TACOMA, Wash. — A Tacoma police officer who fatally shot Bennie Branch during a struggle at a traffic stop has been legally cleared of wrongdoing, according to a decision by Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney Mary Robnett.
Robnett sent Police Chief Don Ramsdell a 13-page letter Tuesday saying officer Ryan Bradley acted lawfully and justifiably when he fired 11 rounds at Branch, striking him seven times.
Branch died Sept. 8 after walking away from an officer, fleeing the scene as a passenger in his mother’s car, struggling with officers who tried to forcibly remove him from the vehicle and allegedly reaching for an Airsoft gun tucked in his pants.
“Considering all the facts and information known to him, PPO Bradley’s use of deadly force was necessary,” Robnett wrote in the letter. “Mr. Branch was violently and desperately intent on resisting capture. He initially resisted commands at gunpoint, he was able to overcome the effects of a Taser and the efforts of two trained patrol officers who were struggling to physically control him.”
Branch, 24, was high on methamphetamine, had a warrant out for a probation violation and carried an Airsoft gun that closely resembled a semiautomatic handgun, the letter says.
“He was by all appearances an armed carjacker attempting to evade capture who posed an immediate and grave danger to the officers, to Ms. Branch, and anyone nearby,” Robnett wrote. “Under these circumstances, there was no reasonably effective alternative to using deadly force to effectuate the lawful detention of Mr. Branch.”
Some people have cited Branch’s death as an example of police brutality against Black men. More than 6,700 people have signed a petition on Change.org asking that the officer be charged in Branch’s death. They argue Branch wasn’t armed when he was shot — his mother believes an officer had kicked away the Airsoft gun — and say the gunshots to his back prove he was running away rather than escalating the fight with police.
His mother, Brendelin Branch, has filed an excessive force claim in U.S. District Court asking for more than $1 million.
Branch’s death was the first fatal police shooting in Tacoma investigated by an outside agency under Initiative 940, now known as the Law Enforcement Training and Community Safety Act, which went into effect Jan. 6.
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department handled the investigation, generating 567 pages of police reports, computer-aided dispatch logs and officer and witness statements.
Although using outside investigators was not required at the time of Branch’s death, Robnett said in her letter that allowing investigators from the Prosecutor’s Office and Medical Examiner’s Office “full, unobstructed access to all aspects of the investigation from the very beginning” helped immensely.
She noted that the process allowed investigators to see the scene with evidence still in place, be present and participate in interviews of witnesses and involved officers and watch the autopsy.
SHOTS FIRED
Branch went to the 1600 block of East 35th Street around 2:30 a.m. to check on his mom, who was living in her Subaru Legacy and had parked there to sleep.
He spotted a friend in the area and asked for a ride to Seattle, sliding into the vehicle occupied for three women and a man.
As they talked, a patrol officer spotted the car idling and pointing the wrong direction and decided to contact the driver after recognizing the vehicle as one associated with previous gun-related crimes.
Branch got out of the car and quickly walked away, getting into his mom’s Subaru and telling her to drive.
The officer notified dispatch about Branch’s behavior and told them he may have been armed, but decided to continue checking the car he’d stopped for weapons.
Bradley and his partner were responding to a different call when they heard the officer come on the air and decided to go help since that officer was working alone.
While en route, they spotted the Subaru and pulled it over.
Police couldn’t see inside the vehicle because the back window was fogged over but later said they could hear a woman in the driver’s seat shrieking. They thought it could be a carjacking.
“It appeared that Mr. Branch was trying to force his way into the driver’s seat and take control of the car as the female driver resisted and screamed,” according to Robnett’s letter.
The officers ordered Branch to put his hands in the air and get out of the Subaru, but he didn’t.
Bradley’s partner tried to pull Branch out, but he allegedly crawled on top of his mother in an attempt to escape.
Police shocked Branch twice with Tasers, the second time causing him to fall out of the car onto the ground.
Another struggle ensued, with Bradley’s partner hitting Branch in the head and chest up to eight times. Then the officer called out that Branch was going for a gun and moved away from him.
Bradley fired 11 shots, hitting Branch seven times.
Three shots were to the front of the body; four were to the back, according to the autopsy report.
Branch’s family and attorneys say that’s proof he was running from officers rather than fighting them when he was shot. Bradley and the two officers involved in the scuffle say Branch made a full turn as shots rang out, taking three steps before falling on his side and rolling onto his back.
Prosecutors said Bradley and the other two officers tried to first de-escalate the situation with non-deadly force, giving verbal commands and using Tasers and physical force.
“The shooting occurred after the officers’ commands and physical compliance techniques were unsuccessful in controlling Mr. Branch,” Robnett wrote. “Mr. Branch was able to force his way to his feet while in possession of what appeared to be a handgun, against the commands and physical efforts by the officers to detain him and apply restraints.”
WAS BRANCH ARMED WHEN HE WAS SHOT?
Immediately after the shooting, Brendaline Branch began screaming that police had killed her son.
On the ride to the police station, she said she saw an officer brush away the Airsoft gun before Branch was shot. She told investigators the same thing hours later during an interview that almost didn’t happen because she was overcome with grief.
She did say her son used meth, had a warrant out for violating a court order and sometimes talked about dying.
“I couldn’t keep my son, he was on drugs, scared,” according to a transcript of Brendaline Branch’s interview. “He said he wasn’t gonna back, he said they’re gonna have to kill him. I didn’t know he was serious.”
Robnett says in her letter to the police chief that investigators think Brendaline Branch honestly believes her son wasn’t armed when he was shot but thinks she is mistaken.
Bradley used his Taser and dropped it on the ground shortly before opening fire. Prosecutors note that the taser resembles the Airsoft gun carried by Branch.
“Given the stress of the event, the time of night and only fleeting glances, Ms. Branch understandably could have confused the Taser on the ground for the pistol the officers were yelling about,” Robnett wrote.
The report also says Branch’s behavior the night he died is consistent with past police encounters.
During six interactions with law enforcement between August 2015 and August 2019, Branch was suicidal, made attempts to flee or was “highly aggressive,” according to the letter.
The claim filed by Branch’s mother is a precursor to a lawsuit, which is expected to be filed later this month.
The Police Department will next review the case to determine whether Bradley followed internal policies and procedures when he shot Branch. The city’s Deadly Force Review Board will review the case.
On Wednesday, Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards released a statement saying people will likely feel many emotions after learning that Bradley will not face charges for Branch’s death.
“For many, this news will be deeply troubling and difficult to bear. At the same time, for others, this news will be welcomed,” she said. “No matter where you might stand, the fact remains that every loss of life is tragic and cause for grief.”
Cox Media Group
