CASE BACKGROUND: In the case of Ostling vs. Bainbridge Island, jurors in U.S. District court are wrestling with two conflicting viewpoints: either two Bainbridge Island police officers were just doing “the best they could under the circumstances,” in responding to Douglas Ostling’s home in October 2010, or they caused a “preventable death that would’ve been avoided if they’d followed their own policy manual.”

The case, having been ongoing three weeks now, is set to wrap up this week. Kitsap Sun Reporter Tristan Baurick will be in court Tuesday and Wednesday covering the testimony, which you can follow live below.

Share on Facebook

CASE BACKGROUND: Today, the plaintiffs will call the two police officers, who responded to the Ostling home on Oct. 26, 2010.

Officers Jeff Benkert and David Portrey arrived at the Ostlings’ Springridge Drive home just before 9 p.m. that night. After a confrontation, Benkert fired his duty weapon, hitting 43-year-old Douglas Ostling in the leg.

Ostling ultimately died from the injury.

In opening statements, the Ostling’s attorney said that the 43-year-old’s rights were violated because police did not get a warrant to go check on him, that the shooting was unnecessary and that authorities denied aid to Douglas Ostling before he bled to death.

Share on Facebook

On Tuesday night, Bainbridge Island police shot and killed an ax-wielding man, according to the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office.

It’s the fifth time this year that police — on duty or off — on the Kitsap Peninsula have resorted to lethal force. Here are the previous incidents:

In February, Suquamish officers opened fire on a man who drove a car at them on Nelson Street. The shooting was justified, according to the Kitsap County Prosecutor’s Office.

In July, a Poulsbo officer on a traffic stop in Silverdale shot and killed a Bremerton man who police said was reaching for a gun. That shooting was also ruled justified by the prosecutor.

In September, an off-duty Washington State trooper at his home in Olalla shot and killed a man who’d hit him in the head with a steel rod. That shooting remains under investigation.

In early October, a Mason County deputy was hit in the leg with gunfire following a chase in Allyn. Though the investigation is not complete, early reports indicate a deputy had fired a shot at the suspect’s car after he’d begun using it as a “deadly weapon,” according to the sheriff’s office.

Share on Facebook