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Kent: Police shoot and kill man during standoff

July 14th, 2010, incident report by jbtaylor

  • July 7, 2010
  • 1
  • 0
  • 23800 block of 98th Avenue South
  • Kent
  • Washington
  • 98031

JOYCE CHEN. The News Tribune. Tacoma, Wash.: Jul 8, 2010. pg. A.4
Copyright 2010 The News Tribune All Rights Reserved.

Kent police officers shot and killed a man Wednesday afternoon after a two-hour standoff at a city water tank.
The incident took place in the 23800 block of 98th Avenue South, according to a news release, which gave the following account:
Officers had spent early Wednesday searching for the Kent man, 42, who was suspected of causing serious facial injuries to a girlfriend during a fight. Police found the man at the victim's residence, but he left on foot.
A witness called around noon, saying that the suspect had returned, but was now leaving in a car. Police swarmed the area, and the man sped away. Shortly after, the man crashed his car, abandoned it and ran toward a four-story water tank. Pursuing officers noticed him holding a shiny object thought to be a gun, which he pushed into his pocket while climbing the tank.
A day care nearby was placed in lockdown as police tried to talk the man down from the tank. The suspect said that he wanted to die and threatened to jump. He also told the negotiators that he was armed and would shoot anyone who tried to approach or stop him.
After two hours, negotiators were able to persuade the man to surrender, according to Terri Vickers, spokeswoman for the Renton Police Department, which is investigating the shooting. The man climbed down, but upon reaching the ground, threatened the officers waiting for him and quickly reached into the same pants pocket where the suspected gun was concealed. Three officers shot him to protect themselves and the nearby day care, the news release said. Vickers did not say what the object in the man's pocket was.
The three officers have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure in police-involved shootings.
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Joyce Chen: 253-597-8426 joyce.chen@thenewstribune.com