Washington Brothers Both Killed Cops — One Dead, One In Prison

KALAMA, WA — Two Southwest Washington brothers now share one grim thing in common: they have both killed police officers. One of them is dead, the other is just beginning a life sentence in Oregon.

Brian Butts, 33, was killed in a shootout with police near Kalama on Sunday night, just about 24 hours after he shot Cowlitz County deputy Justin DeRosier. Butts' brother, Daniel, was sentenced to life in prison in late March for the 2011 killing of Rainier, Ore., police Chief Ralph Painter.

According to Cowlitz County authorities, Brian Butts shot DeRosier, 29, after the deputy went to check on a mobile home blocking Fallert Road east of I-5. DeRosier was able to call for help during the shooting, but he died after being airlifted to a Vancouver hospital.

Around 7 p.m. Sunday, Cowlitz deputies responded to a report of a suspicious person along Kalama River Road near the city of Kalama. Brian Butts reportedly emerged from the woods armed with a gun. The responding officers shot and killed Butts.

On Jan. 5 2011, Chief Ralph Painter was responding to a report of a suspicious person outside a stereo store in Rainier, which is just across the Columbia River from Kalama. Butts wrestled Painter's gun away and shot the chief once in the head.

Butts was sentenced to life in prison on March 26, but he'll be eligible for parole when he turns 70. Butts, who suffers from schizophrenia, will serve out his sentence in an Oregon state psychiatric facility, unless he is later deemed fit to go to prison.

DeRosier's death was the second line-of-death duty in Washington since March 19, when Kittitas Deputy Ryan Thompson, 42, was killed in a shooting after responding to a road rage call. DeRosier was married and had a 5-month-old infant daughter. He graduated from Kelso High School in 2008, and later Washington State University. He joined the Cowlitz County department in 2016.

"Deputy DeRosier made a huge impact in his short career and will forever live in our hearts and minds," the department wrote on Facebook Sunday.