Suspect killed in officer-involved shooting in Lakewood

The Pierce County Use of Force Investigation Unit is investigating a deputy-involved shooting that left a suspect dead.

The incident occurred in Parkland at about 11 a.m. Wednesday. Deputies spotted a stolen car near the intersection of 96th Street South and Steele Street South. Law enforcement officials used a terminator stop stick to flatten a tire, but the suspect kept driving at a slow rate of speed.

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Deputies lost contact, but spotted the stolen gray Honda Accord behind a barber shop in the 9600 Block of 40th SW. When officers looked inside, the car was empty. Shane Hampton, a barber in the shop, claimed a man and a woman entered through the back door of the shop and asked for a haircut. Then, deputies arrived.

“He took a look out back, saw the officers, bolted out the front door and the man went to the left,” Hampton said. “The woman went to the right and ran down a couple of blocks. Next thing we know, he took a left and was out of sight and then I heard the gunshots.”

Deputies were able to locate the suspects and called out over the radio that the suspect had a gun. At 11:05 a.m., deputies reported “shots fired” over the radio.

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“There is one suspect deceased here on the scene,” Pierce County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Darren Moss Jr. said. “No deputies were injured in the shooting. Right now, we have the Pierce County Force Investigation Team on scene to investigate. The team is led by Lakewood and Tacoma Police Department.”

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