FILE - Two honor guard members stand in front of Vancouver police officer Donald Sahota's casket at a memorial on Feb. 8, 2022. Sahota died after being mistakenly shot by a Clark County sheriff's deputy.
Troy Brynelson / OPB
The widow of a Vancouver police officer is suing Clark County, alleging that the sheriff’s office failed to train the deputy who shot and killed her husband.
Deputy Jon Feller was “trigger happy” and “acted rashly and negligently,” the suit said, when he opened fire on Donald Sahota on Jan. 29, 2022, mistaking him for an armed robbery suspect who had led law enforcement on a high-speed chase.
The lawsuit noted Feller pulled the trigger within four seconds of arriving at Sahota’s home, where the suspect had coincidentally ended up as he fled police.
Feller shot Sahota in the back as he chased the suspect. The Clark County Medical Examiner’s office later confirmed Sahota died from multiple gunshot wounds to the torso.
Feller “failed to identify Officer Sahota, failed to identify the suspect, failed to assess the situation, failed to properly prepare his equipment, failed to follow directives, failed to identify himself as law enforcement, failed to give a proper warning before shooting, and failed to apply accepted standards for use of deadly force,” the lawsuit said.
Attorneys representing the Sahota family declined to answer questions but provided a statement saying they have a strong case.
“Officer Donald Sahota lost his life due to negligence of a Clark County employee,” Vancouver attorney Angus Lee wrote in an email. “We are confident the county will accept responsibility and do right by Officer Sahota’s family.”
The lawsuit, first reported by The Seattle Times, echoes another deadly shooting in Clark County that involved Feller. In 2020, he and two other Clark County deputies shot and killed 21-year-old Kevin Peterson Jr. during a botched drug sting. Almost four years later, the county agreed to pay Peterson’s family $1.25 million dollars.
Clark County officials declined to provide a statement, saying the county does not comment on pending litigation.
After Sahota’s death, prosecutors pinned the incident on the suspect, Julio Cesar Segura. Segura, then 20 years old, robbed a gas station with a replica handgun and led police on a high-speed chase. After police disabled Segura’s car with spike strips near Battle Ground, he fled on foot to the Sahota’s doorstep.
Sahota’s wife, Dawnese Sahota, called 911. Donald Sahota attempted to apprehend Segura in their driveway, but Segura pulled out a knife and managed to stab the off-duty officer and run toward the house.
Drone footage from the scene showed that, as Segura ran indoors and Sahota tried to give chase, Feller arrived in an SUV and quickly opened fire.
“Feller fired at least four rounds,” the lawsuit said, from a .223-caliber rifle.
Clark County prosecutors argued that Segura was responsible for Sahota’s death. Although he didn’t fire the killing shots, they said, his actions created the fatal circumstances. A jury convicted Segura of murder and other charges in May 2024.
Feller still works for Clark County Sheriff’s Office, though he is no longer on patrol. A sheriff’s office spokesperson confirmed he is on “administrative assignment” helping with the department’s body-worn camera program.
