Joseph R. Wharton, last weekend at Plummers Lake, Centralia.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CENTRALIA – The man shot and killed by a Centralia police officer yesterday relocated last fall from Arizona to Westport to live near his mother but in recent weeks had reunited with a former longterm girlfriend who resides in Centralia.
Joseph R. Wharton, 48, died from multiple gunshot wounds after a short foot pursuit when a patrol officer attempted to contact him outside a closed coffee shop on Mellen Street about 2:20 a.m. yesterday.
Police say Wharton was trying to scale a fence in a residential neighborhood when Officer Phil Weismiller caught up to him, that he confronted Weismiller and refused to drop a knife he had in his hand.
Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod said an autopsy today concluded Wharton died from multiple penetrating wounds – meaning the projectiles didn’t leave his body – to his chest and abdomen.
Elm Street, Centralia
McLeod would not reveal how many gunshot wounds he found.
Weismiller, a city police officer for about five and half years, was put on administrative leave while the matter is investigated.
The manner of death is listed as a homicide, the killing of one human being by another, according to McLeod. Whether it was justified is up to others to determine, he said.
Thirty-nine-year-old Sandra Ziady said she doesn’t know what her fiancee was up to to, or why he would have displayed a knife to a police officer.
“I have no idea, I wish I could find out,” Ziady said today. “It makes me really sad because everything we wanted is finally coming true; now its not.”
Ziady said the two met when they lived in Oakville some 20 years ago and have been together off and on ever since.
Wharton finished an approximately six-year stint in prison in New Mexico about two years ago, and then lived in Arizona to be near his three children who are in their early 20s, she said.
“He’s an amazing person,” she said. “He got in trouble and did his time, but was an amazing father and grandfather.”
She said his incarceration was related to a drug-induced psychosis.
He resides with his sister in Westport, but in recent weeks, he began staying with her in Centralia, Ziady said. She’s been living at the Lakeview Inn for the past two months, near her job at a convenience store on Mellen Street, she said.
Ziady’s shift ended at 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday, and he had texted her earlier and told her not to eat dinner, she said.
When she got home, the door was propped open and he’d lit candles and ordered Chinese food, she said. And he proposed to her, asking her to be his “forever”, she said.
However, he left about 1 a.m., she said.
“He said he had stuff to take care of, I asked what, he wouldn’t tell me,” Ziady said.
The location where he died on Elm Street less than two hours later is less than three blocks from there.
Ziady has talked with police and learned his car was found parked at an apartment complex a few blocks north of the motel. She wonders if he decided to walk home instead of drive, as he’d drank a couple of beers and little whiskey, she said.
She said she watched a video with police that showed Wharton behind the Fiddlers coffee shop, that he wasn’t doing anything, just walking around.
It surprised her, she said, that police claimed her fiance told the officer who first encountered him that he had a gun. He doesn’t own a firearm, she said.
Why he would, as police say, display a knife she could only speculate.
“I have no idea, he has had bad run ins with cops,” she said. “He might have been scared; he only has one eye.”
A team of detectives from surrounding police agencies are expected to complete their investigation into the incident within the next three weeks.
••••
For background, read “Police involved shooting leaves one man dead in Centralia” from Thursday February 13, 2014, here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
I’m pretty sure this site wins the Darwin award!
Wayne Tuthill . . . if you are really an ex-cop, that scares the fucking bejesus out of me. It confirms for us all that, while you couldn’t pass second grade, you DID make it through the police academy!? You are one of the most illiterate dipshits I have ever seen on this board. Go back and complete your education. If not, at least learn proper spelling and basic grammar, punctuation and capitalization skills. Your posts defending cops doesn’t help them in any way. Trust me.
P.S. We all make the occasional typo on here. Which brings me to one more issue. PEARL, I am quite sure Greg meant to say synapses. He just missed the “p” when he was typing.
thinkprogress.org /justice/2013/12/20/2936461/anatomy-police-shooting/
While Larry Butler Fan may be a little over the top in his sarcasm, he makes a valid point: We cannot – and should not – blindly trust our government authorities.
YES! There are some great, dedicated, wonderful law enforcement officers. But that does not mean that ALL of them are. You ever meet someone who you know – know – just should not be in law enforcement? Someone who is a hot head? Someone who got into it for the wrong reasons?
If you say ‘no’, then YOU are the naive one. No screening process can weed out all the problem employees… if they did, then everyone would be cooperative and proper and there would be no need even for a union! 🙂
And because we are human and fallible, we need to remember that government (of and by the people) is also fallible. We need to have strong checks and balances in place.
