King County deputy shoots man who took away Taser

BY MyNorthwest.com  on December 10, 2012 @ 8:22 am (Updated: 11:35 am - 12/10/12 )

A King County Sheriff's deputy shot and killed a man Monday morning after the suspect allegedly wrestled away a Taser.

The deputy was not injured, but the man was shot at least once. He died at Harborview Medical Center.

Sgt. Cindi West says it happened at a trailer park in the 4300 block of Preston Fall City Road just before 7:00 a.m.

The man was yelling for a few hours about the end of the world before neighbors called 911. Callers said he was in the park yelling that he was going to "blow something up and burn down houses."

West says when the deputy arrived, the suspect did not respond to commands. The deputy tried to taze the man, but the suspect allegedly lunged for and got a hold of the Taser.

West says the deputy shot the man at least once as the suspect charged.

KING-TV reports neighbors say the man lived under a nearby bridge and had some mental issues.

The deputy is a veteran with more than 20 years on the force, according to West. She says he'll be placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation, which is routine in deputy involved shootings.


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Comments (7)


  • Add A Comment

  • ron prevost wrote...
    Never being a fan of tasers, let me get the logic of this.
    December 10, 2012 9:28 am
    IF a taser is s 'non-lethal' alternative to a gun, why did the deputy shoot this guy who came at him with a taser? ....... More to the point, if I were attacked on the street with a perp using a taser, would I be justified shooting him? . What about pepper spray? . Or bare hands?

    King County will have to work this out, but MY first reaction is that deadly force was not justified.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Drool wrote...
    Justified
    December 10, 2012 10:03 am
    For starters the officer had apparently already been disarmed by the man. Said man now has the means to disarm the officer and releive him of his duty weapon. We know from experience how that has worked in the past.

    If I was assaulted with pepper spray or a taser I would be in reasonable fear of serious harm/death and would likely not be charged if I responded with my pistol. I presume you read of the man that was assaulted (perp had no weapon) at Westlake Center. The victim of the assault pulled his legally carried handgun and killed the perp. The shooting was deemed to be justified.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    OKAY, I'll buy the disarming threat of your first paragraph as justification. .
    December 10, 2012 10:30 am
    But mainly because I DO consider a taser a potentially deadly weapon.

    Round-about, I believe tasers are used far too easily and too often. ... And every so often we DO hear of people who die after being tased.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Shplunker wrote...
    prevost
    December 10, 2012 11:26 am
    Lethal force was absolutely justified....as at the point the person gets the taser, then it's about the gun in the holster being taken by the guy. If YOU were attacked by a crazy person with pepper spray, it's unlikely you'd have a gun. AND...if by chance you were a gun toting citizen who DOES have a concealed weapon permit, then Lethal force is justified in that situation as well.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    I'm good with that
    December 10, 2012 12:23 pm
    ...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    Fact is it could have been the sidearm.
    December 10, 2012 11:08 am
    That's what Rodney King was doing rolling on the ground trying to trip up an officer to wrest the sidearm away.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }