Tacoma man mistaken for a police officer was harassed and stabbed, records show

A man drinking outside a Tacoma apartment became convinced a resident was a police officer and stabbed him, Pierce County prosecutors allege.

On Wednesday, prosecutors charged the 40-year-old man with first-degree assault, second-degree assault and intimidating a witness. He is not in custody.

The assault took place July 14 outside the Woodmark Apartments North in the 2400 block of South 96th Street.

Charging documents give this account:

The 40-year-old man was drinking with a man he’d met the day before when he decided the victim was a law enforcement officer.

“... the suspect wouldn’t leave (the victim) alone and thought (he) was with the police,” records state. The victim “tried to walk away and the suspect continued harassing” him.

Video surveillance shows the victim trying to walk away from the other man, who chest bumps him, pushes him off the sidewalk, and slaps off his sunglasses and hat. He shoves the victim down and the two men start wrestling.

During the fight, the man stabs the victim.

Hearing a commotion, the victim’s fiance came outside and saw her fiance lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

The 40-year-old man told the fiance, “I know where you live. I’ll be back.”

He then demanded the man he was drinking with give him a ride down the street.

The victim was stabbed in the left rib and suffered injuries to both knees and his diaphragm. He spent six weeks in a rehabilitation facility, court documents show.

This story was originally published September 20, 2018 at 9:52 AM.