Ruben Ramirez, the now retired police officer who served with the Centralia Police Department for over 23 years, won’t be facing charges for the fatal Jan. 12 shooting of 23-year-old Alecandro Castaneda — at least pending additional reports from the Washington state Office of Independent Investigations (OII).
The news comes via a final letter sent by Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer to OII dated Aug. 6.
The letter concludes, based on the totality of the circumstances, that Ramirez acted in good faith when he used deadly force during the fatal incident with Castaneda. “Good faith,” as outlined in state law, considers all the facts, circumstances and information known to the officer at the time.
OII previously released a 61-page final case report detailing evidence from 911 calls, officer body cameras, interviews and the scene of the incident. The findings were then forwarded to the prosecutor’s office in Lewis County to determine whether charges would be filed in the case.
OII was notified of the incident about 21 minutes after Ramirez reported that shots had been fired. Members of the investigative team assumed authority over the incident that day.
According to the report, Castaneda died at the scene from gunshot wounds to his left thigh and chest. The shots followed a physical altercation between Ramirez and Castaneda in which Castaneda refused to step outside an apartment complex after being told he was under arrest.
Ramirez had arrived at the scene to investigate a report of a physical domestic disturbance. The caller said Castaneda had pushed her and was breaking doors in the apartment. She further noted that she was pregnant and that her 6-year-old son was in the home.
The report indicates that, after Castaneda pulled away from Ramirez and retreated into the bedroom, Ramirez drew his Taser and ordered Castaneda to the ground. Castaneda did not comply and instead initiated a physical encounter. A struggle ensued. Officer Ramirez either fell or was pushed to the floor.
Reviewing body camera footage, investigators wrote that a shot was heard “approximately eight seconds from the time Castaneda appeared to swipe at Officer Ramirez’s Taser and the physical altercation began.” A second shot came moments later.
Ramirez reported “shots fired” on the radio just after the second gunshot. Another officer arrived at the scene shortly thereafter and assisted Ramirez in attempting to render aid to Castaneda.
Despite life-saving measures, medics pronounced Castaneda dead at the scene. Ramirez was subsequently placed on leave, per department policy. His previously-planned retirement came later that month.
The full OII case report can be read online at https://tinyurl.com/354k687c.
In Meyer’s letter to OII, the prosecuting attorney stated that Officer Ramirez attempted to deescalate the situation, first through officer presence, and then, when that failed, through verbal commands.
“After that was unsuccessful, Officer Ramirez attempted to arrest Mr. Castaneda. Mr. Castaneda opted to ignore all of these attempts,” Meyer wrote.
Meyer further stated that Ramirez then attempted a “less-lethal option of deploying his Taser.”
“That was ineffective and Mr. Castenada chose to physically assault Officer Ramirez. Not only did Mr. Castaneda choose to assault Officer Ramirez, he also attempted to disarm Officer Ramirez,” wrote Meyer.
According to Meyer, Castaneda’s actions made it clear he had no interest in a peaceful resolution, and Ramirez’s use of deadly force was necessary in this matter.
In the analysis portion of the letter, Meyer wrote that he found much of the information provided by OII, as it pertains to a determination of good faith, to be “immaterial to the review, analysis, and the ultimate conclusions reached here.” While noting it could be potentially relevant in other circumstances, Castaneda’s mental health history, prior interaction with police or toxicology report “can have no bearing on the decision to use deadly force and has no bearing on the analysis and conclusions reached here.”
In his conclusion, Meyer wrote, “What could have very easily ended in a simple charge of malicious mischief domestic violence and assault in the fourth-degree domestic violence instead ended in the death of Mr. Castaneda.”
The prosecuting attorney noted in his letter that, while additional reports from OII do not appear to be forthcoming, any such reports will be reviewed.
Meyer also expressed several frustrations in his letter to the office, including the delay in the completion of the investigation.
In an additional letter to Director Roger Rogoff of OII, Meyer acknowledged this was only OII’s second investigation, but wrote that he found the office's way of obtaining search warrants to be problematic, stating that in multiple applications for search warrants, OII “accuses Officer Ramirez of criminal activity and insinuates Officer Ramirez did not cooperate with the investigation.”
Meyer concluded by emphasizing it is “incumbent on all involved to be transparent in the concerns as they are presented.”
OII was created by the Washington state Legislature in 2021 to conduct independent investigations of deadly uses of force by police. The office began its work in the southwestern part of the state, with plans to expand to all of Washington in the years ahead.
