FIFE, WA – A criminal investigation into the fatal 2013 police shooting of an unarmed Black man in Fife will be reopened under Washington’s new review process for cases where law enforcement has used lethal force.
This is the first such case the state’s nascent Office of Independent Investigations has sent to prosecutors to take another look at.
In May 2013, Leonard Thomas’ mother called 911 after they got into a dispute over his four-year-old son, according to court documents. When police arrived, Thomas, 30, holed up inside his house with his son and refused to leave.
A lengthy standoff ensued with a SWAT team. He repeatedly told police to leave. Authorities told Thomas to let his son go. He refused, saying the boy was in no danger.
He eventually agreed to let his mother take his son, but officers deployed explosives to breach the home’s back door, shooting his dog as they entered. He lurched for his son, who authorities repeatedly called a hostage.
Officer Brian Markert, a Lakewood police sniper, shot Thomas with a .308-caliber rifle in the lower abdomen, according to court records. This was despite Thomas saying he didn’t have a weapon.
After an investigation by police across Pierce County, prosecutors found the fatal shooting justified.
“Officer Markert, an expert marksman, did what was necessary to protect a child,” Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist said at the time.
In 2017, a federal court jury awarded Thomas’ parents and son more than $15 million after they sued the cities of Lakewood and Fife, as well as specific officers. After an appeal, a settlement dropped the payout to $12.5 million.
At trial, Markert had claimed he shot Thomas out of fear for the child.
Critics of the officers said that they’d taken an overly militaristic approach in responding to the incident.
Leonard Thomas’ father, Fred Thomas, serves as co-chair of the Office of Independent Investigations advisory board, which helps guide the office’s hiring and policy decisions.
To avoid a conflict of interest, the agency handed off the review of Thomas’ death to a third-party organization.
“Avoiding conflicts of interest, or even the appearance of a conflict of interest, is critical to ensuring that all parties can trust our work to be fair and unbiased,” Roger Rogoff, director of the Office of Independent Investigations, said in a statement. “OII had a conflict of interest that prevented it from making a decision free from actual or apparent bias, and therefore referring this matter to a neutral third party was the right choice.”
One of the officers accused of escalating the situation before Thomas’ death, Mike Wiley, later shot and killed a driver during a traffic stop in 2020. The city of Lakewood settled a civil case over the driver’s death for $8 million. Pierce County prosecutors declined to charge Wiley.
Wiley is now the Lakewood Police Department’s training coordinator, city spokesperson Brynn Grimley said. Markert is in the patrol division. The commander of the SWAT team that killed Thomas, Mike Zaro, retired in 2023.
Grimley otherwise declined to comment on the Office of Independent Investigations’ referral to prosecutors.
The state Legislature created the Office of Independent Investigations in 2021 in the wake of widespread protests around the U.S. over the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. Supporters saw it as necessary to avoid the perception that police were investigating fellow officers involved in deadly incidents.
It took years to get the office off the ground to investigate new cases, which the agency started taking on in December.
But since 2023, the office’s investigators have also accepted requests from the public to review older cases when police used deadly force and new evidence has been discovered.
Not long after, Thomas’ mother, Annalesa Thomas, asked the agency to open a new criminal investigation into her son’s death.
The civil lawsuit over Thomas’s killing turned up evidence that warranted a new criminal investigation, former King County Superior Court Judge William Downing determined as a third-party reviewer from JAMS, formerly known as Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services.
Rogoff also used to serve on the King County Superior Court bench. An agency spokesperson said Rogoff and Downing had no contact during the review process.
What exact evidence Downing was referring to is unclear. The Office of Independent Investigations declined to share most case files as the inquiry is active.
The case now goes to the Pierce County prosecutor’s office, which declined to charge the officers involved in Thomas’ death in 2013.
“Like any officer-involved fatal incident referral, the Prosecuting Attorney and experienced [deputy prosecuting attorneys] will be reviewing the case, requesting any follow-up that may be needed, and then making a charging decision after a full review,” spokesperson Adam Faber said Monday.
The Office of Independent Investigations is reviewing nine other cases. Lawmakers this legislative session cut the fledgling team’s budget, leaving advocates worried it could lose momentum. But Rogoff has said he still expects his agency to expand.
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