The Federal Way Police Department has requested that the Valley Investigation Team (VIT) conduct the investigation regarding one of their officers who was involved in a shooting on the morning of 03/30/2015.
VIT is a multi-agency team that can be requested by valley police agencies to investigate serious, complex crimes and significant use of force events inclusive of officer involved shootings. The VIT is comprised of detectives and crime scene technicians from the Auburn, Des Moines, Federal Way, Kent, Tukwila, Renton and Port of Seattle police departments.
The Port of Seattle is responsible for media inquiries regarding this VIT investigation. All information included in this media release is preliminary and may be subject to change.
Federal Way Police were dispatched to the area of the 27500 block of Pacific Highway South after receiving a 911 call reporting an assault in progress.
When the initial responding officer arrived in the area, he located a person in the 28600 block of Pacific Highway South that matched the suspect description provided by the victim to the 911 dispatcher. The preliminary investigation indicates that when the officer approached this person, he immediately began threatening the officer with a knife.
During the confrontation the officer fired his weapon. The suspect was struck by gunfire and fled the area. The officer pursued the suspect and was able to take him into custody. While taking the suspect into custody, the officer discharged his Taser as well.
The victim was subsequently located by investigators. Further investigation revealed that the suspect had attempted a strong arm robbery against the victim in addition to physically assaulting him. The victim of the assault / attempted strong arm robbery was able to confirm that his assailant was the same person who had subsequently threatened the officer with the knife. Investigators recovered a knife at the scene.
The suspect is currently in police custody and being treated at Harbor View Medical Center in Seattle for non-life threatening injuries.
Because this is an ongoing investigation, the identities of the involved officer and the suspect are not being released at this time.
Anyone who may have information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact Port of Seattle Detective Sergeant Sean Gillebo at 206-452-9536.
