01/06/16 Thurston County, WA – Deputy Assaulted – Suspect Steals His Patrol Car – Deputy On Running Board Tazed Suspect – Patrol Car Crashes Into Car – Keeps Going – Deputy SHOOTS AND KILLS

January 6, 2016

skyvalleychronicle.com

The Thurston County sheriff’s office is investigating an officer involved shooting Tuesday afternoon in which a man was fatally shot after he allegedly attacked a deputy and then took off in the deputy’s patrol vehicle, an SUV.

The incident happened around 4 pm near 93rd Street and Tilly Road, an intersection located south of Tumwater, Washington.

Sheriff’s Lt. Cliff Ziesemer told news reporters at the scene that a deputy was responding to another call about 4 pm when he happened to notice a man that jumped into some bushes and the act looked a bit suspicious.

The officer stopped his vehicle, made contact with the man and was trying to ascertain his identity when the man, believed to be in his 20’s, allegedly attacked the officer and began pummeling the officer in the face with his fists.

The attacker then jumped into the patrol vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office and drove away with the deputy standing on the running board trying to pull the suspect out of the SUV but was unsuccessful.

The deputy then Tazered the man but it had no effect and the vehicle continued to be driven by the suspect. It hit a passing car and that’s when the deputy used his service weapon to shoot the driver in the chest, according to Lt. Ziesemer.

The unidentified man was pronounced dead at the scene. The name of the deputy, who sustained minor injuries to his face has not been released.

Per department policy, he has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into the incident.

KIRO-TV in Seattle reported that a woman who lives near where the incident took place said the man who was shot had approached her in her yard prior to the shooting. She said the man walked toward her, but turned away after seeing her husband.

She told the station, “He was acting extremely strange, you know, like there wasn’t something right about him.”