Prosecutor: Officer acted lawfully in WSU shooting incident

Whitman County Prosecutor Denis Tracy said the Washington State University police officer who shot at a suicidal WSU student in March “did the right thing for the right reasons.”

On Tuesday, Tracy released his written conclusion of his investigation into the March 27 incident on the WSU campus. WSU Police Chief Gary Jenkins shared Tracy’s statements with the media.

Tracy’s office investigated the incident to determine if WSU officer Dillon Tiedeman-Mueller acted lawfully when he fired a round at WSU student John Bazan. Tracy concluded that Tiedeman-Mueller acted lawfully and “in good faith.”

The shooting was a result of Bazan’s attempt to commit suicide by cop, according to Tracy.

Bazan called 911 the morning of March 27 and said a man had a knife in his dorm hallway. He went out in the hallway to wait for the police with the intention to cause the officers to shoot him, Tracy said.

Bazan did not comply with the officers’ orders to take his hands out of his pockets. He also continued to walk toward the offers after being ordered to stop. At one point, Bazan “jerked his hand out of his pocket suddenly and held it up imitating holding a weapon towards the officers and appeared as if he was starting to charge the officers,” Tracy wrote.

Sgt. Mike Petlovany and Tiedeman-Mueller used appropriate de-escalation efforts, Tracy said. They tried to talk to Bazan and increase their distance from him by backing up. They also used their stun guns multiple times, but that was ineffective, likely because of Bazan’s loose clothes.

Tracy said that when Bazan jerked his hand out of his pocket and looked like he was beginning to charge with a weapon in his hand, Tiedman-Mueller fired a round from his pistol and missed Bazan.

Bazan was then taken down with a stun gun and arrested.

“The two WSU police officers were confronted by Mr. Bazan that day could not have acted in a more professional and restrained manner,” Tracy wrote.

Tracy said Tiedeman-Mueller’s actions were lawful and appropriate under Washington laws governing the use of deadly force by a police officer. Tracy determined he only fired his weapon when there did not appear to be any reasonable alternative.

Tracy also decided not to file a formal criminal charge against Bazan.

Bazan was booked into jail immediately after his arrest and held until he could see a judge. He was then released by the court to his parents, who took him to an in-patient mental health hospital. Bazan now lives at his parents’ home and continues to pursue mental health treatment.

Tracy said he believes Bazan is not a threat to the public or himself.

As required by state law, Tiedeman-Mueller was placed on administrative leave following the March incident, the Daily News reported last year.

Tiedeman-Mueller has been a WSU police officer for two and a half years and was previously a Latah County Sheriff’s deputy for three and a half years.

He was reinstalled a week or two after the incident when the WSU Police Department finished its administrative processes.

Tracy wrote that Washington State Patrol was the lead agency for the investigation into this incident. The investigation included footage from the officers’ body cameras and witness interviews.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.