I check my receipts at the grocery store, I check the text of the law before I vote and I WORRY about my 4th Amendment Rights. They are there for a reason. And no, I should not have to stop and show my papers in order to pass. Even if I am outside walking at night. And even if I see you coming and decide I don’t trust you and take a short cut through a yard or behind a business. Even then.
This whole incident can be summed up in three little words:
Suicide by cop.
COPS TELL U TO STOP,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,STOP,,,,,,,,,,, GREAT JOB BY CPD. SAVES US TAX PAYERS A LOT OF TAX DOLLARS. MAYBE THE CRIMINALS WILL NOW THANK TWICE BEFORE THEY VIOLATE GOOD CITIZENS OF THE CITY OF CENTRALIA. GO LEWIS COUNTY OFFICERS.
Larry. Butler you are a dumb ass another senseless. murder try to give that job a try for two. Weeks and you may change your beady little mind. this is coming from an X Police and I know the best job you ever had was cleaning toilets.
I can’t see so many shots think about it YOU idiot what difference at this point..That is what it took.to save a good officer.LIFE.I KNOW IF YOU. WOULD LIIKE SOMONE BREAKING IN YOUR HOUSE.WITH A KNIFE have a problem call. The Garbage man. Not the POLICE.YOU WOULD . GET YOOUR GGARBAGE CAN EMPTYED SOUNDS LIKEYOU DO NOT NEED THE POLIICE
LBF
I understand your opinion and respect your right to it. But please report facts correctly. The man and officer were not in a “dark alley” the shooting occurred din a side yard of a residence. Again even if I do not agree with you I defend your right to express your opinion.
There is so much wrong with this shooting I think polygraph testing needs to be done too see if anyone involved can even tell truth. Remember the victim is dead and will never be able to give his side of what happen in his defense!
They guy was outside at night near a bar after 2 am!!!!
For heaven’s sake, he could have raped somebody!!! What if he was trying to make a bomb with the gun he had? He might have been using the knife to take apart the bullets to make a bomb to blow up the city!!!!!
Good call on the officer in this case. It was very wise to follow such a crazy knife-weilding psycho ex-convict into a dark alley alone. Letting him walk a safe distance probably would have resulted in a grandmother being beaten to death or baby being raped.
Thank God the man was shot.
I feel so much safer now. Give the cop his job back!!!
We all assume that the deceased was guilty of something. What? Did he resist arrest? Did he get caught in the process of a burglary? It sounds to me that he did not stop for a possible search by the CPD. If SomethingShady’s account is even partially correct – most of us “law abiding” (or short-haired, day workers) will not have experienced the nasty side of law enforcement. It exists – more today than ever. The names of the cops in this scenario are not the one I’ve heard before involved in some of the more egregious “use of force” incidents. But full investigation IS warranted. And we should watch our assumptions of guilt. The man was armed with a pocketknife and it is only the word of the police that he refused to put it down.
Full investigation. Was there dash cam video of the original confrontation? Copy of radio traffic – BEFORE the incident? I, for one, would want a little more than the armed officer’s account… and so should the officer, to support his case.
@ Greg the Celt:
I get it. There’s no need for you to get hysterical about this particular murder.
The CPS was just “taking out the trash”, I understand. Somebody has to do the “dirty work” right?
Putting one scum bag in the ground to send a message to other scumbags who might question the authority of the CPS is just taking out “two birds with one stone”.
Wink wink, nudge nudge.
I get it. One less scumbag to worry about.
Thanks CPD!!!
Something Shady
Your posting would be a little better if you added a period or two. It appears to be a one long rambling post and is very hard to read. Please continue to express your opinion though as that is everyone’s right on this site.
As someone who had a family member shot to death, while he was on duty, this disgusts me. All the cop bashing is absolutely disgusting.
Im confused Pearl. Are you trying far synopsis or sinuses?
Greg, awful judgmental yourself for how “educated” and “well rounded” you pose to be. Can’t respectfully handle a difference in opinion and have a true friendly debate eh? Doesn’t show much confidence in yourself and your convictions.
If you go back and re read the articles, there was more than one officer involved. There’s your spotter. Additionally, I could really care less about that. The guy was trying to climb a wall to get away, ever heard of fight or flight? Sounds to me like he chose the latter of the two, but the cop wasn’t going to have that now was he? He aggravated the situation and disregarded his safety and everyone elses when he continued pursuit (possibly alone?) based on what? What charges did they even have on this guy? The officer was reckless and the subject paid for it with his life. And if tasers and mace can only be used with another officer present and supposedly fail so often: A. why did I personally witness a LONE officer outside of a Chehalis business take down an un-cooperating shoplifter with a taser? And B. Why even carry them if they are so useless you have to shoot someone rather than use them?
