Tacoma police officer stabbed in face while waiting for coroner to arrive
.JPG "In this Friday, Dec. 13, 2019, photo, police officers investigate the scene after a Tacoma police officer was reportedly stabbed in downtown Tacoma, Wash. The officer was treated at a hospital, and the man who stabbed the officer was arrested. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)")
A Tacoma police officer on a routine call was stabbed outside the Winthrop Apartments Friday evening.
The 24-year-old officer was treated and released from a local hospital, said Tacoma police spokeswoman Loretta Cool.
The attack occurred at 9:18 p.m. on the Commerce Street side of the historic building. The officer had arrived at the low-income apartment building on South Ninth Street to conduct a welfare check on a resident.
The resident was found dead and the officer was waiting on the sidewalk for the coroner to arrive. That’s when the 27-year-old suspect suddenly stabbed the officer in the face.
“The guy comes out of nowhere and stabs him,” Cool said. The officer was knifed in his cheek, she said.
The suspect was booked into the Pierce County jail on an assault charge.
This story was originally published December 14, 2019 at 12:01 PM.
