Audio from a fatal traffic stop involving Bend Police officers appeared to confirm the official account of the death of Timothy Bret Bontrager: During a DUII investigation, the Bend man shot himself, and an officer, who thought he was being shot at, fired seven bullets into Bontrager’s truck, none of which would have killed him.

Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel announced Wednesday he would not charge the officers involved, Timothy Williams and Kevin Uballez, during a press conference outside his office in the Deschutes County Courthouse.

Bontrager, 36, had no significant criminal record. Hummel said the man had mental health issues and had been “struggling with life.” He had several difficult relationships with family members and had been living in his car not far from where he died.

“While we don’t know the exact constellation of events Mr. Bontrager was experiencing that led to his decision to take his life by suicide, we do know from the investigation that he was struggling personally, professionally and with his family relationships,” Hummel said. “Whether those struggles were the reason for this, we don’t know. We won’t ever know.”

Hummel described the encounter in detail and released the audio recording made by one of the officers.

The shooting occurred just after 11:34 p.m. June 26. Williams was on patrol in north Bend when he noticed a red Toyota 4Runner pass slowly in the opposite direction. While following the 4Runner, which was driven by Bontrager, Williams initiated a traffic stop on Cooley Road near U.S. Highway 97.

Bontrager, who was alone in his vehicle, came to a stop in the driveway entrance to Lowe’s Home Improvement.

Williams walked to the 4Runner’s driver side window and asked Bontrager for his license, registration and insurance card. Bontrager only had his license in his wallet.

Williams reported noticing several signs of impairment in Bontrager: His speech was “slow and deliberate” and his eyes were glassy and bloodshot. Williams also saw two open 40-ounce bottles of Steel Reserve malt liquor in the backseat. At this point, Williams radioed for backup, which is standard procedure when an officer knows he’ll be investigating a possible DUII, Hummel said.

When Bend officer Kevin Uballez arrived, Williams began an audio recording of the incident.

Williams told Bontrager he thought he was impaired and asked him to step outside of the 4Runner for field sobriety tests. Bontrager refused.

Williams returned to his car and conferred with Uballez, telling his fellow officer he would give Bontrager one more chance to comply.

Back at the 4Runner, Williams warned Bontrager that refusing to take sobriety tests could be used against him in court as Uballez stood on the other side of the vehicle, looking in the passenger window and acting as “cover.” Williams then asked Bontrager if he understood the warning.

According to the official investigation, at this point, Bontrager “immediately” turned away from Williams and grabbed a Taurus pistol from his glove compartment, telling the officer, “Here’s my proof of insurance!”

In a matter of two or three seconds, Hummel said, the following happened: Williams swiftly backpedaled, noting a “distinct change in demeanor” in Bontrager, who had been “respectfully” talking with the officer up to this point.

Uballez saw Williams reach into the glove compartment and pull out a gun. He shouted to Williams, “Gun!”

Williams dropped his flashlight and notebook and reached for his own weapon, as Bontrager put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger, according to the investigation.

Seeing the muzzle flash and believing Bontrager was firing at him or Uballez, Williams fired seven rounds into the 4Runner in quick succession, striking Bontrager twice — once in the shoulder and a grazing shot on his arm.

“Shots fired at Cooley and Highway 97,” Williams radioed. “Suspect is down.”

Williams’ audio recording picked up the two officers conferring in the moments after the shooting.

“Did he have a gun in there?” Williams asked Uballez.

“Yeah,” Uballez said.

“Good call. Thank you,” Williams said. “Holy (expletive).”

Williams and Uballez were placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure. Williams is expected to return to work this week, while Uballez has been back for several weeks, Bend Police Chief Jim Porter said Wednesday.

Porter said his officers “did what they were trained to do that night.”

“It’s a sad situation for all involved,” Porter said. “It’s sad for Bontrager’s family. It’s sad for the officers involved. And this will continue until we start addressing mental illness.”

Porter said Bend Police encounters people experiencing mental illness more than 2,000 times a year.

Bontrager legally purchased the gun in September 2017. Hummel said his office has not verified whether Bontrager actually had car insurance at the time of his death.

This was the second police shooting to be investigated by the area’s Major Incident Team. Last month, Hummel cleared Deschutes County Sheriff’s deputy Randy Zilk, who shot and killed Springfield man Jesse Wayde Powell as he dove into the cab of a U-Haul truck, where police found a gun and a metal bar, according to the investigation.

— Reporter: 541-383-0325, gandrews@bendbulletin.com