Pierce County deputy shoots, seriously injures man near Frederickson after police pursuit
A 19-year-old man who was seen driving a vehicle wanted in connection to an armed carjacking and several robberies was shot and injured by a Pierce County deputy Thursday morning near Frederickson after he fled from a traffic stop, according to Pierce County investigators.
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department first reported the shooting on Twitter about 10:50 a.m., stating that one of their own was involved and that all deputies were OK. The department said the Pierce County Force Investigation Team was called in to investigate. The team examines police uses of deadly force.
The man shot by a deputy has not been publicly identified. The deputy was placed on paid administrative leave in accordance with department policy. The deputy’s name also has not been publicly released. The man shot was hospitalized with serious injuries.
The shooting occurred about 10:37 a.m. near the 6200 block of 161st Street East, a residential road off of 62nd Avenue East, according to a PCFIT news release issued Thursday afternoon. The string of events began about 15 minutes earlier, when a Sheriff’s Department deputy spotted the vehicle at Military Road East and Canyon Road East — about a mile from the entrance to Cross Park. According to PCFIT, the man inside the vehicle was considered to be armed and dangerous.
A traffic stop was initiated in the 15200 block of Canyon Road, but the vehicle fled from deputies at high speed. Busy traffic slowed down the suspect near the intersection of 160th Street East, but investigators said the driver rammed civilian vehicles to get through the traffic jam.
At 10:35 a.m., a Sheriff’s Department sergeant advised dispatchers that deputies now had probable cause for vehicular assault. Two minutes later, investigators said the driver got out in the 6200 block of 161st Street East and jumped on a motorcycle.
Seconds later, a Sheriff’s Department sergeant radioed that shots had been fired. The man was shot once. Investigators said medical aid was immediately provided, and he was transported to a local hospital.
Investigators said a female passenger in the original vehicle was transported to a local hospital as a precaution, and a Sheriff’s Department deputy sustained minor injuries. A firearm was recovered from the scene. It’s unclear to whom it belonged.
PCFIT is continuing to investigate.
A 39-year-old Pierce County resident who lives near South Hill, Nathan Morris, said he was driving home Thursday morning along Canyon Road when he saw a lot of police where the road intersects with 160th Street East. Morris said he saw a silver car speeding away with several police vehicles in pursuit.
“His window was down and I looked him right in the eyes,” Morris said in a message to The News Tribune. “It was crazy.”
Morris said he saw the silver car cut down a side street. As Morris got closer to his home off of 160th Street, he said, he saw the car again, this time flying out of a side street and onto 62nd Avenue. Morris said he didn’t know what was going on until he got home and checked social media.
This story was originally published May 12, 2022 at 12:01 PM.
