Man points gun at Lakewood cop, lives to go to court

A Tacoma man who pointed a realistic looking Airsoft pistol at a Lakewood police officer and lived to tell about it has been charged with assault.

The 23-year-old man pleaded not guilty Monday afternoon to charges of third-degree assault and felony harassment. Bail was set at $10,000.

According to charging documents, the man was walking Saturday in the vicinity of the 2400 block of 112th Street Southwest as the officer was driving by.

The man allegedly stopped and stared at the officer before darting across the street. He then pulled what appeared to be a handgun from his pocket, raised it and pointed it at the officer, court records state.

The officer “feared that the defendant was going to shoot him,” deputy prosecutor Hugh Birgenheier wrote in a declaration for probable cause.

The officer radioed for help and switched on his patrol car’s emergency lights and sirens, prompting the man to run off, court records show.

Another officer arrived, and they found the man and arrested him. He was carrying an Airsoft pistol. Pierce County prosecutors later reported the orange tip of the barrel had been painted black.

“The defendant apologized for pointing the Airsoft pistol at (the officer,)” Birgenheier wrote.

The man said he did it because he thought he was about to be arrested, the deputy prosecutor said.

This story was originally published November 23, 2015 at 12:42 PM with the headline "Man points gun at Lakewood cop, lives to go to court."