Rocendo Arias was 23 and a resident of Yakima, Washington when he was shot and killed on January 4, 2014, at a car wash after an encounter with Officer Casey Gillette of the Yakima Police Department. Gillette approached Arias, who was sitting in his car because he believed Arias might be impaired. Gillette said he saw Arias holding what appeared to be a gun and that Arias lunged toward him, prompting him to fire; the object later proved to be an airsoft gun.

The Yakima County Prosecutor’s Office investigated and cleared Officer Gillette, finding the shooting justified; the Yakima Police Department’s internal review also identified no issues and the department stood by the decision. Arias’s family disputed that account, saying he was asleep in his car and posed no immediate threat. They filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court against Officer Gillette and the city of Yakima seeking damages and changes in police use and reporting of force, alleging Gillette should have attempted to wake Arias and pointing to inconsistencies over whether Arias lunged.

Does anyone have additional details about the encounter at the car wash or about the family’s lawsuit?