Ryan Bass, age 39, who was shot and killed by two Okanogan County Sheriff’s deputies and an Omak Police Detective after allegedly firing at the officers, was wanted for failing to appear in Okanogan County Superior Court on a felony warrant and for a recent burglary in Omak. The information about the March 3 shooting in Riverside came in an update from the North Central Washington Special Investigation Unit (SIU), which is conducting an independent investigation into the shooting.
Okanogan County Sheriff’s Deputies Jody Barcus and Justin Malone and Omak Police Detective Brian Bowling approached Bass in a vehicle outside the Riverside Grocery at about 11:30 a.m. on March 3. Bass exited the vehicle and allegedly presented a firearm and shot several rounds toward the officers, according to the SIU. Both sheriff’s deputies and Malone returned fire, striking Bass multiple times. The officers performed CPR, but Bass later died at Mid-Valley Hospital in Omak. None of the police officers were injured.
Barcus has worked for the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office for 2 ½ years and has 10 1/2 years of law-enforcement experience. Malone has been with the Sheriff’s Office for eight months. Bowling has been with the Omak Police Department for seven years. All three remain on administrative leave, which is standard procedure in this type of incident, according to the update.
The investigators put out a call for witnesses after the shooting. The additional information came from a cooperating citizen, according to the SIU update.
The special investigation unit is a multi-jurisdictional team with representatives from the Okanogan, Chelan, and Douglas county sheriff’s offices, the Wenatchee and East Wenatchee police departments, and the Washington State Patrol. The state patrol is the lead agency for the investigation.
