WSU Police Department sergeant identified as officer who fired fatal shot during standoff

The Washington State University Police Department announced that WSU Police Sgt. Brett Boyd was the officer who used lethal force during a standoff that happened at a Pullman apartment Dec. 15.

Boyd has been placed on administrative leave, according to a WSUPD news release, which is standard after an officer uses deadly force.

Pullman Police Department officers responded to a “weapons offense” at the Coffee House Apartments on the 1000 block of SE Latah Street at 8 p.m. Dec. 14, according to the news release. Officers found the man, later identified as 36-year-old Brent Lee Kopacka, was threatening to kill his roommates in their apartment.

Officers tried speaking to Kopacka, but he barricaded himself inside his apartment, according to past reporting. Whitman County requested assistance from the Washington State Patrol at 9 p.m. that night. Pullman police crisis negotiators and the Whitman County Regional SWAT team responded, and attempted to use "verbal negotiations and less lethal tools," according to the news release.

Kopacka discharged a weapon in his apartment during the standoff, according to a previous news release.

Kopacka was fatally shot by a SWAT team member, now identified as Boyd, around 4 a.m. Thursday morning, according to a news release. After failed negotiations, exacerbated behavior and a continued danger to the community and officers, the SWAT team used lethal force, according to past reporting.

Kopacka was pronounced dead at the scene by the SWAT team after clearing the complex. No officers were injured during the incident, according to the news release.

Working as an officer at the WSUPD since 2008, Boyd was promoted to corporal in 2016 and then sergeant in 2022, according to the news release. He’s been a member of the SWAT team since 2012, and also is a field-trained officer, certified patrol tactics instructor and a certified firearms instructor for handguns, rifles and shotguns.

WSUPD follows a process for officers involved in shootings before returning to duty, according to the news release. The officer is placed on temporary paid administrative leave, must provide a full statement and is assessed by a mental health professional. The chief of the department then determines if the officer can return to duty.

The coroner identified Kopacka and his cause of death Monday in a news release. Kopacka’s death was because of a gunshot wound and the manner of death was ruled a homicide.

The WSP and the Palouse Area Law Enforcement Critical Incident Investigation Response Team (PALECIIRT) are leading the investigation of this incident, according to a news release. Per Washington state law, any investigation must be completed by an independent agency when an officer uses deadly force.

The SWAT team includes officers from the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office, Pullman Police Department and WSU Police Department.

Once PALECIIRT finishes its investigation, the case will be passed onto the Whitman County Prosecutor's Office for further review.

Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com or on Twitter @Emily_A_Pearce.