Assault suspect killed following apparent exchange of gunfire with Tacoma police
An assault suspect was shot and killed Sunday afternoon in South Tacoma after an apparent exchange of fire with police.
A Tacoma Police Department spokesperson said no officers were injured but declined to say whether officers fired. Law enforcement dispatch recordings indicate officers traded gunfire with the suspect.
The Pierce County Force Investigation Team, a group of regional law enforcement agencies that investigates uses of deadly force, was activated for the incident.
At about 12:30 p.m a 911 caller reported his uncle assaulted him at a residence on the 6700 block of South Monroe Street, and Tacoma police were dispatched at about 2 p.m., according to a PCFIT news release from Lakewood Police Chief Mike Zaro. Officers arrived at about 2:20 p.m.
The 911 caller told dispatchers his uncle didn’t use a weapon but had access to several guns and might attempt to “shoot police,” according to a news release.
Tacoma police developed probable cause to arrest the assault suspect at about 2:45 p.m. but he refused to cooperate with officers, according to a news release.
Officers reported that the suspect was shooting at them at 2:57 p.m., according to a news release.
Just after 3 p.m. an officer reported gunfire on South Madison Street, a block west of the involved residence, according to a news release.
Officers reported, “Shots fired, suspect down,” less than a minute later. Officers approached the assault suspect with medical personnel at 3:08 p.m. and found him dead.
Zaro told The News Tribune that PCFIT investigators blocked off about four square blocks during the investigation.
PCFIT generally announces an investigation within 24 hours and acknowledges an incident sooner if there is an ongoing threat to the public, Zaro said. The Lakewood chief, who chairs PCFIT’s executive board, is not typically a public information officer for use of force cases and said in an email a long-term spokesperson would be assigned to the case.
Zaro told The News Tribune he did not know whether a PCFIT public information officer responded on Sunday.
An involved agency, in this case, Tacoma police, can also notify the public about a deadly force incident, according to Zaro. PCFIT is barred by state law from releasing details of the subsequent investigation to the involved agency.
Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards announced the fatal shooting in a statement at about 9:30 p.m. Sunday after conferring with Tacoma police officials, according to Bucoda Warren, a spokesperson.
“She wanted to make sure the community was at least aware of an incident happening in the neighborhood,” said Warren, noting residents may have been concerned about the large police response.
Woodards said in her statement she was “concerned and devastated” by acts of violence in Tacoma such as this.
“It is vital that we address the root cause of all acts of violence as we work to improve our intervention efforts and response to violent incidents,” Woodards said. “To this end, the City Council and I will continue to support our domestic violence prevention and intervention programs to ensure we are addressing the issues comprehensively.”
TPD spokesperson Wendy Haddow, who is a PCFIT public information officer for cases not involving Tacoma officers, told The News Tribune Monday morning that she wasn’t notified of the incident on Sunday.
“Officers responded. An officer-involved shooting occurred. Investigation turned over to PCFIT,” Haddow said.
This story was originally published August 29, 2022 at 8:43 AM.
