BENTON COUNTY PROSECUTOR
7122 West Okanogan Place
Kennewick WA 99336
(509) 735-3591  Fax (509) 222-3705
MEMORANDUM
TO:
Captain Jeff Taylor
FROM:
Julie Long
DATE:
December 4, 2015
RE:
SIU investigation regarding the shooting of Robert Bevel by Benton County
Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Surplus
After reviewing the complete SIU investigative report, we conclude that Deputy Scott Surplus’s
shooting of Robert Bevel was justified due to a perceived threat of serious injury or death to his
person or that of the other officers on scene. This determination is based upon the following:
On July 25, 2015, at approximately 1655 hours, Kennewick Police Department Officers Cory
McGee and Justin Peterson responded to 1316 West 26th Avenue in Kennewick regarding an
assault in progress. The complainant, James “Gary” Miller, advised dispatch that officers needed
to respond to the location quickly as Robert Bevel had assaulted his wife, Debra Bevel, and his
son Robert “Bobby” Bevel, Jr., and was currently chasing Bobby down the road.
When Officers McGee and Peterson arrived on the scene, they contacted Mr. Miller, Debra Bevel,
Bobby Bevel, and Bobby’s wife, Adrien. During their investigation, probable cause was
developed for the arrest of Robert Bevel supporting charges of Assault in the Second Degree –
Domestic Violence for injuries sustained by Bobby Bevel, including a broken bone in his hand
and dislocated shoulder, and Assault in the Fourth Degree – Domestic Violence for Robert Bevel
pushing and knocking Debra Bevel to the ground. It was discovered that after the alleged assaults
were committed, the defendant retreated into a trailer in the backyard of the property at 1316 W.
26th Avenue where he had been living for the past five months. Prior to retreating, Mr. Bevel
advised the persons at the home, including Debra Bevel, Bobby Bevel, Adrian Bevel and Gary
Miller, that he would shoot anyone that tried to contact him in the trailer. The parties also indicated
that Mr. Bevel had been drinking alcohol, taking prescription medication including marijuana, and
was suicidal. They also advised officers that Mr. Bevel had a HiPoint 45 caliber firearm in his
possession in the trailer along with ammunition for the firearm.
Based upon these factors, Officers McGee and Peterson called for backup support and additional
officers began arriving at the scene, including the SWAT Team. Officer Jeremy Taylor was one
of the first assisting officers to arrive. While officers were scouting the area to check for positions
to maintain a perimeter, they found that Mr. Bevel had exited the trailer and was sitting on the
front porch and he appeared to be smoking. Officer Taylor gave Mr. Bevel verbal commands,
which included identifying himself as law enforcement officer and requesting that Mr. Bevel show
him his hands. Mr. Bevel was also instructed to walk toward Officer Taylor, that he was under
arrest and needed to cooperate to ensure his safety. This interaction went on for several minutes
wherein Mr. Bevel did in fact show his hands on several occasions. However, he became upset at
Officer Taylor, cursed at him, told him to leave, and retreated back into his trailer. Mr. Bevel also
exited the trailer a second time and walked down the stairs. He was advised to put his hands up
and walk toward the officers on scene. He did not comply and walked back in to the trailer
At this point, former Kennewick Police Department Officer J. Dennis and Officer Berry Duty
began hailing Mr. Bevel in an attempt to have him exit the residence. Mr. Bevel did not respond
to the request. However, he did call 911 at 1812 hours and indicated to the dispatcher that he could
not hear what was being said by Officers Duty and Dennis over the blow horn. The dispatcher
asked Mr. Bevel if he would come out of his trailer to speak with the officers and he responded,
“Hell no.” He further advised the dispatcher that he was not going to jail and that he had a .45 in
his hand and that if the officers come anywhere near him he was going to put a bullet through his
head. Mr. Bevel admitted that he had been drinking and that he had hundreds and hundreds of
rounds of ammunition. He stated that the next time he goes out of the residence if someone is
yelling at him, he might just pull the trigger. Mr. Bevel stated the only officer he would speak to
was Jay Compton and then terminated the call.
Since the hailing was not working, officers terminated their efforts. Officer Rees, a Crisis
Negotiator for the Regional SWAT Team, attempted to make telephone contact with Mr. Bevel.
He attempted several times, but Mr. Bevel did not answer so Officer Rees had to resort to leaving
a message for Mr. Bevel. Officer Rees left messages on Mr. Bevel’s cell phone at 1820, 1835 and
1843 hours, but never received a call back. Crisis Response was also contacted, but no one from
the agency ever responded to the scene.
While attempting to reach Mr. Bevel, Officer Rees received information from Kennewick Police
Department Detective John Dorame that he believed a person near the scene was currently on the
telephone with Mr. Bevel. Officer Rees was able locate a male, later identified as Troy Denny, a
friend of Mr. Bevel. Mr. Denny was on the phone with Mr. Bevel and was attempting to talk him
into coming out of the trailer. Officer Rees tried to have Mr. Bevel speak with him through Mr.
