Pierce County’s elected prosecutor has ruled that Sheriff’s Office deputies were justified in fatally shooting a 25-year-old man who threatened to shoot up the tavern he was fired from and later pointed a handgun at deputies.
The man who was killed, Branden Vorak, also held what appeared to be a fragmentation grenade during the confrontation and pulled its pin, but a bomb squad later found it was a “dummy” with no explosive charge, according to a letter Prosecutor Mary Robnett sent Tuesday to Sheriff Keith Swank.
The Pierce County Force Investigation Team , which investigates police uses of deadly force, determined the 9 mm handgun Vorak pulled was loaded. Robnett’s letter about the shooting included a factual summary it said was derived from police reports, 911 calls, witness statements, body-camera recordings and other evidence…