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Ryan Kaufman

Age : 43

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 08/25/2021

Location : 4300 block of West Van Giesen Street, near The Wash Stop

City : West Richland

County : Benton

State : Washington

Agency : West Richland Police Department; Pasco Police Department; Benton County Sheriff’s Office

Officer(s) :Daniel Flores; David Dillsworth; Ivan Hernandez; Elias Perez

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police following shootout

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/25/2021, 43-year-old Ryan Kaufman died after four police officers fired rifles into his burning pickup truck on West Van Giesen Street in West Richland. The original news coverage contained limited information, but a later Regional Special Investigations Unit investigation produced more than 2,000 pages of records and established a detailed timeline of the events preceding Kaufman’s death.
The incident began shortly before 4:00 a.m. in Finley. Investigators determined that Kaufman first set fire to his own home and outbuildings before going to the neighboring Zlatich residence. Police concluded that Kaufman forced his way into the home with a shotgun and opened fire. Seventy-seven-year-old Emil “Bob” Zlatich Jr. was killed, his 58-year-old son Emil “Bobby” Zlatich III was wounded, and another family member escaped injury. Kaufman then set the Zlatich residence on fire.
Investigators subsequently attributed a series of additional fires to Kaufman. Police said he used a flare gun to ignite fires along Highway 397, Nine Canyon Road and Olympia Street and broke into two International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 112 facilities in Kennewick, setting fires inside both buildings. Investigators later linked shotgun shells recovered at the union buildings to the same weapon associated with the earlier violence.
Police also determined that Kaufman killed his parents, Daniel and Vickie Kaufman, at their home in the 4300 block of South Gum Street in Kennewick. Their bodies were discovered later that day. Kaufman had also attempted to set their house on fire.
At approximately 6:15 a.m., Benton County Sheriff’s Deputy Tara Marks received information from a motorist about an orange pickup that had been burning beside Interstate 82. Marks recognized the vehicle as the one police were searching for in connection with the Finley shootings and fires. Because she had no immediate backup, she continued past the truck while reporting its location. Tri-City Regional SWAT personnel were directed toward the area.
The SWAT officers responding included Pasco Police Officer David Dillsworth and Benton County Sheriff’s deputies Elias Perez and Ivan Hernandez. At approximately 6:26 a.m., West Richland Police Officer Daniel Flores spotted Kaufman’s pickup on Kennedy Road and began following it. Flores did not immediately activate his emergency lights. According to his later statement, he knew Kaufman was believed to be heavily armed and increased the distance between his patrol vehicle and the truck after seeing Kaufman repeatedly lean toward the passenger side.
Kaufman turned onto Bombing Range Road and then west onto Van Giesen Street. Smoke began pouring from underneath the truck’s hood. Flores activated his emergency lights primarily to warn approaching motorists when Kaufman’s truck began drifting toward oncoming traffic. The truck was moving only about 14 mph before it jumped the curb and stopped near The Wash Stop shortly before 6:30 a.m.
Flores, Dillsworth, Perez and Hernandez positioned themselves around the burning truck with rifles. Officers and civilian witnesses then reported hearing gunfire from inside Kaufman’s vehicle. Hernandez reported seeing Kaufman turn toward him and seeing apparent bullet holes appearing through the front-right portion of the windshield in his direction. The four officers opened fire on the truck.
The later investigation determined that Flores, Dillsworth, Hernandez and Perez collectively fired 29 rifle rounds at Kaufman’s vehicle. Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory examination identified at least 13 bullet-entry points in the truck, although the destruction of the windows and extensive fire damage prevented investigators from reconstructing every bullet trajectory.
The truck became completely engulfed in flames. Ammunition stored inside began exploding, throwing fragments as far as approximately 275 feet from the vehicle and preventing police, firefighters and medical personnel from approaching for roughly 30 minutes. Officers eventually used an armored SWAT vehicle to get close enough to suppress the fire. Kaufman and his dog Montana were found dead inside. Investigators recovered the burned remains of multiple firearms, ammunition, flares and a gasoline container from the truck.
The autopsy produced an important finding that was unavailable in the original 2021 coverage. Kaufman had two gunshot wounds. One bullet entered his chest and was identified as a 9mm projectile. Because none of the four officers fired a handgun, investigators concluded that the chest wound was likely self-inflicted. The medical examiner determined that the chest wound was potentially fatal but would not have caused immediate death.
The second bullet struck Kaufman in the head, traveling from front to back. It was a rifle projectile and caused an immediately fatal wound. The subsequent official review determined that this fatal head wound came from one of the four officers’ rifles, but forensic testing could not determine whether Flores, Dillsworth, Hernandez or Perez fired it. Kaufman’s Cause of Death should therefore remain Gunshot rather than Suicide.
The Tri-County Special Investigations Unit conducted the independent investigation. Investigators from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Richland Police Department, Kennewick Police Department, Walla Walla Police Department, Washington State Patrol and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife participated. The case was identified as West Richland Police Department case 21-03769.
A later Washington State Auditor review independently summarized the investigation and confirmed the identities of all four shooting officers: West Richland Officer Daniel Flores, Pasco Officer David Dillsworth, and Benton County deputies Ivan Hernandez and Eli/Elias Perez. The Auditor’s review likewise confirmed that Kaufman’s fatal head wound came from police rifle fire but could not be attributed to a particular officer.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/crime/article253731063.html
https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/crime/article253746983.html
https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/crime/article253790393.html
https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/crime/article253904398.html
https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/crime/article265216131.html
https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/crime/article272223883.html
https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/crime/article272339233.html
https://portal.sao.wa.gov/ReportSearch/Home/ViewReportFile?arn=1034617&isFinding=false&sp=false
https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/police-4-killed-shootings-arsons-across-tri-cities/Y2S5EL2OJ5BG3LCK5W7QVXJDZI/