Jacob Farmer / jfarmer@yelmonline.com
Roy Police Chief Paul Antista spoke to council members Monday, April 14, about newly installed lidar equipment, crediting the devices for increasing the number of traffic citations in the city of Roy.
Antista said that 133 citations were written during the first quarter of 2025, January through March, compared to 83 during the same timeframe last year.
“You can see those lidars that we got are working,” Antista said.
The Nisqually Valley News previously reported the council’s pre-approval of a $6,000 grant to order additional lidar devices, which use lasers to measure the speed of passing vehicles. Lidar technology can also be used to create three dimensional models of accidents and crime scenes. Some critics of the technology have expressed concerns over surveillance and potential misuse.
“I put in a grant to get two more lidars and we were approved for $3,000, which gave me enough to purchase two more lidars,” Antista said. “We have those now. They’ve been out not even a month yet. So, with two more out there, we’ll definitely see an increase.”
Antista said he’s also looking into a grant for traffic ticket cameras to increase traffic safety in the city.
The cameras could also be used to boost revenue.
“Ruston has just installed eight of them and it’s looking to bring them a million dollars a year in revenue,” Antista said. “So, we would probably need three here in the city, put two on each entrance and then one over on Warren (Street).”
Antista has reached out to the Ruston chief of police.
“I want to sit down and meet with him,” Antista said. “And from what I understand, the company will send somebody out and they’ll put those traffic — so basically, it’s that black rubber piece that you see go across the highway, that counts vehicles that are going by. So, we’ll probably put one here and one on Warren Street, see the amount of traffic, and then by that they’ll base on where they think the cameras should be. And then we’ll get a cost from there. So as soon as I can hear from Ruston on the actual company that came out, I’ll contact them and see when they can come out and start doing a traffic survey.”
The cameras would only be used for catching speeders, according to Antista.
“That was one of my questions because we have that stop sign on Water Street and Warren that constantly gets ran, but it won’t pick that up,” Antista said. “It will only pick up speeding.”
During the meeting, Mayor Kimber Ivy spoke about the work the chief has done to improve the department since he assumed the position in 2023.
“I want to highlight for you, council, that Chief Antista, when he became our chief, has worked very hard to reestablish a very effective training program,” Ivy said. “He has reviewed all of the policies, which council did approve for the policy update with Lexipol, which is utilized by many of the police departments around us, which brought a whole new level for the city of Roy.”
Lexipol is a private company that creates and manages policies, training and other resources for law enforcement agencies.
“And so, I think it’s really important to highlight all of the extra hard work that Chief has done in the last few years to help bring Roy P.D. to a higher standard and we haven’t seen this level in quite some time.”
During his time with the council, Antista noted that 52 of the traffic citations this first quarter were written by reserve officer Chris Johnson, who was recently sworn in on March 10.
Johnson was previously a defendant in a civil lawsuit stemming from the nonfatal shooting of David Rice and his nephew Seth Donahue that occurred in 2019. Home surveillance footage captured Johnson approaching Rice and Donahue’s UTV with his arms extended, before firing his weapon.
The City of Roy ultimately settled the lawsuit with Rice and Donahue for $4.05 million.
Johnson was, at one point, listed as Chief of Police of Roy Police Department, according to council meeting documents dated more than a year after the settlement. He left the department sometime in 2023 before making his official return this March.
Speaking to the council on Monday, April 14, Sandee Rice, mother of David Rice and grandmother of Seth Donahue, expressed her concerns over the recent hiring.
“Nothing our family members did that night warranted being shot,” Rice said, reading from a prepared statement. “We were called to the hospital the next day by our grandson to come and get him. Our son was in critical condition with a collapsed lung and still has the bullet in his lung, because it was too risky to remove. For two days we didn’t know if he was alive or dead, as we were told he didn’t exist in the hospital records. We couldn’t get any answers. Apparently, that’s standard protocol during a police investigation.”
Rice questioned Officer Johnson’s “troubling” history, including his withdrawal from Washington State’s Basic Law Enforcement Academy in 2017, along with the open investigation by the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Center (WSCJTC) Certification Bureau.
“And now Johnson is a reserve unpaid volunteer officer,” Rice said. “Why? Let’s not forget the city of Roy was ordered to pay four and a half [sic] million dollars in damage over the shooting incident. Is this officer worth the risk? Is he suitable to be in any kind of enforcement role? And did Mayor Ivy look into the incident? She wasn’t in office when the shooting happened. I’m asking as a parent, a grandparent and citizen to think carefully… This is about safety, accountability and trust in those who are supposed to protect us. Please consider whether this is someone we want to represent the city of Roy.”
“Thank you so much,” Mayor Ivy said at the conclusion of Rice’s statement, before moving on to other citizens’ requests to be heard.
