Bothell Cop Died In Crossfire As Suspect Fired On Car: Officials

SEATTLE, WA — Bothell police officer Jonathan Shoop died in the crossfire when his fellow officer returned fire at a man who shot at the officers' police cruiser, officials said on Friday. Earlier, police had reported that that man, identified as 37-year-old Henry Eugene Washington, had directly killed Shoop when he fired on Shoop's vehicle.

According to investigators, the incident all began when Shoop and the other officer tried to pull over Washington as he drove down SR 522 Monday night. But police say Washington took off, leading them on a chase that ended when his sedan hit a pedestrian and then a median in the 10300 block of Woodinville Drive.

According to court documents from the King County Prosecutor's Office, a nearby witness recorded video of what happened next, showing a driver exit the crashed car, walking up to the police cruiser and opening fire on the officers as they sit inside their vehicle.

Initially, investigators had reported that it was this incident that killed Shoop, but new information complicates the issue. The Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team, or SMART, who have been in charge of the shooting investigation released further details Friday indicating Shoop was actually killed in the crossfire as the other officer returned fire.

According to the latest news release from the response team, Washington had aimed at the other officer, seated in the passenger seat of the police car. SMART says Washington fired twice, the first shot broke the driver's side window, the second hit the officer in the passenger seat's raised firearm, and ricocheted into that officer's head. SMART says the officer was grazed by the bullet, and returned fire, with "with one of the shots striking and killing Officer Shoop in the crossfire."

When other officers arrive they found Shoop dead at the scene and the second officer with that graze wound to the head. The second officer was briefly hospitalized but has been released. The pedestrian hit at the end of the chase was also hospitalized with a broken femur and other injuries, but is expected to recover.

By the time officers arrived at the scene the shooter had left but, according to court documents, called police in Junction City, Kansas, and confessed to shooting at the officers. Police say, in that call, the shooter identified himself as Henry Eugene Washington, said that he had run someone over and that he had shot a police officer in the head in self-defense. Washington was arrested on a nearby rooftop around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office is charging Washington with aggravated first degree murder, attempted murder first degree, and vehicular assault. Prosecutors have confirmed that they will pursue the murder charge, even though Washington did not fire the killing blow.

"The fact that Mr. Washington did not fire the fatal shot is immaterial to his culpability in this crime," said Casey McNerthey, a spokesperson for the King County Prosecutor's Office. "But for Mr. Washington’s directed attack on the officers, Officer Shoop would be alive today."