On Tuesday night, Bainbridge Island police shot and killed an ax-wielding man, according to the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office.
It’s the fifth time this year that police — on duty or off — on the Kitsap Peninsula have resorted to lethal force. Here are the previous incidents:
In February, Suquamish officers opened fire on a man who drove a car at them on Nelson Street. The shooting was justified, according to the Kitsap County Prosecutor’s Office.
In July, a Poulsbo officer on a traffic stop in Silverdale shot and killed a Bremerton man who police said was reaching for a gun. That shooting was also ruled justified by the prosecutor.
In September, an off-duty Washington State trooper at his home in Olalla shot and killed a man who’d hit him in the head with a steel rod. That shooting remains under investigation.
In early October, a Mason County deputy was hit in the leg with gunfire following a chase in Allyn. Though the investigation is not complete, early reports indicate a deputy had fired a shot at the suspect’s car after he’d begun using it as a “deadly weapon,” according to the sheriff’s office.
In July 2009, a Kitsap Sun blog reported that the Kitsap County Sheriff’s department was negotiating with the Suquamish Tribal Police Department to expand the authority of tribal officers. As per state law, this requires an Interlocal Agreement. Can you follow-up on this? Has an interlocal agreement between KC and either of our local tribes been signed regarding joint law enforcement? If so, what are the details of this agreement. Thank you.
I guess I am not understanding the overall message of this article… if someone drives a vehicle directly at an officer, or reaches for a gun and pulls it on an officer, what exactly do you expect the police to do? No, I don’t have all the facts, just the small amount you provide here – but police don’t get a free pass on shootings. There are massive internal investigations that go one when something like that happens. Just wanting people to understand, there is always, ALWAYS more to a story than what the media prints about it.