Vancouver, WA — The teen who allegedly stole a woman’s vehicle at gunpoint Saturday in Vancouver and ended up being surrounded by police near Camas Safeway appeared in Clark County Juvenile Court today. 

Jamarion L. Croxton is facing charges of first degree robbery, second degree unlawful possession of a firearm, and resisting arrest. His hearing will be reviewed to determine whether he will be released from juvenile detention.

The Vancouver police said they responded at 4:30 pm Saturday at the 12900 block of Northeast 28th Street to reports of a carjacking. The 64-year-old woman told police she was unloading groceries from her vehicle when someone approached her at gunpoint telling her to give him the car keys. That boy would later be identified as Croxton.  He then sped away. 

At 5:20 pm Camas police officers found the stolen Nissan Altima at the Camas Safeway parking lot, court records state. Officers saw Croxton walking near the car. After officers approached him, Croxton ran off, according to court documents.

Dozens of law enforcement vehicles arrived at the scene and blocked off the area, and called for Croxton to surrender. See the video:

Police found Croxton about 90 minutes later hiding in the backyard of a house in the 700 block of Northeast Second Avenue. Law enforcement had the entire blocked surrounded and repeatedly called for the suspect to surrender. Officers found a handgun hidden in the weeds after he surrendered, court records say.

The woman identified Croxton as the person who stole her car, court records say.

For more than 90 minutes, Camas residents gathered to witness the scene, and rumors circulated that it was an ATM robbery. We later learned it was a carjacking.

This story will be updated.

Camas, WA — A weeklong investigation following allegations of racial slurs from Camas High School (CHS) JV baseball players against a black Skyview athlete concluded today confirming micro-aggression behavior occurred at an April 20 game. For a week, rumors have swirled about when it happened, if it happened, if it was intentional, how long the actions took place, and why the game wasn’t stopped.

A micro-aggression is a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority. CHS students have been saying on Lacamas Magazine social media sites the school does have issues with students and faculty who regularly put down racial minorities, and are frustrated administrators don’t take any action.

Camas parents who attended a 4 pm team meeting today with CHS administrators said Skyview’s claims stem from comments overheard during pre-game warmups. As the Papermakers were doing grave digger exercises they were chanting “grave diggers” as they regularly do. Skyview said the Camas players were yelling “grave n——s,” a racial insult aimed at a black Skyview baseball player.

Camas players insist they didn’t say that harmful word, but Skyview stands by their claims. Camas players felt today’s statement was rushed, and didn’t give players an opportunity to be heard. Several left the meeting feeling slighted.

Although CHS Principal Tom Morris and Athletic Director Rory Oster didn’t go into specifics in their statement, they did confirm evidence of racial slurs.

Morris and Oster issued this statement today, which was authored by Dr. Charlene Williams, Assistant Superintendent of Camas Schools:

Dear Camas Community,

You may be aware of allegations made about racist actions that took place at a JV baseball game between Skyview HS and Camas HS last week. Below is a message from Camas HS that was shared with Skyview High School athletics and administration today. 

Now that the investigation is complete, we want to share this with you in an effort to keep you informed. Please know that we cannot share information about student discipline. 

This is not how we want to be represented in our community, and we continue to be committed to our equity work.

Rory Oster, Athletic Director

Tom Morris, CHS Principal

Dear Skyview Baseball Team and Administration,

After a week of investigation, while we were not able to confirm all allegations, we do know that our players engaged in racial micro-aggressions at the April 20, 2022, JV baseball game. Their actions and the inaction of the athletes who witnessed these acts, clearly illustrate that a problem exists in our team. We are deeply sorry this occurred and apologize for the harm our players caused to Skyview team members.

Therefore, all JV games will remain canceled until the situation with Skyview and Camas JV baseball teams is resolved. Looking ahead, Camas staff will be working with its students to determine how the harm they caused can be repaired. Our plan is to engage with you to restore relationships and build a path forward. Additionally, WIAA recently created a policy around halting games when racist acts are reported; we will ensure all staff and athletes are aware of this policy and how to respond to and interrupt racist acts.

