Letter to CMII regarding the death of Timothy Green

The Olympia Chapter of SURJ (Showing Up For Racial Justice) sends our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Black, disabled, loved one, Timothy Green. Timothy Green was a whole person, a son, father of two, a musician, a poet, an artist, a friend and a well loved member of our community. Timothy was killed August 22, 2022 at approximately 10:35am by Olympia Police Officers. He was shot three times while walking and holding a book. Timothy should still be alive today. We are mourning for yet another community member unjustly murdered due to a racist system of policing. We see this happen nationwide, we see this happen locally. We are not immune here in our supposedly safe and progressive town. It’s time we hold each other accountable and make some real changes. Let’s begin by fighting for Justice for Timothy Green.

We failed Timothy Green before he was even murdered by the police. Timothy should have been housed and receiving support for his mental health. Police knew that he was disabled and needed care and ended up killing him. This is a direct attack on Black people, disabled people, poor people, people with mental illnesses, and members of the unhoused community. In the statement put out by Timothy’s family, they shared “As a family, we have dreaded the possibility that Tim would meet this very outcome. We have read the accounts of other individuals in mental health crises. We know that people who have mental health issues are at a higher risk of being killed by police and this is even more so for Black men like Tim.

We have lived with the fear and a deep understanding of the vulnerability of Tim and others like Tim. We have supported reforms to police training and accountability that should protect the lives of people like our son, Tim.” What a devastating loss for our whole community that Timothy was unjustly murdered at only 37 years old. He deserved better. We deserve
better. Let’s work together to build the world we want to see.

We think back to the racist shooting of Andre Thompson and Bryson Chaplin (they survived!) by OPD officer Ryan Donald in 2015, and the suspicious death and mishandling of the investigation of Black loved one Yvonne McDonald that has continued to be swept under the rug. We see time and again that our city’s primary goal is to keep up its good image, not to uncover the truth. Mayor Selby even stated publicly that the shooting of Andre and Bryson by Olympia Police
officer Ryan Donald was due to racism during her press conference on June 5, 2022 in response to the murder of George Floyd. Stating that this was a racist shooting, yet still employing the same officer, is unethical and outrageous. This time it must be different. We join Timothy’s family in calling for full transparency and independence in the investigation into his death.

In the cases of Andre Thompson and Bryson Chaplin, and Yvonne McDonald, the city misused taxpayer dollars to cover up the actions of their police and employees. The public made demands for independent investigations, and in both cases the city did not comply. Black lives are still being taken and until police officers are held to the same letter of law that private citizens are, this violence will not stop. If we believe that Black Lives Matter then we must not back down until Timothy Green’s family and the others get justice.

Timothy’s murder is being investigated by Capital Metro Independent Investigations Team (CMII), a group comprised primarily of detectives and sergeants from Lacey, Tumwater, and Yelm Police Department. Investigations into misconduct conducted by police in surrounding jurisdictions are by nature not impartial. Washington State has acknowledged this by creating the new Office of Independent Investigations (OII), which takes use-of-force investigations out of the hands of law enforcement officers. Because this office is not yet ready to take on  investigations, we as a community need to keep the CMII accountable. We are including our letter to CMII in this press release and expect that they make sure that each one of the concerns is addressed in the final reporting of their investigation.

We are asking our community to step up. Please join us for a community gathering with Love & Justice for Timothy Green this Saturday, September 10th at 4:30 PM. We will gather in solidarity with other community members and organizations on the corner of Sleater Kinney and Martin Way for conversation and learning. We hope to see you there.

Sincerely,

Olympia Showing Up for Racial Justice