Assault on Andrew Surina — Costco Parking Lot, June 15, 2024
Andrew Surina, age 7, was strangled by Eric Brubaker in the Costco parking lot on
Sprague Avenue, Spokane, Washington. Andrew does not, and did not, remember the full
sequence of what happened — his clearest memory is being unable to stop himself
from landing on his head after his seatbelt was released. The assault was captured on
Costco's high-definition surveillance system (5K resolution), installed approximately
three weeks prior to the incident.
This page presents the video evidence and documents the chronological steps taken by
Attorney Stanley A. Kempner Jr. — counsel for the mother, Sirinya Surina — to
degrade that evidence and reverse the roles of victim and offender in subsequent
legal proceedings.
Costco Surveillance Video — June 15, 2024 (video2.mp4)
This MP4 was converted from the reduced-quality AVI file that Kempner produced
from Costco's original high-definition footage. Even in degraded form, the video
shows Eric Brubaker strangling Andrew. Andrew does not remember what happened
during the assault because he was unconscious — which is why he was unable
to break his fall when his seatbelt was released and he landed on his head,
resulting in a head laceration. The sprained neck is likely attributable to Brubaker's
strangling and Andrew's attempts to pull free while unable to breathe, rather than
the fall alone.
The original Costco footage was recorded at 5K resolution, yielding a file
several gigabytes in size. After Kempner's conversion it became a 9 MB AVI
file running at approximately 8 fps — a frame rate so low that fluid motion
and fine detail are lost. The download above is an MP4 re-encode of that
already-degraded AVI.
Chronological Steps: How Kempner Reversed Victim and Offender
The following sequence is documented in court filings, emails, and hearing transcripts
on record in Spokane County Superior Court Case No. 17-3-01817-0 and is available
in the legal record at 42o.org/l3g4l.
June 15, 2024 — The assault.
Eric Brubaker strangled Andrew Surina (age 7, a second-grader) in a rage in the
Costco parking lot on Sprague Ave., Spokane, WA. Andrew was rendered unconscious
and, while unconscious, was unable to break his fall when Brubaker released his
seatbelt, causing him to land headfirst on the ground. The sprained neck Andrew
suffered is likely attributable to the strangling itself and his attempts to pull
free while unable to breathe, rather than the fall alone. The fall caused a
laceration to his head. Sirinya Surina had ordered Brubaker to get Andrew to
comply and then watched through the truck door as he attacked Andrew for
approximately the first 20 seconds before walking toward the store. David was
instructed to block the camera for Brubaker — which he can be seen doing
as told, under evident duress. The account later offered to explain Andrew's
injuries was that he had been jumping back and forth in the truck — that is
not what the video shows. What the video shows is that once Brubaker was finished
and Andrew was unresponsive, Brubaker exited the truck in a hurry and ran around
to the other side. The entire sequence was recorded by Costco's newly installed,
high-definition (5K) Avigilon camera system.
June 15–21, 2024 — Kempner accesses the Costco video.
Attorney Stanley A. Kempner Jr., representing Sirinya Surina, obtained access
to Costco's surveillance footage. The footage was provided in Avigilon's native
.AVE format, playable only through Avigilon Control Center software. Rather than
preserve the original format and fidelity, Kempner exported the footage out of
the Avigilon system. Aaron Surina's
Motion for Immediate Restraining Order (Doc 616.0)
and accompanying
Affidavit (Doc 617.0, Aug 23 2024)
detail the assault and the need for a protection order.
Quality destruction — 5K footage converted to a 9 MB AVI.
Kempner exported and converted the original high-definition footage to a
standard AVI file. This conversion reduced the video from what would have been
several gigabytes at 5K resolution to a 9 MB file covering 3 minutes
and 13 seconds — a compression ratio that necessarily eliminated the
majority of frames, dropping playback to approximately 8 fps. At 8 fps
critical moments of motion are rendered choppy or missing entirely.
Kempner later admitted to having reduced the quality of the video.
The court-issued
Temporary Restraining Order (Doc 618.0)
was the protection order in place at the time of Kempner's subsequent actions.
The degraded version — and only the degraded version — is placed before the court.
The 9 MB AVI — not the original Costco footage — was the version
Sirinya Surina and Kempner presented in proceedings. Commissioner Rugle
subsequently issued an order directing Aaron Surina to admit video evidence,
but Kempner simultaneously worked to prevent the full, high-definition version
from reaching the court.
See the petitioner's own
Affidavit of Plaintiff/Petitioner (Doc 624.0, Aug 28 2024)
filed on the same day as the quashing order.
August 23–28, 2024 — Ex parte orders obtained without notice.
Kempner filed motions before the ex parte court without providing proper notice
to Aaron Surina, and without satisfying the legal standard for an emergency
waiver of notice. A commissioner signed an Order Quashing the protection order
Aaron had obtained for the children on June 21, 2024 — the order that had
been put in place specifically because of Brubaker's assault. By quashing the
protection order, the court removed the legal barrier keeping Brubaker away
from the children. Aaron Surina objected that these orders were void under
standing final orders signed by Judge Price, which prohibited commissioners
from adjudicating the case. Supporting documents:
The victim's father is cast as the offender.
With the protection order quashed and the high-definition video suppressed,
the legal narrative shifted: Aaron Surina — the parent who had obtained a
protection order for his son and who had publicized the video evidence —
was treated as the party in contempt and in violation of orders. Brubaker,
the person captured on video assaulting a child, faced no accountability in
these proceedings. The file in the evidence directory is labeled
2024-06-15-surina-assault-of-child-1st-degree.mp4, reflecting
how the charge was framed against a Surina — the father — rather
than against Brubaker.
The
Extension of Immediate Restraining Order (Doc 648.0)
and
Final Restraining Order (Doc 678.0, Dec 27 2024)
show the orders that were ultimately used against Aaron rather than Brubaker.
Ongoing — Continued effort to keep full video out of the record.
Kempner continued efforts to prevent the unaltered Costco footage from being
formally admitted. Aaron Surina documented this in correspondence to the court,
the Washington State Bar Association, the U.S. Attorney's Office, and the
Spokane County Sheriff, noting that the tampering constitutes a potential
violation of RCW 9A (criminal code) and professional conduct rules
RPC 3.3 (candor toward the tribunal) and RPC 8.4 (misconduct).
See:
Even in its degraded state, the video contradicts any claim that Andrew's injuries
were accidental:
Eric Brubaker is seen striking Andrew.
Eric Brubaker strangles Andrew inside the truck until Andrew is unresponsive.
Once finished, Brubaker exits the truck in a hurry and runs around to the other side.
Brubaker releases Andrew's seatbelt while Andrew is unconscious and unable to protect himself.
Andrew falls headfirst from the seat to the pavement, unable to break his fall.
Sirinya Surina had directed Brubaker to get Andrew to comply, then watched through the truck door for approximately the first 20 seconds of the attack before walking toward the store.
David was instructed to block the camera for Brubaker and can be seen doing so — visibly under duress.
The account offered afterward — that Andrew had been jumping back and forth in the truck — is directly contradicted by what the video shows.
At the original 5K resolution these frames would be clear and unambiguous.
At 8 fps in a 9 MB AVI they are degraded enough to invite doubt —
which is the utility of the conversion.
Original Evidence & Legal Record
The full case docket for Spokane County Superior Court Case No. 17-3-01817-0
is indexed at:
The original Avigilon .AVE file from Costco is preserved as:
Brubaker.assault.at.Costco.60mb.version.of.video.of.20240615-1403.ave
and requires Avigilon Control Center Player to view at full fidelity.