Denny, but Mr. Bevel stated that he would terminate the call if Officer Rees tried to talk to him.
Mr. Bevel told Mr. Denny that, if he exited the trailer, it would be with a gun and he would be
taking people out and that he would take as many as he could with him. Mr. Bevel then advised
Mr. Denny that he was coming out of the trailer. Officer Rees advised Mr. Denny to tell Mr. Bevel
not to come out with anything in his hand and Mr. Denny did so. Officer Rees advised the officers
on scene via radio that Mr. Bevel was coming out of the trailer.
Mr. Bevel then exited his trailer. When he stepped outside, all of the officers within vantage point
were able to see that Mr. Bevel was armed with a black firearm, which he held in his right hand.
Once officers observed the firearm, they gave verbal orders to Mr. Bevel to drop the gun on at
least two occasions. These orders came from Deputy Surplus, as well as other officers. Mr. Bevel
did not comply with the orders and lifted the gun straight in the air above his head. He was
observed to have his finger inside the trigger guard by Kennewick Police Department Detective
Joshua Riley. He then waved the firearm around while it was above his head. Mr. Bevel then
dropped his elbow and his arm in a tomahawk type motion with the gun pointing toward where
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Richland Police Department Officer Todd Woodhouse and Kennewick Police Department Officer
Trever Davis had set up containment.
Based upon these actions, Benton County Sheriff’s Department Commander Jon Law fired a
37mm, less-lethal impact weapon, called a Deuce. The Deuce fires a K08 round, which is a soft,
rubber, less-lethal impact round. The K08 round struck Mr. Bevel in the stomach. Deputy Surplus
fired one round from his .308 sniper rifle. While officers heard one shot before the other, there was
very minimal time between the two shots and it appears that the two rounds were fired virtually
simultaneously. Commander Law’s K08 round struck Mr. Bevel in the stomach causing Mr. Bevel
to slightly buckle. Deputy Surplus’s shot struck Mr. Bevel in the left shoulder area which caused
him to fall to the ground. At the time Deputy Surplus shot his round, Mr. Bevel was still holding
the firearm. After being shot by Deputy Surplus, Mr. Bevel threw the firearm, where it was later
recovered by investigating officers. Once Mr. Bevel was down, Benton County Sheriff’s
Department Corporal Jon Schwarder who was on scene and is a Washington State Advanced
Emergency Medical Technician, provided medical aid to Mr. Bevel until the scene was secured
for medical personnel to approach.
The weapon Mr. Bevel had been armed with, a HiPoint 45 caliber handgun,was secured at the
scene and found to be loaded to full capacity with one live round in the chamber. The magazine
for the weapon had been inserted into the weapon backward. However, the firearm was tested
and found to be operable despite the fact that the magazine was inserted backward. Additionally,
the bullet in the chamber was found to be capable of being discharged with the magazine inserted
backward.
Mr. Bevel’s cellphone was found in the trailer and was examined by Detective Robert Bensen with
the Richland Police Department. The cell phone was found to contain text messages from Mr.
Bevel to his wife, Debra, that stated, “You better call swat I’m not going alive” and “Thanks are
going to kil) me before I give up suaside by cop.”
Robert Bevel was contacted and interviewed regarding the events that transpired on July 25, 2015,
and he claims to have no memory of what had occurred. However, he did claim that his family
members that initially reported the incident would have no reason to fabricate what had occurred
and therefore their rendition of the events would more likely than not be accurate.
A blood draw was taken by Trios Health while the defendant was receiving treatment for the
gunshot wound. The toxicology report shows that the defendant had an alcohol level of .206 and
tested positive for the presence of Benzodiazepine, cannabinoids and TCA.
Based upon the aforementioned rationale, the officers on scene attempted every means available
to them to gain Mr. Bevel’s compliance with the orders to exit the residence without a weapon so
they could contact him. Those methods included, hailing, telephone calls, and verbal commands
during the two previous times he exited the residence. However, Mr. Bevel refused to comply and
based upon his statements to family members and friends, it is believed he wanted the officers on
scene to shoot him. When Mr. Bevel exited the residence the third time, he was armed with a
HiPoint 45 caliber firearm, despite being advised to exit the trailer unarmed, and refused to drop
the weapon despite at least two requests to do so by officers. Mr. Bevel not only refused to drop
the weapon, he raised the firearm and waved it in the air with his finger inside the trigger guard.
He was aiming the firearm in the direction of where Officers Woodhouse and Trever Davis were
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located when Commander Law and Deputy Surplus fired their weapons. Thus, Deputy Surplus’s
use of lethal force was justified.
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