Othello officer remains on desk duty during investigation of use-of-force incident
OTHELLO - An Othello police officer remains on desk duty during a standard investigation into an Aug. 5 incident in which the officer fired eight shots at a fleeing suspect believed to have been armed with a gun.
Police on Friday released body camera footage from the incident in which Officer Eduardo Martinez fired at a man believed to be Aaron Urbina, who was wanted by law enforcement, while he fled the residential area where he was located.
The footage was released as part of a formal investigation of the incident by the Central Basin Investigative Team, a regional authority tasked with investigating officer use-of-force incidents.
The video starts with Martinez and Officer Steven Perez approaching somebody they believed might have been Urbina as he was walking with a female along an Othello street, according to a statement by the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, which is handling communications for CBIT. Prior to the video's beginning, Martinez and Perez drove past the walking pair, the sheriff’s office added.
The officers’ suspicions were raised when the suspect reportedly attempted to conceal his identity as officers drove by. Believing the male to be Urbina, Martinez and Perez attempted to make contact.
As Martinez exited his vehicle, body camera footage shows him calling out to the suspect before raising his voice and telling him not to run. The suspect first ran directly away from Martinez and toward Perez, before looping to the side and passing the officers at a distance. Martinez yelled that he believed the suspect had a gun.
As Urbina passed between two homes at a distance from the officers, running into an alleyway, Martinez fired four shots while he and Perez pursued Urbina. Martinez fired another four shots as Urbina continued to flee down the alleyway between two rows of houses, before the officers lost sight of Urbina. No one was injured during the confrontation, according to law enforcement.
“I thought he was going to (expletive) point back at me,” Martinez said, panting, when asked by Perez if he was OK.
Martinez and Perez then circled back to question the woman who had been walking with the suspect. She claimed that the man was actually named Fidel Mendoza and that he was only armed with a BB gun.
No one was apprehended during the initial incident; however, Urbina was later located and arrested in Yakima. Police officials could not immediately indicate Sunday night whether it had been confirmed that Urbina had a gun during the Aug. 5 incident. Only Martinez fired shots that night.
In accordance with state law, CBIT will continue to publish updates on the incident each week until the independent review team finishes its investigations and prosecutors either choose or decline to pursue charges.
After initially being placed on administrative leave, Martinez remains on desk duty until completion of the investigation, as is standard in use-of-force incidents, Chief Phil Schenck said Monday.