The Franklin County deputy who shot and killed an unarmed man during a 2019 traffic stop was reprimanded for behavior during a stop in 2020.
Franklin County Sheriff Jim Raymond said Cody Quantrell’s actions during the Fourth of July stop in 2020 lacked good decision-making skills and professionalism.
The reprimand came on the heels of a citizen complaint. Raymond concluded by saying that if Quantrell repeated the behavior, he could face more severe discipline or termination.
About five months later, Quantrell received a “meets standards” evaluation on his performance review. Raymond wrote Quantrell could improve further, having “received numerous citizen complaints concerning how he speaks and how he deals with the public.”
Quantrell’s decision making has been called into question before. His previous boss, Toppenish Police Chief Curt Ruggles, outlined some of the same problems in a counseling memo he wrote on May 14, 2018.
Ruggles wrote that Quantrell pursued a vehicle in a reckless manner for 30 minutes for a traffic violation; pulled a gun on the wrong suspect in a motorcycle reckless driving case and then failed to report the use of force until a complaint was filed; and he damaged patrol vehicles seven times.
Quantrell joined the Franklin County Sheriff’s office two months after Ruggles wrote the counseling memo.
Quantrell repeated several of those violations during the lead up to the shooting of Dante Jones on Nov. 19, 2019.
Quantrell told Regional Special Investigation Unit (SIU) detectives that he did not stop chasing Jones when his sergeant told him to do so.
According to the May 2020 SIU report, Quantrell said he left his patrol car with his sidearm drawn and without waiting for backup.
In the counseling memo written by Ruggles, he described a similar action by Quantrell in Toppenish as “tombstone courage.”
At the time of the Jones shooting Quantrell had been with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department for one year. An Army veteran, Quantrell was a Yakama Nation police officer from 2013-16, and a Toppenish police officer from 2016-18.
Quantrell’s father, Tim Quantrell, is the police chief of Zillah, Washington.
Quantrell has not yet faced any consequences in Jones’ shooting. Prosecutor Shawn Sant has not announced if he will file criminal charges in the case.
The Observer obtained the performance review, a copy of the reprimand as well as the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) report on the Dante Jones shooting through public record requests to Franklin County. The Observer obtained the counseling memo regarding Quantrell through a record request to the City of Toppenish.
Thank you for bringing this information to us.
Thank you, Tracey. I’m glad that I have the time to go after it.
Randy – Has there been any updates on this?
No! There has been nothing. Prosecutor Shawn Sant has reports for police cases over 2 years old sitting on his desk, five total. Did you read my article about a recent sustained complaint against Quantrell. If not, go to the Law Enforcement heading and scroll down and you’ll find it. Yet, Quantrell received an “okay” performance review at the end of the year!! What would you have to do to receive a bad review???? Thanks for keeping up with it.