You’re right. I do have a right to my opinion and I will voice it whether you think I “know wtf I’m talking about” or not. Just like I’m sure you will be quick to tell me why you think I am wrong. None of us were in that alley with them. But that doesn’t help that the facts sure don’t look justified to a lot of us.
Btw, it’s synapses not synases.
well I have seen more than one shadyfor lack of a better word things done by the centralia police department matter fact just a few short weeks ago a friend of mine was helping someone with their car and they thought possibly they were out of gas he tried to help get the car goinghe was walking alongside a main road with a gas can and a flashlight for safety it was late at night he stepped off the side of the road and slip down an embankment I was actually looking for him as he called me for a ride I happened as a please I just let the dogs out to attack him I was about a block away and I heard em say no don’t I’m on armed I was just helping a friend they continued to let the dogs attack him for at least 5 minutes I was within a block away and heard the officers had told him he asked why they did it they said because they can and they didn’t have to ask any questionshe was in excruciating pain his legs his shoulder is arm looks like hamburger I did not want to get the same week or so so I drove around the block he walked probably four blocks after the officers told him and after laughing in a group about the whole thing that he could not go to the hospital even know he wanted to they said that if he chose to go to the hospital they would have him arrested for burglary because he had a gas can a flashlight and a pocket knife on himso if he was to go to this hospital that night for the dog bites they would arrest him and I ended up picking him up approximately 4 blocks away as they told him he had to walk to where he was going and they followed him the four blocks to make sure that he walked luckily I was there to pick him up it take him to where we could bandage him up and get him in a hot bath I have pictures of the damage that this dog did . So to say that you should try to police officers are all in the right and do not fabricate stories would be a total fall so in my book there were at least five officers watching him being mauled attacked by the dog screaming I’m helping a friend I’m on armed and they tell him that if he goes to the hospital for the dog bites that they will arrest him either that or he can just walk his way to his friends place now why wouldn’t you just arrest a person or let them go to the hospital if you were not in the wrong and laughing about it the whole time to me that is very poor the meeting please work I will not ever walk in Centralia with a gas can to get gas in my car ever ran out especially at dusk because please will have you attacked by the dog or shoot because they be sure they will consider the flashlight a little weapon if you have gasoline a letter on you you would have a bomb they will use whatever excuse possible and fabricate whatever possible for their own gain enjoyment and harassment
Did anyone see the cops chasing that guy by the mall??? That jackass was flying and could have killed someone! I heard he got away cause the cops can’t chase anymore.
Right, retreat and allow the guy to run again, get in another foot pursuit or just let the guy go altogether, because hey it was just some dude walking down a dark alley behind a building at 2 am. Right? No, what you do with a guy who is running around brandishing a knife is contain him, just like you do a rabid dog, and if he tries to break containment, you stop him. You give him ample warning, but ultimately the final decision is his. The last thing you do is give him the opportunity to continue moving freely, armed and desperate, through a residential area. There is a bigger picture here.
Too bad you’re not interested in a discussion about the law because it is what is at the crux of this whole event. You just want to turn it into something to fit your personal world view. Too bad.
Lets move on folks. The shooting will be deemed legit and the toxicology will show how much alcohol and meth was in his blood stream at the time he played Frogger with his life. This isnt the first time a cop shot someone.
Greg. I love your input. Finally, someone who is in the know. Nice! Keep up the good work.
Larry Butler Fan says:
“Friday, February 14, 2014 at 9:36 pm
Yet another senseless murder where the perps will get to walk scot free.
I’m sick of seeing the lewis county excuse for ‘law enforcement’ skate on its own violations of people’s civil rights.
When will it end?”
I’d guess just about the time when a suspect drops their knife, gun, pool cue, etc.
Many years ago while working as a night time janitor, I was busily vacuuming out a business when I happened to look up to see a cop leaning out of a doorway, looking at me. What I noticed the most was the big barrel of his revolver sighted in on me. At that time, I had a length of silver looking pipe in my hands which was the end of a vacuum cleaner hose, without an attachment. The cop said “drop it, turn around and get on your knees with your hands behind your back”. .001 seconds later, after dropping my pipe I was on my knees. The cop cuffed me, took me out of the building and into the back of his car. After the building was searched, we had a conversation where I was able to prove who I was and that I was supposed to be there. The cuffs came off, and I was let back into the building to finish up for the night. Nobody got hurt. Everything turned out just fine because I DID WHAT I WAS TOLD TO DO!
