer was shot A man died and a Tacoma police officer was shot in the leg during a South End gunfight that began with what Tacoma police described as a routine traffic stop late Saturday afternoon.More than 10 shots were fired in the exchange, which involved two Tacoma police officers a few blocks northeast of Giaudrone Middle School. The shooting started when the man opened fire on one of the officers, said Officer Tracy Conaway.Authorities did not disclose the names of the dead man or the officers.A group of children playing less than a block away took cover after the first shots were fired a few minutes before 5 p.m."We were all scared," said Kamisha Paul, 14, who was looking after a baby and hanging out with several younger children on the sidewalk at the time.The dead man, in his 20s, had been a passenger in a Mitsubishi sports car headed north on South Cushman Avenue when it was stopped by a lone officer, Conaway said.As the officer put the driver of the Mitsubishi in the back seat of his patrol car, the Mitsubishi's passenger jumped out of the car and fired a handgun at the officer.The officer returned fire, and Conaway said the "gunbattle" continued as the officer ran north on Cushman, where he was shot in the leg. A single bullet passed through his calf, Conaway said.A second police officer, who was off duty but in uniform, was driving home when he heard the report of shots fired on his police radio and came to help.Both officers shot at the passenger, who died in the driveway of a home on the northwest corner of Cushman and South 48th Street.The wounded officer was treated at Tacoma General Hospital for his leg injury and was released.Both officers have been placed on administrative leave until a shooting investigation is completed, Conaway said. Each has served less than 10 years with Tacoma police, and neither was previously involved in a shooting, she said.Nicole Coleman, Kamisha's aunt, who has lived nearby for about five months, said the shooting reinforced her belief that crime plagues the neighborhood. She speculated that the driver and passenger were up to no good. "It could be drug-related," she said.But another resident, Shelley Fraser, said the shooting was out of character for the area where she's lived more than two years. "That's too bad someone died out here, man," she said. Susan Gordon: 253-597-8756 susan.gordon@thenewstribune.com Credit: The News Tribune Copyright The McClatchy Company May 30, 2005 No one has been identified in the South End shootout No one has been identified in the South End shootout that left one man dead and a Tacoma police officer wounded Saturday afternoon.The gunfight started with what Tacoma police describe as a routine traffic stop on South Cushman Avenue.The passenger in the black Mitsubishi sports car fled, firing a handgun at the officer who was putting the driver of the car into the back seat of his patrol car.More than 10 shots were exchanged between the man and police officers a few blocks northwest of Giaudrone Middle School.The officer was shot in the leg as he chased the man north on Cushman.A second officer who was driving home when he heard the report of shots fired rushed to help.Both officers shot at the passenger, who died in the driveway of a home on the northwest corner of Cushman and South 48th Street.The officers have been placed on administrative leave until a shooting investigation is completed, authorities said. Each officer has served less than 10 years with Tacoma police. Neither was previously involved in a shooting.The wounded officer was treated at Tacoma General Hospital and released. Andre Cherry, The News TribuneCredit: The News Tribune Copyright The McClatchy Company Jun 2, 2005 A man killed Saturday in a shootout with police was Neil Triana A man killed Saturday in a shootout with police was Neil Triana, 22, of Tacoma, the Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office said this week.Triana and Tacoma police traded fire after a traffic stop near Giaudrone Middle School. Triana, a passenger, fired as an officer put the driver into the back of his patrol car, police said.The officer, who police have not identified, suffered a gunshot wound in his calf.A second, off-duty officer, who police also have not identified, heard the incident on his police radio and arrived to help. Both officers shot at Triana, who died at Cushman and South 48th streets.The wounded officer was treated at Tacoma General Hospital and released Saturday. Both officers have been placed on administrative leave until an investigation is completed. Paul Sand, The News TribuneCredit: The News Tribune

06/08/05 Tacoma News Tribune

Two Washington Police Officers on Leave Following Fatal Shooting ASSOCIATED PRESS TACOMA, Wash. (AP) -- A police officer who was wounded in a shootout that ended in the death of a 22-year-old man is out of the hospital, and he and another officer remain on leave, police say. The officers involved in the shooting death of Neil Triana, 22, of Tacoma, were identified this week as Ryan F. Lane, a four-year department veteran, who was wounded in the calf, and Christopher K. Karl, who has been with the department for six years. Police say Triana was a passenger in a car when Lane made a traffic stop on May 28 and put the driver in his patrol car. Triana got out of the car and shot at Lane, who returned the fire, aided by Karl, who was off duty at the time but rushed to the scene after hearing of the matter on his police radio, officer Mark W. Fulghum said. Lane was treated at Tacoma General Hospital and released. He and Karl remain on paid administrative leave, Fulghum said. Information from: The News Tribune

