Sheriff’s internal review will zoom in on deputy’s death and seek ways to prevent future losses

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department will conduct an after-action review of the Jan. 8 incident that led to the death of Pierce County Sheriff’s Deputy Daniel McCartney and consult with observers from outside law enforcement agencies, county leaders said Thursday.

“We don’t have a template on the shelf, but after-actions are very, very common in this business,” Sheriff Paul Pastor said. “This is more significant because we’ve lost one of our own.”

The inquiry represents standard practice following the death of an officer killed in the line of duty. Pastor and County Executive Bruce Dammeier were quick to note that reviewing the incident isn’t driven by suspicion of error or failure.

“It’s more a reflection of how seriously we take deputy safety than any indication that we believe any specific thing went wrong,” Dammeier said. “We lost a deputy, and we want to do everything we can, ask every question, look at every process, see if there is anything that we could do to eliminate this or lessen the likelihood that we lose a deputy in the future.”

McCartney, 34, was fatally shot while responding to a home-invasion robbery in Frederickson. Prosecutors have charged three people with first-degree murder in connection with the incident.

On-duty deaths of sheriff’s department personnel are rare. Past incidents prompted after-action reviews followed by procedural reforms, according to Pastor.

The 1995 death of Deputy John Bananola led the sheriff’s office to add more identifying features to uniforms and revise procedures for entering homes. The 2009 death of Deputy Kent Mundell sparked an effort to improve the county’s emergency radio system.

Pastor said his office will handle the inquiry into McCartney’s death and consult with experts from other law enforcement agencies. He declined to name the agencies, saying he needed word of formal acceptance first.

“I don’t know that we really messed up at all,” he said. “I know something horrible happened. Unfortunately, in the real world you can’t always prevent that from happening. I would not call it a major investigation.”

During annual budget debates with the County Council, Pastor invariably lobbies for personnel increases, noting that the ratio of commissioned officers (268) to residents of unincorporated Pierce County (392,695) is lower than comparable jurisdictions.

Was manpower a factor in McCartney’s death? Pastor’s not saying that, nor are Dammeier and Council chairman Doug Richardson — but the topic is likely to be a factor in the review.

“It’s an important part of the discussion,” Dammeier said. “That is one of the issues that I’m sure the after-action report will consider, among a host of issues.”

Dammeier added that the county’s recently adopted budget included funding intended to support law enforcement efforts in direct and indirect ways. The budget funded three additional full-time positions in the sheriff’s office and allocated $1.5 million to behavioral health services intended to divert people from possible encounters with law enforcement.

“We want to do everything we can as a county to make sure our deputies are as safe as they can be,” Dammeier said.

This story was originally published January 25, 2018 at 4:30 PM with the headline "Sheriff’s internal review will zoom in on deputy’s death and seek ways to prevent future losses."