By Eric M. Johnson

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A police officer in Olympia, Washington, will not face criminal charges after shooting two unarmed black men suspected of trying to steal beer from a supermarket, a local prosecutor's office said on Wednesday.

Officer Ryan Donald, a three-year veteran of the Olympia Police Department, told authorities the men had no weapons during the May incident but attacked him with a skateboard and that he issued a verbal warning before opening fire.

No charges will be brought against the officer, said Anne Larsen, a spokeswoman for the Thurston County prosecuting attorney.

"The officer acted in good faith and without malice," Larsen said.

The shooting in the Washington state capital of about 48,000 people, only about 2 percent of whom are black, triggered street demonstrations.

It followed a series of fatal police confrontations across the nation that put law enforcement agencies under scrutiny over the use of force, particularly against minorities.

After the incident, Olympia Police Chief Ronnie Roberts told a news conference that Donald, who is white, and other officers responded to an assault call at a supermarket around 1 a.m.

An employee reported that two men who had been trying to steal beer threw the items at him and then ran away, he said.

One man was shot in a confrontation with Donald, Roberts said, and the two suspects then ran into the woods. When they re-emerged, multiple shots were fired, Roberts said.

Donald shot two brothers, Andre Thompson and Bryson Chaplin, ages 24 and 21.

Larsen, the prosecutor's spokeswoman, said the two suspects did not make any statements and were to be arraigned on unspecified charges later this month.







(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Peter Cooney, Dan Whitcomb and Lisa Lambert)