'So Much Heart': Family Remembers Michael Rude, Reservist Killed By State Police

LACEY, WA - Lance Toilolo is Michael "Anthony" Rude's cousin, but it's clear Toilolo considers Rude more like a brother. Rude was shot and killed early Saturday morning after a confrontation with Washington State Patrol officers along I-5 in Lacey. Rude's death has been "unreal" for friends and family, Toilolo said.

"Honestly, Anthony was just one of those family members that are one of a kind; had so much heart in him, so much heart," Toilolo said. "He really didn't deserve this; he really didn't."

According to state police, Rude called 911 around 6 a.m. Saturday while driving along SR 167 in King County. State police said that he told a dispatcher he was carrying a knife and was suicidal. State police later spotted Rude driving southbound near Joint Base Lewis-McChord along I-5, which is when they started to pursue him.

Police pulled Rude over along the left shoulder of I-5 near Carpenter Road in Lacey shortly before 7 a.m. One officer, an 18-year veteran, opened fire when Rude allegedly approached officers while holding a knife.

The Thurston County Medical Examiner released Rude's identity on Sunday, and noted that he was a National Guard reservist. According to his Facebook page, he worked for the U.S. Postal Service and was a graduate of Highline High School in Burien.

The Thurston County Critical Incident Investigation Team, which includes police from Olympia, Tumwater, and Lacey, is handling the investigation into Rude's death. Lt. Paul Lower told The Olympian newspaper on Monday that it would be several weeks before police finish. Investigators are still processing evidence from the scene and interviewing witnesses, Lower said. The trooper who shot Rude is on paid administrative leave, and was identified Wednesday as Trooper John A. Pierce, 39.

Whatever the outcome of the investigation, Toilolo and Rude's other cousins - or brothers - are mourning the tragic death.

"Not a day goes by that I don't think about him from the moment he had his life taken away till the last breath of me," Toilolo said. "In the situation as it is right now, I would rather see Michael Anthony Rude, my brother, in a hospital bed, rather then putting him 6 feet under."

Images courtesy Lance Toilolo