In the early evening of June 19, 2014, in Port Orchard, Washington, the life of 36-year-old Thomas D. Rogers came to a violent end in an alley behind the South Park Plaza shopping center. Rogers, a male known locally as a DJ by the name of "DJ Bad Man," was the subject of five felony arrest warrants for child molestation issued out of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
His last known address was in the nearby city of Bremerton.
Three officers from the Port Orchard Police Department had located Rogers and moved in to arrest him. As they confronted him, the situation quickly escalated. The officers attempted to subdue Rogers with a Taser, but the device proved ineffective. Rogers was armed with a kitchen-style knife, and a confrontation ensued. It is believed that two of the officers then discharged their firearms. Rogers was fatally wounded at the scene.
During the altercation, two of the police officers sustained injuries. One officer suffered lacerations that required sutures, while the other incurred an ankle injury. The Kitsap County Sheriff's Office was tasked with investigating the officer-involved shooting. Following their investigation, the Kitsap County Prosecuting Attorney's Office reviewed the case and determined that the officers' actions were justified, and no criminal charges were filed against them. The officers were placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation, which is standard procedure in such incidents.
Beyond the immediate circumstances of his death, it was revealed that Rogers had a criminal history that included convictions in Oklahoma for child abuse by injury, felony possession of marijuana, and fraud. He also had local domestic violence warrants. News of the serious allegations from Oklahoma came as a shock to some who knew him through his DJ work, with one local tavern owner who had previously hired him expressing disbelief and remembering him as a "great guy." In the days following his death, friends and acquaintances planned a candlelight vigil in his memory.
