Camas City Councilman Arrested, Charged with Reckless Endangerment and Pointing a Firearm

Camas police said they responded to a “disturbance involving a firearm” along the Washougal River Greenway Trail in Camas around 8 a.m. on Saturday, August 31.

“The disturbance began with a verbal argument between a fisherman on the river and a pedestrian walking along the Greenway Trail and across the pedestrian bridge,” police said in the press release.

Police identified the pedestrian as Svilarich, a Camas city official who won his election to the Camas City Council in November 2023 after serving for more than two decades on various boards, commissions and associations in the Camas area – including as president of his Deer Creek Homeowners Association and as former chair of the Camas School Board's Citizens Advisory Committee.

The alleged argument between Svilarich and the unidentified fisherman “escalated to the point where an eight-inch rock was thrown from the bridge at the fisherman below,” according to Camas police. The news release said that “the altercation continued on the walkway and (Svilarich) pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the fisherman.”

According to police, officers interviewed Svilarich, the fisherman and other witnesses on August 31. After an investigation, Camas Police detectives arrested Svilarich on September 13 and charged him with two minor offenses: reckless endangerment and pointing/discharging a firearm.

This is a developing story. For current information and updates, please read the current edition of the Camas-Washougal Post-Record, dated Thursday, Sept. 19, or visit the Post-Record online at camaspostrecord.com.