The Whitman County Prosecutor’s Office is considering charges against WSU Police Officer Dillon Tiedeman-Mueller after the officer-involved shooting at Global Scholars Hall in March.
The shooting occurred after 20-year-old John Bazan called police on himself, police said. The initial call to WSU police came from Bazan, who had reported a subject with a knife and described himself.
Officer Tiedeman-Mueller decided to use deadly force after determining Bazan was armed with a knife and a previous attempt to deploy a taser was unsuccessful, according to police. Bazan was not struck, but a subsequent taser deployment helped officers end the incident and take Bazan into custody.
After Bazan was evaluated at Pullman Regional Hospital, he was transported to the Whitman County Jail. According to police, he was then charged with assault, resisting arrest, intimidation of a public servant and obstruction.
Whitman County Prosecutor Denis Tracy later dropped Bazan’s initial charges, citing special circumstances surrounding Bazan’s mental health, according to Pullman Radio.
“I decline to charge him because this is all due to his mental illness, which is now being dealt with at an in-patient treatment facility,” Tracy said, according to Pullman Radio. “In my judgment, it’s best for the community to not interrupt his mental treatment with a criminal case.”
In Tracy’s decision to drop the charges against Bazan, Tracy also emphasized Bazan’s intent.
“There is no doubt about what he was trying to do,” Tracy said. “There is also no doubt that he was not trying to commit any crime other than to kill himself.”
Following the shooting, Tiedeman-Mueller was placed on administrative leave in accordance with protocol, according to police. At the time of the shooting, Tiedeman-Mueller, a former Latah County Sheriff’s Deputy, had been with WSU PD for two and a half years.
Also in compliance with protocol, the Palouse Area Law Enforcement Critical Incident Investigative Response Team, led by the Washington State Patrol, began their independent investigation into the incident.
The independent investigation by PALECIIRT concluded on Nov. 28, according to a press release from WSP. The case was subsequently submitted to the Whitman County Prosecutor’s Office for review.
Whether the prosecutor’s office decides to charge Tiedeman-Mueller will depend on whether use of deadly force was justified.
“Whether or not Mr. Bazan is charged with a crime […] is not dispositive on the results of the state patrol’s investigation,” Tracy said. “The state patrol’s investigation is focused on what did the officer know at the time when he made that split second decision to use deadly force.”