Life’s tough enough without doing something really stupid like not dropping a weapon when a cop tells you to.
I’ve read everything I could about this story but I understand that they can’t print everything until an inquest or whatever. The main thing that bothers me about this story is that the only eyewitnesses are cops. I read this story and it reminds me of how that small dog had to be euthanized because the cop kicked it so hard that he broke its jaw. I can see a cop acting out on pure adrenaline because of a barking dog or a fleeing suspect.
A man is dead, maybe not a good man but it’s not my place to judge. If he ran forward with the knife and attempted to attack the officer, I could probably understand the shooting, maybe once in the leg to subdue him. If he says he has a gun but the cop doesn’t see it, does he have the right to shoot him? Ultimately perpetrators are told to get on the ground, it’s the first thing the cops tell them to do, if he didn’t do it then part of the blame falls on him.
I’ll wait for the full, unbiased report, preferably from another agency not associated with CPD.
Listen, I’m not interested in a discussion about the law.
This whole incident would have been avoided had the officer retreated to a safe distance and waited for backup to arrive.
If he was truly in danger of being attacked with a knife, then the officer had every right to defend himself. I just hope some witnesses come foreward to corroborate the officer’s version of events. In that case i will politely STFU.
I just find it very convenient that the perp magically violated every law that would allow such an outcome. Sounds just too good to be true.
The guy just randomly started waving a knife and threatening that he had a gun huh? And then retreated to a dark area of the neighborhood where nobody could see him get shot huh?
Like i said, sounds too good to be true. Hats off to the cops for a murder well executed. Slam dunk for sure.
Hey, LBF…ever hear of Terry v. Ohio, look it up. Officer Murphy had every right to detain Wharton behind that store. It was absolutely legal, Constitutional and settled law, has been for going on 45 years. You’re so up on your Constitutional law, how’d you miss that? Once he fled the legal detention it becomes obstructing, then he pulls a knife when stopped a second time… It can only go downhill from there. Everything after that is under the control of Mr. Wharton. Come on, enough already.
Jergens n Sox: twist it however you want…
But, this story is about a man’s civil rights being violated and about a cop gunning down a civilian in cold blood as if he were a dog.
That’s it.
Nobody is saying that ALL cops are bad. This story is just one in a long line of many stories of cops pulling the ‘fear card’ so they can kill with impunity.
This is obviously NOT a source of local news, this is a breeding ground for hate. Whatever sells advertising, eh Sharyn? It’s not about right or wrong. It’s about stirring shit up to make money. Sex sells, crime sells…blah blah blah. Who cares!
LBF – you again? Do you ever get tired of being the poster child for the horrible effects of inbreeding compounded by early abuse of weed and mushrooms? Forgive me for the stretch, but that has to be the excuse for your inability to accept any form of common sense and reason. Good Lord, man. Your synases must be so screwed up that there is no cognitive ability left for critical thinking. Btw – that’s ” critical” not criticism, which doesn’t require much thinking at all. You are right about one thing, there is no justification for murder, but self-defense is one of the justifications for homicide, one of the others is community safety, i.e. was the individual a threat to the safety of the community or the safety of others, if he had gotten away? (see Tennesee v. Garner). I submit that he was. But that is just my opinion.
@Pearl – do us all a favor, if you are going to leave an opinion on how the officers should have reacted to a man brandishing a knife, at least have the intellectual honesty to admit you don’t know wtf you’re talking about. Did you know for instance, that in cases where you are going to confront a knife wielding man with a Taser, you are required to have a cover officer with a handgun or long gun ready to shoot him if the Taser fails to subdue him? Why? BECAUSE IT OFTEN DOES FAIL! The protocol also says that if you are alone, (important point, so pay attention) YOU NEVER deploy the Taser when confronting some with a lethal weapon, such as any edged weapon (knife)or firearm. Why? Because if it fails you have no time to deploy your second option (your firearm) which should have been your only choice in the first place. Those protocols and SOPS were often developed after some police officer put too much stock in the stopping power of the Taser or some other new fangled option and paid for it with a severe injury or worse. So don’t preach to the police about the alternatives to the use of deadly force. Those experiments have been paid for in blood.
