Report gives MCSO mostly clear mark

A required investigation following the March 24, 2020, fatal shooting of Kathryn Hale by Mason County Sheriff’s Deputy Dylan Helser largely complied with state laws, but the investigating team failed to document certain communications and properly restrict access to the case file, according to a Feb. 1 report by the Washington State Auditor’s office. The report says the Mason County Sheriff’s Office and Region 3 Critical Investigation Team, led by investigators from the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Grays Harbor and Lewis county sheriff’s offices, “followed most of the requirements to ensure the investigation into Kathryn Hale’s death was independent, transparent, credible, and communicated to the public timely, as state laws and rules require.”

Investigators didn’t properly document giving Hale’s family mandated updates on significant developments or advance notice of news releases and did not restrict access to the case file to team members involved in the investigation, according to the report.

Helser was attempting to arrest Hale when she got back in her car and repeatedly hit Helser’s patrol vehicle.

“Hale drove straight toward Helser. While running for cover, Helser fired five or six rounds at Hale. Hale rolled the car forward and pinned Helser briefly against his patrol car. Once Hale drove past the patrol car and Helser’s legs were freed, he chased Hale to the end of the driveway. Hale sped into traffic with the car’s headlights off, narrowly avoiding another collision. Helser fired three or four more times toward her car,” according to the audit.

Helser was taken to the hospital for his injuries and Hale later died at the hospital.

Chief Criminal Deputy Jason Dracobly spoke with the Journal about the audit, pushing back on the access findings.

“Our deputies did not have access to records,” he said.

This is also what Detective Sgt. Jeff Rhoades told auditors in a letter included in the report. Rhoades said each agency in the Region 3 investigating team has their own records management system that is only accessible by members of the respective agencies. State law doesn’t say the investigating team “is required to restrict access to their files to anyone, except the involved agency,” Rhoades wrote, calling the finding an “overreach.”

Dracobly said that while the department timely kept Hale’s family informed about the investigation, “we can do a better job of documentation in reports.”

WAC 139-12-030, pertaining to use of force investigations, went into effect Jan. 6, 2020, so its lengthy requirements were relatively new at the time of Hale’s shooting.

Some of those requirements include: immediately calling an incident investigation team after use of deadly force, requiring the involved agency to relinquish control of the scene, making the names of the team available to the public, having a minimum of two nonlaw enforcement community representatives from the impacted communities assigned to the team to vet prospective investigators and review conflict of interest statements within 72 hours of the commencement of the investigation and also provide a copy of all press releases to the nonlaw enforcement community member prior to release, assigning an investigation team member as family liaison to the family member against whom deadly force has been used, prohibiting the team and involved agency from providing the media with criminal background information of the person against whom deadly force has been used, unless it is specifically requested.

Dracobly said MCSO was doing the best they could to comply.

He said the department has learned from the audit.

“You do what’s best for the public,” Dracobly said.