Vancouver police outline fatal shooting events

VANCOUVER, Wash. - Family members of a man shot and killed by police said they want answers as to why fatal force was used during a late-night incident in Vancouver over the weekend.

The shooting took place early Saturday morning at northeast 162nd and 34th.
     
Police went to a house to arrest one man but ended up shooting and killing another man who came near the front door.
     
Police said the victim, Sean T. Makarowsky, 24, had a gun, and officers thought he might be a threat.

Vancouver police identified the officer who fired his sidearm as Cpl. Steve Lobdell, who is also a firearms instructor for the Vancouver Police Department. He is a 17-year veteran of the department.

At a news conference Monday, police gave this description of the events surrounding that night:

A team of officers went to a home at 3010 N.E. 162nd Avenue in Vancouver early Saturday after learning some suspected gang members planned to rob the place of guns, drugs and money. Shortly after midnight, the team of six officers announced they had a warrant while pounding on the door.

One officer, Cpl. Lobdell, apparently saw someone inside the house peer through a front window while holding a handgun. Lobdell shouted "Gun!" and fired two shots through the window, striking Makarowsky.

After the shooting, officers reportedly kicked in the door to the residence and tried in vain to revive Makarowsky with cardiopulmonary resuscitation. He was later pronounced dead at an area hospital.

Next to Makarowsky, officers found a .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun that was fully loaded with six rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber, police said.

Police said they found 32 small marijuana plants in a basement as well as equipment for a growing operation, $2,500 in cash and several pounds of marijuana.

Relatives of Makarowsky refused to call their nephew's death an accident.

"I want answers," Sean's uncle Dean Makarowsky said, "and I'm not going for no cover up. No 'whoops we made a mistake.' No. I want the truth."

Kim Makarowsky, Sean's aunt, said, "If you can't even grab your gun in your own home and protect yourself from someone pounding on your door or screaming outside your house, then what do we have? It's wrong."

Kim Makarowsky said her nephew never even talked about guns but could talk endlessly about his, 3-year-old daughter, Emily.

"He was the most gentle person. He loved life. He love his niece's and nephews, his aunts and uncles. He was a very loving giving soul," she said.

Dean Makarowsky said Sean was going through a custody fight involving his daughter. Family members say Makarowsky may have had a weapon out of fear he was going to be robbed.

Officers also arrested Erik James Paulsen, 38, on several outstanding Clark County district court warrants, police said. Paulsen was apparently the target of the search.

The shooting is being investigated by Vancouver's Major Crimes team and the Clark County Sheriff's Department.