Clark County Deputy Sean Boyle shot Jenoah Donald in the head on February 4th and today his lawyer announced that he succumbed to his injuries early this morning after being taken off life support yesterday. He was 30 years old. Donald had been stopped for a faulty tail light while driving near a suspected drug house in Hazel Dell. Deputies say that Donald struggled when they tried to remove him from his vehicle and two shots were fired. He was unarmed, could have reached for a drill in his car but didn't, and the worst the Clark County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) can say of him is that he grabbed Boyle's vest and pulled him into the car slightly. At no point has the CCSO accused Donald of doing anything that endangered the life of Deputy Boyle, but despite that Boyle felt compelled to shoot him in the head.
The faulty tail light was obviously an excuse used by Boyle to pull over a black man driving near what he suspected to be a drug house. That was a vindictive stop if ever there was one. The actions of a police officer can be called vindictive when they are motivated by something other than the law violation they technically cite as the reason for the stop. If that motivation relates to a lawful activity or someone being part of a protected class then that impermissible motivation makes the act of enforcing the law in such cases selective enforcement. It is not a crime to drive near a drug house and it is not a crime to be African American, but all too often doing one while being is all officers need to feel justified stopping someone.
Search warrants served on Donald's vehicle after he was shot said that police were looking for "any ball-handled tool or implement with a sharpened end or any other sharp-edged tool." The closest thing to that description found in Donald's car was a cordless drill. None of the deputies involved have accused Donald of ever trying to pick up the drill. Even if he had a gun, being in a vehicle near a weapon is not a crime and it certainly does not justify shooting someone even if they are resisting.
No drugs were found in his car. Obviously Deputy Boyle's racist suspicion that a black man driving near a suspected drug house must have drugs did not pan out. Jenoah Donald was racially profiled and murdered.
Accessories to this murder include Deputies Greg Agar and Holly Troupe. They have been placed on paid administrative leave along with Deputy Boyle.