The state has finished taking its hard look at a deadly downtown Vancouver shooting involving a Clark County sheriff’s deputy, and the case is now in the hands of local prosecutors.
On Friday, the Washington State Office of Independent Investigations (OII) announced it had completed its inquiry into the July 30, 2025, shooting that left 36-year-old Branden Michael Whitcomb dead and focused on the actions of Clark County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Gonzalez. The finished case file will now be reviewed by the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office.
In a press release, the Washington State Office of Independent Investigations said it has posted a redacted Final Case Report titled "OII-2025-0009 Whitcomb Final Case Report – Redacted" and provided copies to Whitcomb’s family, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and Gonzalez’s attorney. The full report and investigative file have also been forwarded to the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office for review.
What investigators found
Forensic testing described in the OII report and reported by The Columbian says Whitcomb pulled a Springfield Armory 9mm pistol from a bag, and analysts later found his DNA on the gun’s grip and trigger.
The Columbian also reports that Gonzalez fired four shots, hitting Whitcomb in the head, neck, torso, thigh and hand. Despite life-saving efforts at the scene, Whitcomb died there.
Gonzalez's previous deadly encounters
The Whitcomb case drops into an already controversial file on Gonzalez’s past use of force.
He was one of the deputies who opened fire in an April 13, 2024 encounter that killed Benjamin Steven Woods inside a Salmon Creek American Legion hall, according to KTVZ. He was also involved in a 2021 pursuit that ended in the fatal October 17, 2021 shooting of Kfin Karuo, as reported by OPB.
Those earlier incidents, according to previous reporting and investigative records, have already fueled community questions about enforcement tactics and oversight of law enforcement in Clark County. The Whitcomb investigation is likely to land in the middle of that ongoing debate.
Prosecutor review and next steps
The OII’s job stops at fact-finding. The agency does not recommend criminal charges or decide whether a deputy’s use of force was legally justified. Instead, it hands the completed file to prosecutors, who make the call on charges.
In this case, that means the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office will determine whether Gonzalez faces any criminal consequences for the shooting.
Gonzalez declined to sit for an interview with state investigators, The Columbian reports.
Why this matters
Washington lawmakers created the OII in 2021 to provide an independent record in deadly-force cases. The agency’s work has since become a flashpoint in broader fights over how to investigate police shootings and hold officers accountable, as previous reporting has shown.
Community advocates and families often point to OII case files as the first comprehensive, neutral account of what happened, one that both prosecutors and the public can scrutinize. With the Whitcomb report now public and in prosecutors’ hands, Vancouver and Clark County residents will be watching closely to see what, if anything, comes next.