08/23/2005 Tacoma News Tribune

Inquest to examine shooting Officers refuse to answer questions about death without immunity ADAM LYNN; The News Tribune Published: August 23rd, 2005 12:01 AM The Pierce County medical examiner has ordered a special inquiry into the death of a man killed in an exchange of gunfire with Tacoma police. Dr. John Howard believes there are “a sufficient number of unresolved issues” to call for a coroner’s inquest in the May 28 death of Neil Triana, according to a news release issued Monday by the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. It has been more than 15 years since the last such inquest in Pierce County. Triana, 22, died after exchanging gunfire with two officers near Giaudrone Middle School in the city’s South End. Officer Ryan Lane, a four-year veteran, was hit in the calf during the shootout. Lane and Chris Karl, a six-year veteran of the force, opened fire on Triana, who died at the scene. The incident began when Lane stopped a car near South Cushman and South 48th streets. Police said Triana, a passenger in the car, opened fire on Lane as he tried to put the driver in the back of his patrol car. Karl was off-duty but driving nearby when he heard Lane’s calls for help over his police radio. The prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into the shooting, but Lane and Karl have refused to submit to questioning without a guarantee of immunity from prosecution, said Bill Garrison, the office’s chief criminal investigator.That was the main reason Howard invoked his right to call an inquest, Garrison said. “We do require a full accounting when a citizen has been killed,” he said. “We’ve uncovered no wrongdoing, but I can’t certify it without all the facts on the table.” In the coming weeks, a jury will be picked from the regular pool of jurors to review evidence and hear testimony from witnesses in the case, including Karl and Lane. That jury then will issue a finding as to the “cause and manner of death,” Garrison said. Only Prosecutor Gerald Horne can decided whether the officers will face charges in the case, however, Garrison said. Efforts to reach Triana’s relatives were unsuccessful Monday. Police spokesman Mark Fulghum said the department is confident the inquest will exonerate Lane and Karl, both of whom have returned to duty. Adam Lynn: 253-597-8644 adam.lynn@thenewstribune.com

Related News Policeman Christopher Karl the Second officer involved in Neils shooting involved In COPS Lawsuit

By KOMO Staff & News Services Man Whose Arrest Was Filmed By 'Cops' Sues Officers For Brutality August 5, 2005 SEATTLE - A man apparently woken from a drunken stupor by Pierce County sheriff's deputies, repeatedly zapped with a stun gun and finally chewed by a police dog - all in front of a production crew from the TV show "Cops" - has sued the county and the officers, alleging brutality. The deputies, accompanied by a K-9 officer from the Tacoma Police Department, were looking for an armed suspect in a car break-in when they came upon Aaron Otto Hansen, 34, of Roy, early on July 10, 2004. Hansen, who did not commit the crime, was passed out drunk in a sleeping bag outside a relative's home in the Tacoma suburb of Lakewood, one of his lawyers said. The "Cops" video footage of his arrest, obtained by The Associated Press, seems to support that claim: "Wake up! Show me your hands!" one officer, identified in the lawsuit as Deputy Joseph Kolp, screams at Hansen on the video. No response. "You're gonna get tased, dude," Kolp says. Kolp pulls on the sleeping bag. Hansen - clearly disoriented - tries to pull it back over his head, apparently to shield his eyes from Deputy Russell Martin's flashlight. Kolp grabs Hansen's arm and Martin moves in to help with an arrest. Hansen, still on the ground, starts to revive. He pushes Kolp, and the officers repeatedly use their Tasers as they kneel on him, pressing the instruments into his chest and his buttocks. "What the (expletive) are you doing?!" he moans as he struggles against them. "What the hell's going on?!" With Martin and Kolp holding him down, Hansen continued to swing his legs, and Kolp called for help from Tacoma police K-9 officer Christopher Karl. Karl's dog bit repeatedly at Hansen's leg, leaving his pants shredded and his ankle bloodied. The confrontation ended after two minutes, with Hansen in handcuffs moaning, "Please, please ... What did I do wrong?" "When we tell you to show us your hands, that's what you need to do," Kolp tells him. "You want to fight us, this is what happens." "I'm not fighting nobody here," Hansen says, doubled over in pain. Later that night, the officers arrested another man, John Joyal, in the car break-in. Joyal wound up pleading guilty to a lesser crime. Hansen was never charged in the break-in, but he was charged with two counts of third-degree assault for resisting the officers. Those charges were dropped on Aug. 25, the day Hansen was to be tried - the same day his lawyer first viewed the videotape. His lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, names Pierce County, Kolp, Martin, Karl, the city of Lakewood and the city of Tacoma. At the time of the arrest, Kolp and Martin patrolled Lakewood for the sheriff's office. Since then, Lakewood has formed its own police department, which is where Kolp and Martin now work. The sheriff's office, the Lakewood Police Department and the Tacoma Police Department all declined to comment on the lawsuit Thursday. On the video, Kolp explains the officers' actions: "He was hiding in what looked like a sleeping bag, and he wouldn't comply with our commands," Kolp says. "I went through the fence, tried to pull the blanket back, and the fight was on. He resisted from the get-go ... ended up kicking us, the whole nine yards. "The dog was sent in to help us out because we had two officers struggling to get this guy into custody and he wasn't complying, so we had to take it up a notch. ... It was a full-on battle there for a couple minutes." One of Hansen's lawyers, Philip Bolland, didn't buy that explanation. "The guy was asleep. They could have handcuffed him while he was asleep," Bolland said. "I can't think of any context where this treatment could be considered appropriate. Anybody who sits down and watches that tape would want an explanation."gg A producer at Santa Monica, Calif.-based Langley Productions Inc., which created "Cops," said he could not confirm whether the episode ever aired, but Lakewood Police Lt. Bret Farrar said he had seen it on television. He declined to comment on the arrest. The lawsuit seeks damages as well as an injunction prohibiting the police agencies from associating with "Cops" or similar TV programs again.

