The man Vancouver police killed June 17 was wielding a replica gun at the time, investigators said Wednesday.
Video footage previously released by Vancouver police shows officers closing in on Jonathan Nelson, 40, after he had allegedly threatened people in a McDonald’s parking lot with a gun. As Nelson walked down Northeast Andresen Road around 1 a.m., he refused police commands to stop, and officers released a police dog to take him down.
Nelson pulled out what appeared to be a gun and struggled on the ground as the dog pulled at him before multiple officers opened fire and the man fell back and lay still. In addition to what they previously said was a gun, officers took a knife from Nelson’s hand.
What Nelson had pulled out was a “replica Colt 1911 airsoft gun,” the Clark County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. The agency is leading the investigation into the shooting.
Nelson was the second person killed by Vancouver police in 10 days, after police shot Vadim Sashchenko June 8.
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