VIDEO: Clark County Sheriff's Office releases footage of deputy-involved shooting
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Clark County Sheriff’s Office released footage on Wednesday of a deputy-involved shooting that occurred in Camas on the night of Nov. 13.
The shooting occurred after the Clark County Sheriff’s Office received 13 911 calls about gunshots heard from homes near the 2300 block of Northeast Everett Street shortly after 10 p.m. Sheriff’s deputies used a drone to locate shooting suspect Patrick Wetzel outside a home in the area and received information over the radio that he was possibly armed with a revolver. Wetzel had a no-contact order barring him from being at the home or possessing a gun, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office said.
The suspect was later seen getting in a car and deputies moved in to make an arrest at approximately 11:06 p.m. During the encounter, Wetzel is said to have pointed a gun at deputies and yelled at them to get off the property. Moments later, Deputy Forrest Gonzalez fires three shots, hitting Wetzel in the neck.
“All right, Steve, I’m going to take a shot on this guy if he’s pointing at us,” Gonzalez is heard saying in the footage.
Wetzel was given medical aid and taken to a nearby hospital. No other injuries were suffered during the shooting. Full video of the deputy-involved shooting contains graphic content.
Four deputies were placed on critical incident leave following the shooting, including the involved deputy and three deputies who witnessed the shooting.
The deputy-involved shooting is under investigation by the Southwest Washington Independent Investigative Response Team, which is led by the Washington State Patrol.
“The Sheriff's Office cannot comment on the video release or the ongoing investigation,” the Clark County Sheriff’s Office said. “The video's release is meant to provide visual context of the incident, as CCSO understands it to have occurred, according to the BWC video. The video does not encompass the complete context of all recordings captured by all of the body worn cameras.”