Clark County officials announced Tuesday the Kelso officer who fatally shot a man Saturday is Austin Foley, 25.
Police were called at 11:55 p.m. Saturday to the 2400 block of Mulberry Avenue in Longview because a man with a gun was reported to be suicidal and homicidal with his wife and children inside a home, according to officials. Joseph R. Coons, 38, died after being transferred to a hospital.
Foley was placed on leave, which investigators say is standard protocol during shootings involving officers. He was first hired at the Kelso Police Department in 2018, transferred to the Vancouver Police Department in 2021, and re-hired by Kelso in April 2022.
The Multnomah County Medical Examiner is conducting the autopsy, according to Clark County officials.
A group of Clark County law enforcement agencies called the Southwest Washington Independent Investigative Response Team is investigating the case.
