Police release 911 calls from I-5 shooting
Jun 17, 2014, 4:20 PM | Updated: 10:16 pm
Police have released 911 calls from a shooting on southbound I-5 in Seattle Monday evening.
Two Washington State Troopers shot and killed a man armed with a knife on the Ship Canal Bridge during the tail end of the commute.
A man driving a pickup truck swerved in traffic and stopped on the bridge, blocking two of the center lanes, according to police.
Witnesses said they saw the driver light his vehicle on fire. The man then started spray painting a large circle on the freeway before a trooper made contact.
Police say the man threatened two troopers with a knife. One of the troopers tried stopping him with a Taser, which had no effect, said Washington State Patrol Trooper Cliff Pratt.
“The subject continued with his knife toward the officers and they were forced to fire off rounds at him,” Pratt said.
Both troopers are on paid administrative leave during the investigation.
The troopers involved were Andrew Boyer, a seven-year veteran currently assigned to the State Patrol’s Bellevue District Office. He had never used deadly force. Trooper Christopher Kyle is a two-year member of WSP and is also assigned to the Bellevue office. He also had never used deadly force.
