Police Killings In Washington Up 20 Percent Compared To 2016

KENT, WA - Seventeen people in Washington state have been killed in police-involved shootings since the beginning of the year - a 20 percent increase over the first six months of 2016, when 14 people were killed by police. Those figures are from the website killedbypolice.net, which uses media reports to track the number of police-involved killings across the U.S.

The most recent person killed by police in Washington was Giovonn Joseph-McDade, 20. McDade was identified Tuesday by the King County Medical Examiner. According to reports, McDade was pulled over on Saturday night by Kent police along SR 515, just east of Kent-Meridian High School, where McDade played football.

Kent police have said that McDade led officers on a chase that ended along 244th Avenue, a dead end. Police opened fire on McDade's car after he allegedly tried to ram one of the officers' vehicles.

McDade's death comes less than a week after the controversial killing in Seattle of Charleena Lyles, a pregnant 30-year-old mother of four. Two Seattle officers had gone to Lyles' apartment in North Seattle on June 18 to take a burglary report. Officers opened fire on Lyles after she allegedly pulled a knife on the two officers. A few days before Lyles died, Tommy Le, 20, was shot and killed in Burien by a King County Sheriff's Deputy. Le advanced on officers while holding what turned out to be a pen; the deputies used a Taser on Le before opening fire, but the Taser apparently was not effective in stopping him.

Tuesday also marks the first day of an inquest into the killing of Michael Taylor. Taylor, 44, was shot by a Seattle police officer in October 2016 near The Jungle, the former homeless camp underneath I-5. Taylor was - like Lyles and Le - holding a knife when he was killed. Taylor was allegedly fighting with another man while holding a knife when police intervened. Six of the other people killed by police so far in 2017 were also armed with knives or other sharp objects.

Here are the other police-involved shootings in Washington state so far in 2017:

Isaiah Obet, 25 - Obet was killed in Auburn on June 10. Auburn Officer Jeff Nelson responded to a report of an intruder in a home and encountered Obet as he was allegedly trying to force his way into a passing vehicle. Obet was armed with a knife when he was shot, police have said.

David Hamilton, 50 - Hamilton allegedly robbed a credit union in Vancouver, Wash., on June 6. He fled police in a car, and was allegedly involved in a shootout with them after they stopped his car.

John Martin, 66 - Martin was a prisoner at the Clark County Jail. He was receiving medical care at PeaceHealth Southwest Hospital in Vancouver on May 18 when he was shot and killed by a corrections officer. Martin was in jail on on a parole violation, and a hospital spokesperson has said that he "took action which resulted in an officer-involved shooting."

Damarius Butts, 19 - Butts was killed in a shootout with Seattle police in the downtown area on April 20. Butts was being chased by police when he ran into a federal office building along 1st Avenue, which is when the officers and Butts apparently exchanged gunfire. Butts was shot multiple times, and two Seattle police officers were also shot in the exchange.

Charles M. Shands, 33 - Shands, an active duty member of the U.S. Air Force, was killed by Pierce County deputies after a brief chase in a residential neighborhood in Frederickson. Shands was allegedly walking around his neighborhood holding a gun; he later took a car from a neighbor and crashed it into a utility box. Shands allegedly emerged from the wreck holding a gun, which is when deputies opened fire.

William Stokes - Stokes was killed on March 23 after he was confronted by police while holding a machete. The incident took place in Des Moines, but a Kent officer opened fire on Stokes after he allegedly wouldn't drop the machete.

Alexander Dold, 29 - Dold, a schizophrenic, was in the middle of a mental health crisis on March 21 near Snohomish when he was confronted by police. Dold's mother had called police after he assaulted her. The Snohomish County medical examiner has not yet released the cause of Dold's death, but a Taser may have been used in the altercation with police, according to the Everett Herald.

Ryan L. Rosa, 36 - Rosa was killed March 14 by Pierce County Deputies at a motel in Fife. Police had gone to the motel to arrest Rosa in connection with a string of break-ins. Rosa tried to flee in his car, but the deputies boxed him in. The officers initially used pepper spray to try and stop Rosa, but he allegedly kept driving and hit one of the deputies. They opened fire after Rosa allegedly would not stop driving toward the officers.

Manuel Gonzalez, 28 - Gonzalez was killed on March 12. He had allegedly stabbed another person in downtown Bellingham when he charged at an officer while holding a knife. Gonzalez was shot and killed outside the Everyday Music store in downtown Bellingham.

Justin A. Burton, 25 - Burton was shot and killed on Feb. 10 after a chaotic chase in Vancouver. Burton allegedly stole a car, which he later crashed into a bus. He continued to flee from police, entering a senior living home and breaking into an apartment. Police believed he was armed. A Vancouver officer opened fire when they found Burton in the apartment.

Juan Salinas, 36 - On Feb. 9, Lake Stevens police confronted Salinas at a housing development east of downtown Everett. Salinas had allegedly called 911 and said, “I want to kill cops.” He was shot and killed when he allegedly advanced toward officers while holding a knife.

Jeremy Dowell, 36 - Dowell was killed on Jan. 30 along SR 99 in Lynnwood. Dowell was allegedly running in traffic along 99 while holding a knife, and was shot after he refused orders to drop the weapon.

Mi'Chance Dunlap-Gittens, 17 - Gittens was a suspect in the murder of a Seattle police officer's son at a Sammamish park in January. King County deputies confronted Gittens at a Des Moines apartment complex on Jan. 27. Gittens was allegedly armed with a handgun when he was shot by police. King County Executive Dow Constantine has ordered an inquest into Gittens' death.

Dexter Martin Dumarce, 33 - Dumarce was killed by Spokane police on Jan. 15. Police stopped Dumarce south of downtown Spokane when Dumarce allegedly pulled a knife on an officer and then fled on foot. Dumarce was later confronted by several officers; they used Tasers on him, but he allegedly would not drop the knife. One officer opened fire on Dumarce.

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