The great thing about the freedom of speech is the opportunity we are given to express our opinions on the matters of the day. I am grateful to live in a country that recognizes And upholds our God given rights to do just that. As important as those rights are, it is equally important that we understand the subject matter on which we express those opinions. Otherwise we cheapen the price paid by those who sacrificed to uphold the freedoms we have. Everyone gets to come on here and talk all the smack they want, and frankly, so be it, but nothing pisses me off more than someone who professes to know something but knows nothing, or equally as troubling, the fool who is simply irrational because of hatred or ignorance. Both seem to abound in these environs. I should have picked a better place to retire.
You people seem to think that just because a police officer stops to talk, you need to submit like a puppy with its belly up peeing all over itself.
What you don’t seem to be able to realize is that unless you’re being suspected of a crime, a lawful citizen has no obligation to just “shoot the shit” with a police officer. Unless he was being detained, a civilian has every right to walk away.
A police officer has absolutely no right to stop a civilian who is not doing anything wrong for any reason unless they are investigating a crime or responding to a complaint.
It sounds to me like the man was minding his own business, wasn’t in the act of committing any crime, and refused to ‘hang out’ with the po po. Who can blame him? More and more people don’t trust cops because they are bullies with badges in many cases.
Hey Frank: tell me, who called the cops in this case?
Nobody, that’s who.
The cops began a campaign of harassment against this person for whatever reason. Instead of letting it go, they created a false scenario of a “man with a gun” just to escalate the situation.
They used the age old excuse of, “I was scared” to justify murder.
We need real police, not hand maidens.
I’ll bet if the officers involved said that aliens flew down from space and forced them to shoot the civilian, many of you Lewis County folk would fall for it hook line and sinker.
You would say something like, “Hey, it could have happened! Are we just supposed to refuse aliens control of our guns when it might put our lives in jeopardy?!?!”
Idiots.
Yes, according to Morons: pepper spray and tasers are only used for people who AREN’T threatening an officer.
Good job at making cops out to be even worse abusers of civil rights.
OK first, Larry Fan, MOVE AWAY then, second, what difference does it make how many shots, All Law Enforcement Officers are trained to shoot for center of mass and to shoot multiple times so that you stop what is endangering you. If your better at handling situations like this Larry Fan, Please enroll in the Police Academy ASAP and join the force so that you can protect us in an appropriate manner. A majority of officers spend their whole career never having to use their weapon, and are happy about that. Why is it that the minute one is forced to use it he/she is also forced to deal with instant accusations of police brutality, excessive force and being called a murder. Remember, next time someone is trying to break into your house and you decide to call 911, DON’T. Cause you can handle it better than they can. If you can’t appreciate all that these people do for us, DON’T ask them to do for you.
From the responses I’ve read on here I see that people actually believe the myth about pepper spray or even a taser stopping someone with a knife. Pearl, let’s try an experiment. I have a can of OC-10 I’ll lend you. You can have it up ready to spray when I come at you. You can spray and when I get to you I’ll poke you with a fake knife. That way you can see just how effective a non-lethal response to someone coming at you with a knife. Tasers aren’t much better unless you get the attacker to stop and present a target to you. From the responses I see on here they are usually made by people with no clue as to what goes on in real life. Go back to watch your crime dramas and try to come up with something real to say. Larry Butler fan you are the stupidest moron of them all. You get this weeks Darwin Award.
I agree with Pearl, and Larry. Why so many shots? The story just does not add up to me at all. I am tired of crooked cops, and them lying or fabricating a story to justify there wrong. Law enforcement can seem to do no wrong, not just in this story, in a lot of situations. there is some good officers who care about their community and some who do not so much. I just pray that Justice is served here, only the dear Lord knows the truth and I hope it all comes out!
There is no justification for murder pal.
Let him stab him? Come on now, he had him pinned against a fence and brought a gun to a knife fight, aside from that lets be rational here. Ever heard of a taser or pepper spray? Both of which could have just as effectively ended the standoff WITHOUT loss of life. Sure he’s a criminal, sure he was probably doing stuff he shouldn’t have been, but last I checked murder was a crime too. And to top it off, multiple shots? Pretty sure one would have probably been sufficient to at least slow him down enough to use the taser or mace that…oh wait… he should have used in the first damn place. Whether it be lack of training or cold blooded murder sounds to me like this officer is waaayy in the wrong. Unless a gun is pointed at a victim, be it officer or innocent citizen no one should be shot by a cop when there are just as effective, non deadly options available. This officer needs to be legally hung out to dry.
That the dumbest response to a justified shooting yet. Maybe the cop should’ve let him stab him……duh
Yet another senseless murder where the perps will get to walk scot free.
I’m sick of seeing the lewis county excuse for ‘law enforcement’ skate on its own violations of people’s civil rights.
When will it end?