It shouldnt take inquest to explain lethal force THE NEWS TRIBUNE Published: August 28th, 2005 12:01 AM When they are commissioned, police officers receive a badge and a gun and the authority to use lethal force in certain circumstances. With that power comes a greater level of accountability than is required of most private citizens. When officers kill someone in the line of duty, society rightly expects them to explain the circumstances. Police who do not have to answer for their killings are characteristic of dictatorships, not democracies. So it’s disturbing to see two Tacoma officers refusing to tell the Pierce County medical examiner how and why they wound up killing a 22-year-old man on May 28. There’s every reason to believe that this shooting was justified. Officers Ryan Lane and Chris Karl did not fire on 22-year-old Neil Triana until after Triana fired on Lane in the course of a traffic stop near the intersection of South Cushman and South 48th streets. Triana actually wounded Lane in the leg before Lane and Karl killed him with their weapons. A subsequent administrative investigation by the Tacoma Police Department reportedly cleared Lane and Karl of any wrongdoing. If the incident unfolded as reported, it would have been wrong for the officers not to return Triana’s fire. What’s at issue is the report the medical examiner must file on any such homicide. To complete this report, Dr. John Howard has to talk to the parties involved – and Lane and Karl were about as involved as you can get. But the two officers have refused to answer his questions without a guarantee of immunity from prosecution. As a result, Howard has felt compelled to order a coroner’s inquest – the first such inquiry held in Pierce County in more than 15 years. Why Lane and Karl have so far refused to cooperate with Howard is baffling. Howard himself says there is no indication of wrongdoing on their part. There are reports from within the department that Tacoma Police Union Local No. 6 has advised the officers not to speak to the medical examiner. If so, that’s even more baffling. When a police shooting is justified, the medical examiner’s report does nothing but further exonerate the officers involved. But police create the impression that they’ve got something to hide when they refuse to explain their actions to appropriate civilian authorities outside the department. They reinforce that impression when they demand immunity from prosecution. Lane and Karl – and Local 6, if it is driving this refusal to cooperate – should rethink their stance. It shouldn’t take a formal inquest to persuade commissioned officers to answer routine, reasonable questions about a homicide. Explaining a shooting is a fundamental obligation that comes with the badge and the gun.

Police union going too far to protect its members QUENTIN J. RINEHART; Tacoma Published: September 1st, 2005 12:01 AM I’ve been a union member for most of my working life until I retired in 1995. I am very dismayed to see the actions of Tacoma Police Local 6 in attempting to block the release of investigation files concerning the David Brame murder/suicide case. The case of Tacoma officers Ryan Lane and Chris Karl (TNT, 8-23) is also an illustration of how far the union has strayed from its rights and purpose. Unions are meant to protect their members from discrimination in wages, conditions, benefits and political influence. Most unions do that very well, but it seems that Local 6 has become the tail that wags the dog. I believe City Manager Eric Anderson is absolutely justified in authorizing the release of this information. The police union is arrogant, obstructive and absolutely wrong to insist that details of the Brame investigation must remain closed, and that the two officers who shot and killed Neil Triana during the commission of a crime cannot testify in the coroner’s in- quest. What is the union trying to hide? Or is this simply an attempt by the union’s attorneys to enrich themselves by prolonging these tragic events? The bottom line is, of course, that the taxpayers of Tacoma, including me, will have to pay the legal fees generated by these two controversies. I strenuously object to that burden being placed on me and all others in Tacoma who voted for and have a right to expect fair, just and honest resolution of these problems. I hope The News Tribune and the city manager will vigorously fight for full disclosure of the Brame files and to compel the two police officers to testify to the coroner. If the officers have nothing to hide, it shouldn’t be a problem.

From the webmaster,
As a friend of Neil's father and to some extent Neil, I have put the news articles in as they were published in the Tacoma News Tribune on this page. The information I have gathered from Neil's friends and family in compiling this web page have brought up some very disturbing questions in my mind.

1. How does a 140 pound untrained young adult over power a trained 220 pound trained police officer when he is being held from behind.?
2.Why was Neil shot at least one time in the back.?
3. Are our police officers so poorly paid they have to take 2nd jobs as security guards at Chucky Cheese and why was he carrying a gun there?
4.Why didn't officer Lane wait for a 2nd police cruiser before he tried to search the car waiting for 10 minutes for another car would have kept this whole incident from happening?
5. Is officer Lane so fast with his gun that he drew and shot Neil when Neil already had his gun drawn an pointed at officer Lane? Wyatt Earp would have been proud.
6. Given officer Karl's history (the infamous COPS episode) I feel that he tends to overreact in stressful situations and question his ability to do his job as a police officer.

The opinions expressed above are my own, and in no way reflect the opinions of the family.

Bill

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