Puyallup police, sheriff’s deputy to be honored with Law Enforcement Medal of Honor
Six law enforcement officers from the Puyallup Police Department and a Pierce County Sheriff’s Department deputy are to be honored Friday in Olympia with a medal of honor, the state’s highest award for police officers.
They are among 19 law enforcement officers from eight police agencies who will receive the medal this year, the Behind the Badge Foundation announced Thursday. The honor is given to law enforcement officers who distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious conduct or who, while in the performance of their duties, were killed or injured.
The Puyallup police officers and the sheriff’s deputy are being recognized for their actions on Jan. 24, 2023, when an armed domestic-violence suspect barricaded himself inside an apartment building and fired shotgun blasts when law enforcement tried to force open the door he was hiding behind.
A Puyallup police detective and two officers were struck by birdshot fired through the door. Detective Greg Reiber was struck in the head and body, and officers Brian Sutphin and Patrick Thomson were hit when the suspect fired additional rounds while retreating to a safer position. None of the officers’ injuries were life threatening.
Reiber, Sutphin and Thomson will receive the Law Enforcement Medal of Honor, alongside Sgt. David Beerbower, officers Andrew Bond, David Pollett, and Pierce County sheriff’s deputy John Munson. The awarding committee said all of the officers on scene were at risk of being shot as they provided cover for each other.
The award ceremony will take place at 4 p.m. at Evergreen Christian Community Church, 1000 Black Lake Blvd. SW. The event typically happens on the state capitol campus, but it was moved due to ongoing construction.
Gov. Jay Inslee and Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson are expected to attend, and Puyallup Police Chief Scott Engle will be a speaker. The public ceremony will be livestreamed by TVW.
The nearly six-hour standoff the officers responded to began when Muelu Salanoa Jr.’s girlfriend called 911 and said Salanoa had forced his way into her apartment and threatened to shoot her and shoot up her place of employment.
Investigators said when a police sergeant and three officers arrived, the officers escorted the woman to safety while Salanoa locked and barricaded a front door. After 55 minutes of negotiating with him, police tried to enter, and Salanoa fired a shotgun multiple times.
Six Puyallup officers exchanged gunfire with Salanoa, and the incident ended with the suspect surrendering. He was charged with two counts of first-degree attempted murder, first-degree burglary and other felonies. The case is pending.
Anyone can submit nominations to the state Attorney General’s Office for officers they believe have exhibited exceptional meritorious conduct or are otherwise deserving of the law enforcement medal of honor, Puyallup police Capt. Ryan Portmann said Thursday. In this case, he said the department’s command staff nominated their officers.
The award was established by the Washington state Legislature in 1994. Nominations are reviewed by a committee of law enforcement officers from throughout the state.
Friday’s ceremony will also honor three law enforcement officers who gave their lives in the line of duty.
Patrolman Raymond J. Gutierrez of the Hanford Patrol died of complications of COVID-19 in October 2021 after he was infected while performing his duties. The others are historical honorees, Centralia patrolman William H. Smith, who was fatally struck by a train in 1910, and a Fish and Wildlife officer for the Tulalip Tribal Police Department, William M. Williams Sr., who drowned in Quil Ceda Creek in July 1965.
Their names will be etched into the Washington State Law Enforcement Memorial, which overlooks Capitol Lake in Olympia.
