Pierce deputies exchange gunfire with man firing rifle from his pickup in Puyallup
A man in his late 30s fired shots at a Pierce County sheriff’s deputy in Puyallup on Tuesday night. It is the fifth deputy-involved shooting in about two months.
Deputies responded to a call at 9:08 p.m. of someone in a pickup firing a rifle out the window while driving down the middle of Canyon Road near 176th Street East. A 911 caller was following the truck, and deputies located it in a neighborhood off 192nd Street East and 82nd Avenue East, according to a Pierce County Sheriff’s Department news release.
The release said that deputies said over the radio at 9:20 p.m. that the truck was driving towards the development’s main entrance. At 9:21 pm, they called out, “Shots fired,” and advised over the radio that the suspect had fired at them.
Deputies fired back at the man, according to a Pierce County Force Investigation Team news release.
After deputies made announcements and ordered the person to surrender, he complied. The man got out of his truck and was taken into custody. He had minor injuries, so he was taken to the hospital. The suspect was booked into Pierce County Jail on Wednesday morning, the release said.
No deputies were injured during the shooting, the release said.
The Pierce County Force Investigation Team has been called out to assist with the shooting investigation, the release said.
Per policy, deputies involved in Tuesday’s shooting were put on administrative leave, according to Pierce County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Darren Moss.
The release said that it is the fourth shooting in five weeks where a deputy fired shots. It is also the fifth incident where a suspect or deputy fired shots in five weeks.
The shootings involving deputies were:
- Nov. 17, the SWAT team fired shots during a standoff with a wanted person in Bremerton.
- Nov. 28, deputies shot and killed a wanted suspect from Tacoma on Meridian over state Route 512 in Puyallup.
- Dec. 5, a shooting suspect opened fire on deputies at 9700 Croft Street in Parkland.
- Dec. 12, two deputies were hit by gunfire at 4300 Vickery in Tacoma but were not seriously injured.
- Dec. 19, a man fired at deputies, deputies fired back at 8100 192nd Street Court East in Puyallup.
Moss said around 20 deputies involved in the shootings have been put on administrative leave. Deputies put on administrative leave from the Dec. 12 are just returning back this week.
He said the sheriff’s administration will review the shooting if they have enough initial information. If the administrators believe there was no wrongdoing on the deputy’s part, they will get cleared to return to work. However, if there are more questions that need to be answered, then the deputy will not return back immediately.
Moss said Tuesday that more deputies being put on administrative leave leads to staffing challenges but that there will be enough deputies on duty to cover holiday shifts.
This story was originally published December 20, 2023 at 1:10 PM.
