Man bites Seattle police officer on Seattle-Bremerton ferry

A Seattle police officer was bitten while arresting a man who threatened passengers with a knife on a state ferry from Bremerton.

“In the course of the arrest, the suspect bit the Seattle police officer on the arm. It was not a serious wound, however he did need to go to the hospital,” said Seattle Police Detective Jeff Kappel.

The ferry terminal in Seattle was locked down Monday night while officers went aboard to arrest the man who had locked himself in the galley.

“The male subject was having some mental issues potentially and locked himself in the galley,” said Washington State Patrol Trooper Matt Soper. “After some discussion with him they were able to get him into custody. There was some struggle.”

The suspect was restrained and taken to a hospital.
The officer who was bitten was also taken to a hospital.

Authorities also searched the ferry for possible weapons.

“The subject had made some threats about a weapon, so we had brought on our K-9 officers with their dog and they did a search of the area, and there was no weapon that was found.”

KIRO Radio Editor Val Stouffer and the Associated Press contributed to this report.