2 Pierce County deputies ID’d in fatal shooting of armed man who ran from them
A Pierce County team that investigates law enforcement uses of deadly force identified two sheriff’s deputies Friday who shot and killed a 40-year-old man who ran from an investigative stop while holding a gun.
Deputies Brandon Cargill, 35, and Jared Been, 27, were involved in the March 18 shooting that killed Lopeti Aiolupotea-Magalei, according to the Pierce County Force Investigation Team.
Cargill has been with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department for five-and-a-half years, and Been has worked for the department for two-and-a-half years. Both were placed on administrative leave after the shooting, and they have since returned to work, a department spokesperson said.
Aiolupotea-Magalei was shot following a foot pursuit that began near the intersection of 72nd Street East and East McKinley Avenue in the Midland area. According to PCFIT, deputies were conducting an investigative stop at about 1:16 a.m. on several subjects.
The Sheriff’s Department said in a Facebook post that deputies and the subjects were at the Smoke and More shop at 808 72nd St. E. Deputies said one person in the group had a felony warrant and was detained.
Aiolupotea-Magalei fled south on McKinley Avenue, then ran east on railroad tracks, investigators said. He was seen holding a handgun during the foot pursuit, and Cargill and Been both fired their weapons.
A report of shots fired went over the radio at 1:45 a.m., one minute after deputies advised that they were chasing someone on the railroad tracks, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
Medical aid was administered to Aiolupotea-Magalei, investigators said, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. The Pierce County medical examiner later determined he died of gunshot wounds to the neck and left arm. His hometown address was listed as unknown.
