VANCOUVER, Wash. -- Vancouver’s top cop said the homeless man shot and killed by police Sunday made a “poor choice” when he aimed a replica handgun at a police officer.

Photo by kgw.com viewer Chalin Dickens

A friend took this photo before the shooting and said this was the toy gun the transient was using.

Detective Greg Raquer, 42, shot Douglas Damon, 64, once in the head, according to Vancouver Acting Police Chief Mitch Barker.

According to Barker, when Raquer asked to see Damon’s hands, Damon pointed a replica of a semi-automatic handgun at the officer. That’s when the detective fired the single shot.

Barker said he’d be surprised if Raquer faces criminal charges for the shooting.

“Looking at the replica, I’d consider it a deadly threat," he said.

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Neighbors called to complain about Damon and a friend camping out in a grassy area behind the Wal-Mart near I-205 and Mill Plain Road.

Rebecca Reiter called police to complain and now regrets it.

“I feel bad it happened,” she told kgw.com. She doesn’t blame the officer, but she still feels like her phone call led to a man’s death.

"I never wanted anyone to get hurt,” Reiter said, “I just thought they could tell them to move on.”

Photo by Chalin Dickens, kgw.com viewer

A photo of the man shot and killed by a Vancouver police officer and the gun police say he pointed at that officer. The photo was taken by the man's friend Chalin Dickens just hours before the shooting.

Her sister insists Reiter didn’t do anything wrong. Betty Gosney thinks Damon is the only one to blame.

“When an officer tells you to stop and put your hands up,” said Gosney, “you do exactly what they say.”

Clark County’s Prosecuting Attorney will decide if the officer will face criminal charges. The decision will come following the police investigation, which could take a week.