WSP caps probe of WSU shooting
State organization looked into knife case in March that led to officer-involved shooting
The Washington State Patrol has completed its investigation into an officer-involved shooting in March at Washington State University.
Whitman County Prosecutor Denis Tracy said he will be reviewing the case to make a decision on the use of deadly force.
WSU Police Assistant Chief Dawn Daniels said she is conducting an internal review into the incident to find if there were any policy or procedural violations.
Court documents show officers were called March 27 to a report of a man with a knife inside the Global Scholars Hall on the Pullman campus. It was later revealed 20-year-old WSU student John Bazan had reported himself as the one with the weapon.
Police contacted Bazan on the fourth floor, who was found concealing his hands in his sweatshirt pockets.
Bazan reportedly began moving toward officers, ignoring repeated instructions to stop and show his hands. In an attempt to stop Bazan advancing, an officer deployed a stun gun, which was ineffective.
Bazan allegedly removed his hands from the sweatshirt in an “aggressive manner,” according to court documents. This prompted WSU Officer Dillon Tiedeman-Mueller to fire a shot from his gun, which missed Bazan.
Another officer tased Bazan and police were able to apprehend him.
Bazan was taken into custody on a variety of charges that were later dropped by the prosecutor’s office. Tracy said the incident was an attempted suicide by cop, and the case was thrown out so Bazan could receive uninterrupted mental health treatment ordered by the court.
As required by state law, Tiedeman-Mueller was placed on administrative leave and a separate law enforcement agency initiated the investigation.
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, according to past Moscow-Pullman Daily News reporting.
Daniels said Tiedeman-Mueller was reinstalled a week or two after the incident when the WSU Police Department finished its administrative processes.
Tracy and Daniels will announce their decision on the case in the coming weeks.
Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com.