We condemn all forms of racism and will continue our work to eliminate racism in our system.

Sincerely,

Rory Oster, Athletic Director

Tom Morris, CHS Principal

CAMAS, WA – The Camas Police Department will begin a full-time body-worn camera program starting in April, Chief Mitch Lackey announced today.  The department contracted with the AXON company last fall for the equipment, including software and data storage, which is necessary for a body-worn camera program to meet the new state requirements for recording custodial interviews.  Now, the department is ready to take the next step and institute a full, body-worn camera program, which will allow officers record all their field actions.

In February 2021, Clark County Prosecutor Tony Golik, and the Clark County Prosecutor’s Action and Reform Committee, put out a joint letter to the community and all local governments.   In that letter, the Prosecutor’s Office stressed the importance of implementing body-worn camera programs for all local law enforcement agencies.  In addition to being a valuable tool for prosecutors, body-worn cameras also build community trust by demonstrating transparency and openness into the way police officers carry out their duties.  The Clark County Prosecutor’s Office hoped that local governments would work diligently to secure funding for this important tool.

Golik recently praised Camas PD for their quick work on establishing the program.

“I want to thank the Camas Police Department for their leadership in implementing a body-worn camera system,” Golik said. “The Prosecutor’s Office is in strong support of body camera systems. Our office’s mission to seek justice is a shared mission with law enforcement agencies. Our joint mission will be furthered through evidence that will be gathered by body cameras. Law Enforcement body cameras systems are a critical tool that will help ensure the public has confidence in our community’s criminal justice system. The Camas Police Department should be congratulated for moving forward on body cameras.”

While Camas Police officers possessed the AXON equipment for the more limited purpose of the custodial recordings mandated by the state, there was always a plan to move toward implementing a full body-worn camera program, which is the program that will begin next month. 

“I am extremely grateful to former Mayor Ellen Burton, current Mayor Steve Hogan, as well as the entire Camas City Council, for their support for this program,” said Chief Lackey. “Without their guidance, and budgetary support, we would not have been able to successfully bring this to the community.”   

Last year, the Camas City Council authorized a five-year lease with AXON for the equipment and data storage, in the amount of $311,168.00.  In addition to the equipment costs, there will be some increased staffing needs in the police department’s records unit who will handle the public records requests for the videos. The department hopes to add a full-time Police Records Clerk later this year to meet that need.

The City was able to fund the start-up of the body-worn camera program through a combination of general fund dollars and one-time revenue provided by the State of Washington for criminal justice purposes.  In addition, the police department has also applied for grants, however, no grant funding has been received yet. 

Over the past few months, the department administration and City management team worked closely with the labor group representing Camas police officers to develop a body-worn camera policy, which is a critical piece of the body-worn camera program.  The new policy provides officers guidance on when they’re expected to use their cameras, and in what settings that they are allowed to turn the cameras off.  It balances the desire by the public for transparency along with protecting individual privacy rights. 

Officers will now begin training on the new program in small groups and will start wearing their body-worn cameras immediately after completing the training.  Because of this, the community may notice some officer with cameras, and others without during this initial period.  However, Chief Lackey stated that all Camas officers will likely complete the training by the end of April 2022. 

The video data created by the body-worn camera program is stored by the AXON company and is retained for the period of time mandated by the Washington State Archivist.  Depending on what type of incident was captured on the video, the retention of that video is mandated for varying amounts of time.

“This is a big step for the Camas Police Department, and more importantly, the right step,” Lackey said. “Our officers do outstanding work each day in this community and these cameras will now document that work for all to see. In law enforcement, disputes do sometimes arise about what was done, what was said or what actually happened. These cameras will now create a video record that should help resolve some of those disputes.”