7 Officers Shoot Man In Puyallup Who Fired At Them

PUYALLUP, WA - Five Puyallup and two Milton police officers opened fire and killed a man Friday night during a confrontation behind the Puyallup Recreation Center. Officers from Puyallup, Milton, Fife, and the Pierce County Sheriff's Office had been negotiating with the man for about 30 minutes before shooting broke out.

The incident began in Fife before 4 p.m. Friday. Multiple callers told 911 dispatchers that a man was driving around erratically, doing U-turns in the middle of the street and driving on the sidewalk. The man apparently drove to Puyallup, where a Puyallup officer found the man's car abandoned near the recreation center. There was a shotgun in the front seat, police said.

Police found the man hiding behind a utility pole in back of the recreation center. About about 30 minutes talking to the man, he apparently fired a single shot at police. That's when the seven officers opened fire, killing the man.

All seven officers have been placed on administrative leave. The shooting is under investigation by the Metro Crime Response Unit, the sheriff's office, and the prosecutor's office.

This is the third officer-involved shooting in Pierce County this week, and the second one on Friday. Last Sunday, Pierce County deputy Daniel McCartney died in a shootout with two robbery suspects. A suspect also died in the incident of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Friday morning, a Pierce County deputy opened fire on a vehicle after a chase in the South Hill area. No one was injured in that shooting, however.

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