March 6, 2023 A King County sheriff’s deputy, who has been with the agency since 2001, was investigating a suspicious vehicle in Shoreline when he was shot in an exchange of gunfire.
By Jim Brunner Source The Seattle Times Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
A King County sheriff’s deputy and a 34-year-old man were injured in an exchange of gunfire after an “altercation” early Sunday in Shoreline, according to investigators.
The deputy was on-duty and investigating a suspicious vehicle shortly after 2 a.m. in the 1500 block of Northeast 145th Street when the shootings occurred, said a statement released by the Independent Force Investigative Team — King County.
“At one point, both the subject and the deputy fired their weapons, and both were struck,” the statement said. Both were treated at the scene and taken to Harborview Medical Center with nonlife threatening injuries.
The suspect was medically cleared Sunday night and booked into jail for investigation of first-degree assault.
The wounded deputy has been with the Sheriff’s Office since June 2021, said Meeghan Black, a spokesperson for the independent investigation team, in an email. He was also released from the hospital by Sunday night.
Police had the shooting scene at a Chevron gas station and food mart cordoned off Sunday, and Northeast 145th Street was closed to traffic. More than a dozen yellow flag markers — typically used to note the location of shell casings and other evidence — dotted the parking lot and street.
Taylor Houghtaling, who lives nearby, described hearing a pop pop pop of gunfire.
“I was laying in my bed at two something, and then all of the sudden I hear the first shot. I instantly texted my mom, and it just kept going. From there it sounded like eight shots. And then they went silent for a good 30-ish seconds. And then you heard sirens pretty quick after that,” Houghtaling said.
Houghtaling said police quickly arrived on the scene and scoured the area with officers, K-9 units and a drone.
The incident will be reviewed by the independent use-of-force team — created after the passage of Initiative 940, a police-reform measure approved by Washington voters in 2018.
King County Executive Dow Constantine, in a tweet Sunday, said he was thinking about the deputy, their colleagues and family “and hoping for a speedy recovery.”