PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has declined to file criminal charges against two Port Angeles Police Department officers involved in the shooting death of Joseph Jacob Hadden.
Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols notified law enforcement agencies Jan. 16 that he had determined the officers acted appropriately when they used deadly force because Hadden posed an imminent threat to themselves and others.
Nichols’ report will be used to complete the PAPD’s administrative review of the shooting.
Hadden, 39, died on May 3, 2024, when he was confronted by two police officers responding to a hold-up alarm at Chase Bank, 101 W. Front St.
According to Nichols’ report, after he exited the bank, Hadden re-entered it and then exited it again. The officers called out to Hadden, who at that point was considered a possible robbery suspect.
The officers drew their service revolvers when Hadden told them he had a gun. He ignored their commands to show them his hands and drop his weapon; he began walking toward the officers, pulled a gun out of his pocket and pointed it at them. Hammond was about 10 yards from the officers when they shot him, according to the report.
Law enforcement and first responders immediately administered aid to Hadden, but he died at the scene. His autopsy report recorded his cause of death as “multiple gunshot wounds” and manner of death as “homicide,” according to the report.
Hadden’s gun was determined to be a non-functioning black plastic replica of a semi-automatic pistol, according to the report.
Hadden later was found to have been under the influence of controlled substances at the time of his death. In his report, Nichols said he did not use that fact and other information related to Hadden’s medical history in his decision not to charge the officers because they were unaware of them during the incident.
The Peninsula Daily News is not naming the officers because they have not been charged with a crime.
The PAPD’s administrative review protocol for the incident involves an administrative investigation and a board of review, Police Chief Brian Smith said. The board is primarily composed of staff from different departments with the PAPD with one officer from an outside agency who will determine whether the officers’ actions followed PAPD policy and procedures.
“We haven’t completed the administrative review yet, but what Prosecutor Nichols has in his report is something that will be added to our existing and ongoing process,” Smith said.
Smith will review the investigation and board’s findings and make a decision on what actions, if any, need to be taken.
The last shooting involving the PAPD took place May 28, 2016, when James Edward Sweet opened fire on four officers after a high-speed chase ended at the intersection of U.S. Highway 101 and Monroe Road. None of the officers were injured. Sweet pleaded guilty to first- and second-degree assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to 37 years in prison.
The Kitsap Critical Incident Response Team investigated the Hadden shooting, as it does all police deadly force incidents among its 10 Olympic Peninsula law enforcement agency members, which include the PAPD and the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
