Local News

Suit dismissed in fatal shooting by Seattle police

A King County judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by the parents of a man who was fatally shot during a confrontation with Seattle police officers on Jan. 14, 2009.

Officers responded to a domestic-disturbance call at a North Seattle motel, where a woman reported that she was being assaulted, according to the Seattle City Attorney’s Office. The man, Joseph Bernard Hradec, failed to comply with police commands to free the woman and surrender, sprayed police with a chemical irritant and came at them with a large knife, the office said in a news release.

Police intially used a Taser, but that failed to subue Hradec, the office said.

Superior Court Judge John P. Erlick dismissed the suit on Friday after the city’s attorney argued in a summary judgment motion that the officers used lawful and reasonable force, entitling them to qualified immunity.  Earlier, a King County inquest jury found the use of force to be justified.

Hradec, 37, had a lengthy criminal record, according to police, court documents and the state Department of Corrections.

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Police standoff near Alki Beach this morning

Seattle police were engaged in a standoff with an apparently mentally ill man near Alki Beach in West Seattle this morning.

Police were called to the 1100 block of Alki Avenue Southwest at 7:01 a.m. by a man who claimed he was suicidal. The man called from his car then was found on a nearby pier, said department spokesman Mark Jamieson.

When patrol officers approached the man they found a gun on the ground near him; the man then pulled out a second firearm and committed suicide, Jamieson said.

Traffic in the area has been blocked because of the activity.

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Sheriff: Intruder killed in North Bend likely intoxicated

The North Bend man who was fatally shot by a homeowner on Friday night after reportedly breaking into a stranger’s home and threatening to kill the homeowner was likely drunk and high on cocaine, according to Interim King County Sheriff Steve Strachan.

Strachan said that the suspect had been out drinking “heavily” with friends on Friday night when he became “combative.” The friends dropped the man off near North Bend and he went inside a gas station just off Interstate 90 and caused some type of disturbance, Strachan said. Gas station employees called 911.

The man, who has not yet been identified, then went into a nearby neighborhood and started pounding on the doors and windows of a home in the 300 block of Southeast Fifth Street . The homeowner also called 911.

The man then apparently threw a propane tank through the back window of another home in the 400 block of South Orchard Drive about 11:40 p.m.and went inside, according to the sheriff’s office.

The 46-year-old homeowner armed himself and he and his girlfriend retreated into a bathroom to dial 911 while the suspect started destroying the home and making threats. The homeowner repeatedly ordered the man to leave and said he was armed, but the suspect would not back down, Strachan said.

When the intruder forced his way into the bedroom, the homeowner shot him. The gunshots were heard by sheriff’s deputies who were already in the neighborhood, Strachan said.

“The last thing he wanted to do is use force,” Strachan said about the homeowner. He said that the homeowner and his girlfriend are devestated and refuse to return to the home.

While the King County Medical Examiner’s Office has not released the results of a toxicology analysis of the suspect’s bloodstream, Strachan said that the man’s friends told deputies that he had been drinking heavily that night while they were out at a bar. The friends also said that the man had been using cocaine, Strachan said.

The suspect has a history of mental illness, Strachan said.

While Strachan had said that the homeowner opened fire in self-defense, he said that it will ultimately be up to the King County Prosecutor’s Office to determine whether charges will be filed against the homeowner.

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4 children in car when girl fatally shot by sibling

There were four children under the age of 8 inside the vehicle where the daughter of a Marysville police officer was fatally shot by a sibling earlier this month, according to information released today by the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.

Jenna Carlile, 7, of Camano Island, was inside the vehicle with her three younger siblings on March 10 when one of the children apparently got ahold of their father’s handgun and shot Jenna, authorities said. Jenna was hospitalized after the shooting; she later died at Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center.

Though early reports indicated that Jenna’s younger brother had been handling the gun when it went off, sheriff’s investigators will not say which child is responsible for the death that’s been ruled a homicide. Officer Derek Carlile and his wife were outside of the vehicle, which was parked in Stanwood, when the shooting occurred.

Investigators say that the handgun used in the shooting was a personal firearm owned by  Carlile, not his department-assigned gun.

“Once detectives have finished their investigative efforts, the case packet will be forwarded to the Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office for review to determine if any criminal charges are warranted,” sheriff’s Bureau Chief Kevin Prentiss wrote in a news release.

Snohomish County Prosecutor Mark Roe has declined to comment on the case.

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Detectives investigate fatal police shooting in Poulsbo

There is not points to locate on the map

The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a fatal shooting last night involving three Poulsbo police officers at a Les Schwab Tire Center.

Sheriff’s spokesman Scott Wilson said that that Poulsbo police were called to the Les Schwab store around 6 p.m. for a report of a man with a gun. Wilson said that it’s unclear what transpired next. The armed man, described as being in his 20s, was fatally shot and died at the scene.

The Kitsap Sun reports that witnesses said they had seen a man yelling and acting strangely outside the store at 424 N.W. Edvard St.

The three officers who responded have all been placed on adminstrative leave. It’s unclear which of the three, if not all three, opened fire, Wilson said.

Kitsap County sheriff’s’ deputies are investigating the case because the incident involved a nearby police agency. Deputies are still speaking with witnesses and searching for possible business surveillance videos that captured the shooting.

“The question is who shot and how many times,” Wilson said.

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Lakewood police fatally shoot man in confrontation

Police in Lakewood shot and killed a 32-year-old man during a confrontation early Sunday, according to the Associated Press.

The News-Tribune says no officers were injured.

Lakewood Police Lt. Dave Guttu says investigators are trying to determine what led up to the shooting, reported at about 1 a.m. Sunday. He says the man had been attending a gathering nearby.

Four officers have been placed on administrative leave, which is routing in an officer-involved shooting.

0 comments | More in The Blotter | Topics: crime, Fatal shooting, Lakewood Police