After a several-hour deliberation, the jury found Officer Andrea Mendoza not guilty of the charges brought against her

Leah Anaya 
for Clark County Today

The trial concluded on Monday (April 22) regarding a Vancouver Police Department officer charged with assault in a use of force incident. After a several-hour deliberation, the jury found Officer Andrea Mendoza not guilty of the charges brought against her.

In May of this year, Officer Mendoza was placed on leave after the incident caught the attention of Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Tony Golik and led to criminal charges against the officer. Despite the alleged victim, Elijah Guffey-Prejean, in the case declining multiple times to press charges, as outlined in the probable cause statement, Golik charged Mendoza with Assault IV. Additionally, the charges of Assault III and Theft III against Guffey-Prejean were dropped.

Officer Jeffrey Anaya, president of the Vancouver Police Officer’s Guild (which acts as the police union for VPD officers) spoke with Clark County Today following the verdict. “This prosecution was clearly a political move” Officer Anaya said. “I have never seen a PA sift through jury instructions to find a way to charge a crime. This case was never about accountability. When you forgive one side for their assault and other crimes, but search for ways to charge the other, you are no longer in the world of accountability. This was about the PA’s office proving a point that they’re willing to charge an officer.”

The incident started with a theft from Walmart, located at 221 NE 104th Ave in Vancouver. Loss Prevention called 9-1-1 to report the theft and offer a description of the two suspects (one of whom was Guffey-Prejean). Vancouver Police Officers Gabriel Patterson and Mendoza arrived and located the suspects. One suspect fled, but Officer Patterson was able to grab hold of the second suspect, Guffey-Prejean, to detain him. Guffey-Prejean resisted the detention, however, and began actively fighting with officers. He punched Officer Patterson in the face and kicked Officer Mendoza in the chest, also causing a hand injury to Officer Mendoza during the fight.

Officer Mendoza attempted the use of the taser via the “drive-stun” technique to Guffey-Prejean’s back, which was unsuccessful. She then pulled Guffey-Prejean’s pants down and held the taser against his genitalia, saying, “Knock it off or I’ll do it to your nuts.” The move appeared to be effective, as Guffey-Prejean yelled, “I’m done!” and appeared to stop fighting and cooperate with officers. Guffey-Prejean was then placed into handcuffs without further incident.

During his interview with Golik, Guffey-Prejean said that although the incident was “kind of embarrassing,” he did not want to be named as a victim of any crime. In fact, he made similar statements multiple times throughout the probable cause statement. Regardless, Golik moved forward with the charges against Officer Mendoza.

Guffey-Prejean stated during testimony for the prosecution that he was intending to continue his fight with officers until he felt the metal of the taser against his “junk.” At that point, he stopped fighting immediately and gave into the arrest. Further, loss prevention testified that he witnessed Guffey-Prejean fighting with the officers, which was also captured on both officer’s body cameras as well as Walmart surveillance footage.

“From the beginning, the VPOG has unwaveringly maintained that Officer Mendoza did not commit a crime,’’ a VPOG statement read following the verdict. “We also pointed out that the Prosecution’s decision to charge her in the first place was driven by politics. Even the alleged victim did not want to press charges. We appreciate that the jury could see through the obvious lack of merit in this case and come to the only fair verdict.”

The Vancouver Police Department issued a statement after the not guilty verdict.

“A jury has reached a verdict of not guilty in the criminal trial against Vancouver Police Officer Andrea Mendoza arising from of a May 21, 2023, use of force incident. Following the incident, the Police Department opened an internal investigation, which was subsequently paused pending the outcome of the trial in the criminal case.  

“With the conclusion of the trial, the Vancouver Police Department Professional Standards Unit will now resume the internal investigation. The City and Vancouver Police Department will not be commenting on the active internal investigation. Officer Mendoza remains on administrative leave.  

“The City of Vancouver Police Department is committed to serving the public with professionalism, compassion, and respect.”