A Mill Creek police sergeant feared for his life when he drew his service weapon and fatally shot a Kent man on an early January morning in a Mill Creek cul-de-sac, a senior Snohomish County deputy prosecutor wrote Wednesday.
The death of Jesse Quincy is sad and unfortunate, but was not the result of a criminal act by Sgt. Ken Neaville, said Mark Roe, the senior deputy prosecutor reviewing the Jan. 25 death investigation.
Roe outlined in a letter to the lead detectives why he decided against filing criminal charges against Neaville. Roe also discussed his decision in a meeting last week with Quincy’s parents and siblings, he said.
“Any loss of life is tragic, and deserves a thorough investigation, especially when law enforcement personnel were involved. The family of the deceased and the general public all deserve to know if the officer engaged in any criminal or improper behavior,” Roe wrote. “Police officers are sworn to serve and protect, and so their actions should withstand such scrutiny. Sgt. Neaville’s actions do.”
Evidence shows that Neaville only fired his weapon when he was in danger of being run down by Quincy, who was driving a large pickup, Roe wrote.
“When the truck came directly at him, Sgt. Neaville had every right to defend himself as would any other person in those same circumstances,” Roe wrote. “He will not be charged with a crime because it seems clear that he didn’t commit one.”
The investigation revealed that Quincy’s friends been looking for cars to break into and were being chased by police, according to the investigation. They abandoned the car they were in and ran off. Quincy drove to the Mill Creek neighborhood to find them, Roe wrote.
Neaville, who was looking for the thieves, spotted an idling pickup in a driveway where it didn’t belong and pulled his patrol car in behind the truck. The sergeant, a 20-year veteran, didn’t know Quincy, or that the Kent man was scheduled to soon be sentenced for a number of felony convictions, Roe wrote. Quincy was facing up to five years in prison for possession of stolen vehicles and methamphetamine and unlawful possession of a firearm.
The day before he was shot, Quincy had persuaded a judge to delay his sentence for 10 days to get his affairs in order.
That morning, “a phone call Mr. Quincy was in the middle of making shows that Mr. Quincy however, knew it was a police officer behind him, and he wasn’t happy about it,” Roe wrote.
Detectives determined that Neaville got out of his car and started to walk up to the truck to investigate.
Quincy tried to drive away, Roe wrote. He jockeyed back and forth in an attempt to escape and then eventually hit a garage. The truck was stopped when Neaville crossed behind it to get to the passenger side. He saw Quincy look at him. Before the officer had finished getting around the back of the truck, it began to rapidly accelerate toward him. Neaville believed the driver was trying to run him down, Roe wrote.
Neaville lunged to the right to avoid being hit and “for what appears to be the first time in his decades-long career, pulled the trigger in the line of duty,” Roe wrote.
Though he was shot, Quincy was able to turn the wheel and drive across the street where he hit two cars in a neighbor’s driveway.
Roe said evidence showed that the “fear of being run over was the only reason Sgt. Neaville fired.”
Neaville didn’t shoot at Quincy when the man first attempted to escape or later when the truck sped off, Roe wrote. The police officer only fired his gun when he was in danger of being killed.
“Sgt. Neaville clearly shot in self-defense, and for no other reason,” Roe wrote.
Reporter Diana Hefley writes for the Herald
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